Acting was something of a family business for the Travoltas. John’s mother, Helen, also made her career in acting which heavily influenced John and his career path. As a child he had watched his mother performing in roles for film and on the stage, taking on acting and dancing.
It was John Travolta who was the triple threat as he could act, dance and sing, a talent he discovered when he attended drama school in New York. Not many people realize that the mother and son pair starred together in both “Grease” and “Saturday Night Fever” showing their multi-faceted talents to the audience.
They Married Twice
When John Travolta and Kelly Preston decided to tie the knot, things were not plain sailing from the start, by any means. They decided the wedding preparations were getting out of hand, so they hopped on a plane and had a small ceremony in Paris in 1991.
The service was officiated by a Scientology minister, but when the happy couple returned home, their celebrations were halted when they found out the marriage was not legally binding. They decided to quickly arrange another ceremony which would be a legal ceremony and it took place on Daytona Beach in Florida. Talk about complicated!
Family Tragedy
The Travolta was struck by tragedy in 2009 when Kelly and John’s son, Jett sadly passed away on January 2nd. The Travoltas had been enjoying a family vacation at their home away from home in the Old Bahama Bay Hotel in the Bahamas.
The shocking death occurred after their sixteen-year-old son, Jett hit his head on the bathtub and suffered a seizure. He died shortly after leaving the family, including Jett’s sister, Ella, devastated and grief-stricken. Speaking on behalf of the Travoltas, their family attorney released a statement to People Magazine which said, “To bury your son is the worst thing you can ever do.”
Travolta Senior
Mother and son, Helen and John had a special bond through their shared love of the performing arts. The patriarch of the family, Salvatore Travolta was an Italian-American whose grandparents had emigrated to the United States. As a second-generation immigrant, Salvatore felt the promise of the American dream and pursued his love of football.
He had a semi-professional career as a football player but decided to take on something with more stability. Salvatore retired from his sports career and opened a tire shop to be run by the family in New Jersey. Sadly in 1995, Salvatore died leaving a gaping hole in the Travolta family.
He’s a Pilot
Aside from acting, Travolta has a passion for flying. He is a skilled pilot and received his official flying license allowing him to fly private planes. This passion led him to buy his own fleet of five planes. Included in the fleet, is a Boeing 707 which Travolta uses to fly his family and friends around the country and to exotic far off locations.
Travolta loves planes so much he built a home for his family in a residential airpark, part of the Jumbolair Aviation Estates. The house was built with a runway that goes straight to the Travolta’s front door so he can jump on a plane and fly to wherever he wants, whenever he wants.