John Travolta is an American actor and singer. who came to public attention during the 1970s, first via is role in ABC hit television sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter, before his lead roles in Saturday Night, Fever and Grease sent his career stratospheric. His dance moves and white suited look in the former, making him one of the most iconic, and mimicked figures of the decade, including by Mork, Travolta and his Saturday Night Fever moves/look being namechecked by him, Mindy and others throughout the shows run.
About John Travolta[]
John Joseph Travolta was born February 18, 1954, in Englewood, in Bergen County, New Jersey. the youngest of six children. His father, Salvatore "Sam" Travolta was a semiprofessional American football player turned tire salesman and partner in Travolta Tire Exchange. His mother, Helen Cecilia née Burke; was an actress and singer who had appeared in The Sunshine Sisters, a radio vocal group, and acted and directed before becoming a high school drama and English teacher. His siblings Joey, Ellen, Ann, Margaret, and Sam Travolta were all inspired by their mother's love of theatre and drama and became actors. His mother was Irish American. He grew up in an Irish-American neighborhood and said that his household was predominantly Irish in culture. He was raised as a Catholic, but converted to Scientology in 1975. Travolta attended Dwight Morrow High School, but dropped out as a junior at age 17 in 1971.[1]
Once out of school, Travolta moved to New York City and landed a role in the touring company of the musical Grease and on Broadway in Over Here!, singing the Sherman Brothers' song "Dream Drummin'."[1] He then moved to Los Angeles. His first significant movie role was as Billy Nolan, a bully who helped perpetrate the infamous blood bucket prank on Sissy Spacek's Carrie White in Stephen King's Carrie (1976). At the same time, he landed his star-making role as Vinnie Barbarino in the ABC TV sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter (1975–1979), in which his sister, Ellen, also occasionally appeared (as Arnold Horshack's mother).
The TV role was a springboard for his first lead movie role The Boy in the Plastic Bubble (1976), where he met Diana Hyland, beginning a relationship which lasted until Hyland's untimely death from breast cancer on March 27, 1977. His popularity and person in Kotter also lead to his landing the lead roles in two of the most commercially successful pictures of the decade, Tony Manero in Saturday Night Fever (1977) and Danny Zuko in Grease (1978), which catapulted Travolta to international stardom.
Saturday Night Fever made him probably the most iconic figure of the 70s, and certainly of Disco, and earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, making him, at age 24, one of the youngest male performers ever nominated for the Best Actor Oscar. It was during this period that Travolta and the other actor to have been launched to stratospheric fame, Robin Williams, became friends. These huge hits were followed by a bomb, in the form of the romantic movie Moment by Moment (1978) opposite Lily Tomlin, Travolta rebounded in 1980, with Urban Cowboy, opposite Debra Winger, riding the nationwide line dancing/country music and electric bull riding craze. In 1980, Travolta dated French actress Catherine Deneuve. Travolta also had an on-again/off-again relationship with star of ABC's sitcom Taxi, Marilu Henner, which ended permanently in 1985.
Urban Cowboy however be a rare hit as it was followed by a series of commercial and critical failures including Two of a Kind (1983), a hybrid supernatural/romantic comedy reuniting him with Olivia Newton-John,; Perfect (1985), co-starring Jamie Lee Curtis; and Staying Alive, the 1983 sequel to Saturday Night Fever, a financial success, but excoriated by critics. His choice of movies was made more unfortunate by the ones he turned down declining the lead roles in American Gigolo and An Officer and a Gentleman, both of which went to Richard Gere, and the Ron Howard directed Splash, which went to Tom Hanks. His personal life however, had an upturn with Travolta meeting actress Kelly Preston, in 1988 while they were filming The Experts, They married in Paris in 1991.
The 1990s brought a resurgence, starting with his role in Pulp Fiction (1994) for which he received a 2nd Oscar nomination. Followed by Get Shorty (1995), winning a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. Broken Arrow (1996), Phenomenon (1996), the cult Face/Off (1997) opposite Nicholas Cage; A Civil Action (1998) and Primary Colors (1998)[1], However, as the 2000s came in a vanity project, the science fiction film Battlefield Earth (2000) based on the novel of the same name scientology founder, by L. Ron Hubbard, hit his career as an A-Lister hard again. Travolta starred in and co-produced the movie in which he played the villainous leading role as a leader of a group of aliens that enslaves humanity on a bleak future Earth. The film received almost universally negative reviews and was a huge bomb at the box office. Travolta's performance earning him two Razzie Awards. While he continued to appear in many films, they were mainly independents, such as Swordfish (2001); or lower budget/B fare like Ladder 49 (2004); Be Cool (2005); Lonely Hearts (2006); Wild Hogs (2007). Though his return to musicals, and an endearing turn as Edna Turnblatt in Hairspray (2007) was much beloved.
In 2009 he (Kelly Preston) and Robin Williams starred together in Old Dogs. Though it was a reasonable financial success, the film was panned by critics and at the 30th Golden Raspberry Awards ceremony, Old Dogs was nominated in four categories: Worst Picture, Worst Actor for John Travolta, Worst Supporting Actress for Kelly Preston and Worst Director for Walt Becker.
In 2014, he received the IIFA Award for Outstanding Achievement in International Cinema, and in 2016, he received his first Primetime Emmy Award, though as a producer, for American Crime Story - The People v. O. J. Simpson. He also received an additional Emmy nomination and a Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of lawyer Robert Shapiro in the series. Travolta and Preston went on to have three children: Jett (1992–2009), Ella Bleu (born 2000), and Benjamin (born 2010). Jett tragically dying at aged 16. The couple regularly attended marriage counseling and Travolta has stated that therapy helped the marriage. They resided in Ocala, Florida until sadly, like Diana Hyland before her, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, dying 2 years later in 2020, at aged 57. Travolta put his career on hold, stating "I will be taking some time to be there for my children who have lost their mother, so forgive me in advance if you don’t hear from us for a while.'
Multiple Mork References[]
Old Fears - When Cora tells Mindy there's 'something about' Bill (Mork in disguise) misconstruing, Mindy, starry eyed, replies she feels the same way about John Travolta'
Mork's Mixed Emotions - On entering the Music Store, the man who will be TNT, does a disco spin and the iconic John Travolta, Saturday Night Fever point and pose.
Mork's Vacation - When Twelve takes over Mork's body and derides Mork's clothes, he disappears out of the apartment, and reappears later dressed in Travolta's white and black ensemble from Saturday Night Fever, pulling Mindy into a dance with him.
The Wedding (Part 2) - When Fred asks Mindy what surname she and Mork plan to use after their wedding, she tells him that while she thinks she can talk him into taking her name, Mork is currently torn between Travolta and Pittsburgh.
Animated Series[]
To Ork or Not to Ork - When trying to win Mindy, thinking she's fallen for Hamilton, Mork attempts to be strong and masculine, taking on a number of personas including Travolta.