PankajBehind The Scenes
They say there is no rest for the wicked, and this was the case for Travolta. Just four short days after filming on “Saturday Night Fever” wrapped, Travolta started working on his next hit movie, “Grease.” This was the biggest box office hit of 1978, so it’s no surprise he wanted to get stuck in straight away. This was an especially difficult time for Travolta as his girlfriend, Diana Hyland had recently passed away in his arms.
According to the “Grease” director, Randal Kleiser, Travolta was having trouble lip-syncing the words “heat lap trials” and kept on saying, “heap” instead. As a professional, Travolta eventually got there and was able to lip sync correctly.
Welcome Back, Kotter
When Travolta finished work touring with the cast of “Grease,” Travolta was well and truly at the top of his game and very much living the high life. He wanted to continue riding the crest of this wave and was happy when he was cast by ABC in their popular sitcom, “Welcome Back, Kotter” in the role of Vinnie Barbarino. Travolta portrayed this bad-boy role successfully for four exceptional years.
Along the way, he won the hearts of women of all ages across the United States and further afield. Reflecting on the show in the years since Travolta has noticed similarities with his character Vinnie.
Rejected Role Of A Lifetime
Travolta was now in a position where he could pick the roles he wanted. In 1984, he was offered the lead role in a movie called “Splash,” with Daryl Hannah playing a mermaid who finds herself in New York City. Other popular actors of the time also turned down the role, including Michael Keaton, Bill Murray, Dudley Moore, Allen Bauer, and Chevy Chase, with Tom Hanks eventually accepting the opportunity.
Travolta was discouraged by his agent who thought it wasn’t the right role for him at the time. This turned out to be a mistake as it was one of the huge box office hits of the year. Who knows how popular it could have been with Travolta in the starring role.
Qantas Ambassador
Travolta had always taken a keen interest in aviation and flying from a young age, and this had manifested in him taking his private pilot’s license as well as owning a fleet of five aircraft. In 2001, shortly after the terrorist attacks of 9.11, Travolta became the “Ambassador-at-large” for Qantas Airways in an attempt to encourage people to continue using airplanes in the wake of that fateful day.
It may seem strange that Travolta would link up with Qantas, who are in fact the Australian national airline, but Travolta was always impressed with their safety record and is known for flying the longest routes around the world. It was through Qantas that Travolta purchased his Boeing 707 aircraft, the most impressive in his fleet.
Travolta’s Mansions
As with many stars they have huge incomes and so can afford extravagant homes. The Travoltas own four such homes in Maine, California, Hawaii, and in Ocala Florida which is their main residence and also their largest. Maybe the most extravagant thing about it is that it also functions as an airport and two runways, which lead straight to their front door.
The home is actually situated in a residential airpark. The Travoltas chose this location on purpose as they wanted to be able to access their airplanes at any time. In an interview with Australia’s Today program, Travolta was quoted in saying that “We designed the house for the jets and to have at our access the world at a moment’s notice.”
Dream Co-Pilots
Being passionate about something is a wonderful thing, and we all know Travolta is passionate about planes and flying. He has been lucky enough to be able to share this passion with a good friend, Marlon Brando, with whom he has co-piloted a number of flights before. Travolta had dreams to co-pilot with some of the legends of flying which included Howard Hughes, a genius of his time who was plagued by mental health issues and OCD.
Hughes was brought back to life in the film, “The Aviator” when Leonardo DiCaprio took on the role. His other dream co-pilot would have been Charles Lindbergh who was the first person to fly solo, non-stop all the way over the Atlantic Ocean. Unfortunately, both of these ambitions will remain dreams for John as both Lindbergh and Hughes sadly passed away many years ago.