Constantin-Liviu Cepoi (n. 25 aprilie 1969, satul Broșteni, comuna Drăgușeni, județul Suceava România) este un sănier româno-moldovean, care a concurat la patru Jocuri Olimpice de iarnă (la trei din partea României și la unul din partea Republicii Moldova).

Cariera sportivă[modificare | modificare sursă]

Liviu Cepoi a început să practice sportul de sanie în anul 1975, la CSȘ Vatra Dornei. În anul 1988 s-a legitimat la ASA Brașov. În ultimii ani de dinainte de Revoluție, sportivii de la clubul armatei din Brașov au beneficiat de două luni pe an de antrenament pe pârtia performantă a clubului armatei din Republica Democrată Germană.^[1]

În întreaga sa carieră, el a fost multiplu campion de juniori și seniori (21 titluri) în probele de simplu și dublu sanie. El a concurat la mai multe campionate și europene de sanie obținând următoarele clasări: locul 4 - Campionatul Mondial (1990, Calgary); locul 3 - Cupa Mondială (1990, Oberhof); locul 6 - Campionatul Mondial (1991, Wittenberg); locul 4 - Campionatul European (1992, Königsee); locul 5 - Campionatul Mondial (1994, Lake Placid) și locul 5 - Campionatul Mondial (1995, Lillehammer).

Liviu Cepoi a concurat pentru România la trei Jocuri Olimpice de iarnă. La Albertville (1992), el a concurat împreună cu Ioan Apostol, terminând pe locul 4 la proba de dublu, după ce au concurat cu o sanie Gemina provenită din RDG, veche de 5 ani și modificată după fotografii.^[1] Doi ani mai târziu, la Lillehammer (1994), cei doi s-au clasat pe locul 6 la aceeași probă.

Deoarece Apostol s-a retras ca urmare a vârstei (era născut în 1959 și cu 10 ani mai în vârstă decât Cepoi), Cepoi a concurat împreună cu Ion Cristian Stanciu la Nagano (1998), terminând pe locul 16 în proba de sanie-dublu. În anul 2000 a absolvit Facultatea de Educație Fizică și Sport de la Universitatea Bacău.

În același an, Liviu Cepoi a fost numit în funcția de selecționer și antrenor principal al lotului de sanie al Republicii Moldova. El a făcut parte din delegația Republicii Moldova la Jocurile Olimpice de iarnă de la Salt Lake City (2002), clasându-se pe locul 38 în proba individuală de sanie. Ulterior, el a contribuit la legitimarea tânărului sănier dornean Bogdan Macovei în lotul național al Republicii Moldova, acesta fiind antrenat deIoan Apostol. Întrebat de ce a ales să concureze pentru Republica Moldova și nu pentru România, sportivul Bogdan Macovei a afirmat: "Am ajuns să particip pentru Moldova datorită lui Liviu Cepoi. Dacă nu era el probabil nu aș fi fost nici aici (la Vancouver n.n.), nici la Torino în 2006! (...) Nu concurez pentru România pentru că nu am avut «loc» de «alții»!" ^[2]

Activitatea politică[modificare | modificare sursă]

Liviu Cepoi s-a înscris în PNL în anul 1996, îndeplinind funcțiile de consilier local la Vatra Dornei (2000-2004) și de consilier județean al județului Suceava (2004-2008).

În februarie 2005 a fost numit în funcția de vicepreședinte al Autorității Naționale pentru Sport a României. La 4 decembrie 2006, președintele ANS Florian Gheorghe a demisionat după ce Partidul Conservator a decis să iasă de la guvernare. În aceeași zi, Liviu Cepoi a preluat provizoriu atribuțiile de președinte al ANS, dar la 11 decembrie 2006 Liviu Cepoi a fost eliberat din funcția de vicepreședinte al Agenției Naționale pentru Sport și înlocuit cu Valentin Vasilescu ^[3].

În perioada activității sale la ANS, Cepoi a dispus ca o parte din banii statului să fie dirijați și către Vatra Dornei. Astfel, guvernul a înființat Clubul Sporturilor de Iarnă, a amenajat pârtii de schi, a deschis instalații de cablu și a adus trei tunuri de zăpadă la Vatra Dornei etc.^[4]

Liviu Cepoi este și un om de afaceri cunoscut pe plan local. El este proprietarul hotelurilor Maestro, Veverița și Cabana Schiorilor din Vatra Dornei. Este căsătorit și are un copil.^[5]

Maria Olaru (n. 4 iunie 1982, Fălticeni, județul Suceava) este o gimnastă română de talie mondială, medaliată cu aur pe echipe și argint la individual compus, laJocurile Olimpice de vară din 2000 desfășurate în Sydney, Australia.

Maria a început gimnastica la vârsta de 6 ani în orașul natal Fălticeni, pentru ca, mai apoi, la vârsta de 7 ani, să înceapă gimnastica de performanță la CSS Cetate Deva. La doar 11 ani, în 1993, este promovată în lotul de senioare, făcând față cu brio cerințelor de pregătire. După un an de pregătire la echipa națională, staff-ul tehnic decide ca ea să fie transferată din nou la clubul Cetate Deva (în aceeași incintă cu lotul olimpic), deoarece vârsta sportivei era prea mică. În 1996 revine la lotul olimpic, dar de data aceasta în cadrul celui de junioare, aflat în București la acea vreme, un curs firesc având în vedere vârsta sportivei. În acest interval participă la Campionatele Europene de Junioare din Anglia (Birmingham), unde cucerește locul întâi la sărituri, devenind astfel Campioană Europeană. După acest Campionat European, revine la Deva și se alătură din nou lotului olimpic de senioare.

Din 1998, Maria Olaru participă la competițiile de senioare, câștigând medalia de aur cu echipa și cea de argint la sărituri, la Campionatele Europene din Rusia (Sankt Petersburg). În anul urmator, 1999, participă la Campionatele Mondiale din China (Tianjin), unde câștigă medalia de aur cu echipa, aur la individual compus, bronz la sărituri. Maria Olaru a ajuns în 3 finale pe aparate la acest campionat, și anume: sărituri (locul III), paralele (locul VI) și bârnă (locul IV). Titlul mondial la individual compus este al doilea din istoria gimnasticii feminine românești, primul fiind obținut de Aurelia Dobre în 1987 la Campionatele Mondiale de la Rotterdam, Olanda.

Maria a fost una dintre cele mai înalte gimnaste (1.63 cm) de la sfârșitul anilor 90. I-au placut toate aparatele, fiind astfel o gimnastă completa și afirmându-se în special la individual compus. La finalul anului 2000, Maria Olaru decide să se retragă în glorie din activitatea competițională.

Palmares[modificare | modificare sursă]

Legendă: Echipe = Echipe, I C = individual compus, Săr = sărituri, P I = paralele inegale, Bâr = bârnă, Sol = sol

Bon Scott
Scott in the 1970s
Background information
Birth name	Ronald Belford Scott
Also known as	Bon Scott
Born	9 July 1946 Forfar, Angus, Scotland, UK
Origin	Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia
Died	19 February 1980 (aged 33) East Dulwich, London, England, UK
Genres	Rock and roll, blues rock,hard rock
Occupation(s)	Musician, singer, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1964–1980
Associated acts	AC/DC, Fraternity, The Valentines, The Spektors

Ronald Belford "Bon" Scott (9 July 1946 – 19 February 1980) was a Scottish-born Australian rock musician, best known for being the lead singer and lyricist of Australian hard rock band AC/DC from 1974 until his death in 1980.^[1] He was born in Forfar and lived in Kirriemuir, Scotland, for 5 years before moving to Melbourne,Australia, with his family in 1952 at the age of six. The family lived in the suburb of Sunshine for four years before moving to Fremantle, Western Australia.^[1]

Scott formed his first band, The Spektors, in 1964 and became the band's drummer and occasional lead vocalist. He performed in several other bands including The Valentines and Fraternity before replacing Dave Evans as the lead singer of AC/DC in 1974.^[1]

In the July 2004 issue of Classic Rock, Scott was rated as number one in a list of the "100 Greatest Frontmen Of All Time" ahead of Freddie Mercury and Robert Plant.^[2]Hit Parader ranked Scott as fifth on their 2006 list of the 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Vocalists of all time.^[3]

AC/DC's popularity grew throughout the 1970s, initially in Australia, and then internationally. Their 1979 album Highway to Hell reached the top twenty in the United States, and the band seemed on the verge of a commercial breakthrough. However, on 19 February 1980, Scott died after a night out in London. AC/DC briefly considered disbanding, but the group quickly recruited vocalist Brian Johnson of the British glam rock band Geordie. AC/DC's subsequent album, Back in Black, was released only five months later, and was a tribute to Scott. It went on to become the second best-selling album in history.^[1]

Biography[edit]

1946–64: Early Years[edit]

Ronald Belford Scott was born on 9 July 1946 at the Fyfe Jamieson Maternity Hospital, Forfar, Scotland to Charles Belford "Chick" Scott (d. 1999) and Isabelle Cunningham "Isa" Mitchell (1917–2011), and grew up in Kirriemuir. A younger brother Derek was born in 1949.^[1] The Scott family emigrated from Scotland to Australia in 1952 where they initially lived in the Melbourne suburb of Sunshine, attending nearby Sunshine Primary School.^[1] A second brother, Graeme, was born in 1953. Bon was the oldest of Derek, Graeme, and Valerie. Bon did have an older brother born before him named Sandy Scott, but he died shortly after birth.^[1]

In 1956, the family moved to Fremantle, Western Australia, and Scott joined the associated Fremantle Scots Pipe Band, learning the drums.^[1] Scott attended North Fremantle Primary School and later John Curtin College of the Arts until he dropped out at the age of 15 and spent a short time in Fremantle Prison's assessment centre and nine months at the Riverbank Juvenile Institution relating to charges of giving a false name and address to the police, having escaped legal custody, having unlawful carnal knowledge and stealing twelve gallons of petrol.^[1] He attempted to join the Australian Army but was rejected for being deemed "socially maladjusted."^[4]

1964–70:The Spektors and The Valentines[edit]

Scott's vocals were inspired by his idol, Little Richard.^[5] After working as a postman, bartender and truck packer, Scott started his first band, The Spektors, in 1966 as drummer and occasional lead singer.^[6] One year later the Spektors merged with another local band, the Winstons, and formed The Valentines, in which Scott was co-lead singer with Vince Lovegrove. The Valentines recorded several songs written by George Young of The Easybeats. "Every Day I Have to Cry" (a song originally written and sung by Arthur Alexander) made the local top 5.^[1] In 1970, after gaining a place on the National Top 30 with their single "Juliette", the Valentines disbanded due to artistic differences after a much-publicised drug scandal.^[7]

1970–74: Fraternity[edit]

Scott moved to Adelaide in 1970 and joined the progressive rock band Fraternity. Fraternity released the LPs Livestock and Flaming Galah before touring the UK in 1973, where they changed their name to "Fang". During this time they played support slots for Status Quo and Geordie, whose front man, Brian Johnson, became the lead singer of AC/DC after Scott's death.^[1] During this time, on 24 January 1972, Scott married Irene Thornton.^[8]

In 1973, just after returning to Australia from the tour of the UK, Fraternity went on hiatus. Scott took a day job at the Wallaroo fertiliser plant and began singing with the Mount Lofty Rangers, a loose collective of musicians helmed by Peter Head (né Beagley) from Headband, who explains "Headband and Fraternity were in the same management stable and we both split about the same time so the logical thing was to take members from both bands and create a new one ... the purpose of the band was for songwriters to relate to each other and experiment with songs, so it was a hotbed of creativity".^[9] Other ex-Fraternity members also played with the band as did Glen Shorrock pre Little River Band. During this time, Head also helped Scott with his original compositions.

Vince Lovegrove said "Bon would go to Peter's home after a day (of literally) shovelling shit, and show him musical ideas he had had during his day's work. Bon's knowledge of the guitar was limited, so Peter began teaching him how to bridge chords and construct a song. One of the songs from these sessions was a ballad called "Clarissa", about a local Adelaide girl. Another was the country-tinged Bin Up in the Hills Too Long, which for me was a sign of things to come with Bon's lyrics; simple, clever, sardonic, tongue-in-cheek ..."^[10]

In return, Scott recorded vocals for Mount Lofty Rangers songs "Round & Round" and "Carey Gully".^[11] Head released these original recordings in 1996, also teaming up with producer Ted Yanni, another old friend of Scott's, to create an entirely new backing for Round & Round & Round that more accurately reflected the original intentions Head had. Long out of print, and massively bootlegged, this EP finally got an official digital release in June 2010. Unrecorded original compositions of Scott's, "Been Up In The Hills Too Long" and "Clarissa" have been recorded by Head on his Peter Head & The Mount Lofty Rangers "Lofty" album, also released in digital format only in 2011.

"About 11 pm on 3 May 1974, at the Old Lion Hotel in North Adelaide, during a rehearsal with the Mount Lofty Rangers, a very drunk, distressed and belligerent Bon Scott had a raging argument with a member of the band. Bon stormed out of the venue, threw a bottle of Jack Daniels on to the ground, then screamed off on his Suzuki 550 motorbike."^[10] Scott suffered serious injuries from the ensuing motorcycle accident, spending three days in a coma and a further 18 days in hospital. Vince Lovegrove and his wife, by then running a booking/management agency, gave Scott odd jobs, such as putting up posters and painting the office during his recovery, and shortly after introduced him to AC/DC who were on the lookout for a new lead singer.^[7]

"There was a young, dinky little glam band from Sydney that we both loved called AC/DC ... Before another AC/DC visit, George Young phoned me and said the band was looking for a new singer. I immediately told him that the best guy for the job was Bon. George responded by saying Bon's accident would not allow him to perform, and that maybe he was too old. Nevertheless I had a meeting with Malcolm and Angus, and suggested Bon as their new singer. They asked me to bring him out to the Pooraka Hotel that night, and to come backstage after the show. When he watched the band, Bon was impressed, and he immediately wanted to join them, but thought they may be a bit too inexperienced and too young. After the show, backstage, Bon expressed his doubts about them being "able to rock". The two Young brothers told Bon he was "too old to rock". The upshot was that they had a jam session that night in the home of Bon's former mentor, Bruce Howe, and at the end of the session, at dawn, it was obvious that AC/DC had found a new singer. And Bon had found a new band."^[10]

Like Scott, Malcolm Young and his younger brother Angus Young of AC/DC were born in Scotland before emigrating to Australia in their childhood with their family.

Fraternity later reformed and replaced Scott with Jimmy Barnes.

1974–80: AC/DC[edit]

 

Bon Scott in Grenoble, 10 December 1979

 

Bon Scott (centre) pictured with guitarist Angus Young (left) and bassistCliff Williams (back), performing at theUlster Hall in August 1979

Scott replaced Dave Evans as the lead singer of AC/DC on 24 October 1974, when it became obvious the band and Evans were heading in different directions, with Evans having personal clashes with band members and management.^[12]

With the Young brothers as lead and rhythm guitarists, session drummer Tony Currenti (see AC/DC lineups) and George Young as a temporary bassist, AC/DC released High Voltage, their first LP in Australia in 1975.^[13] Within a few months Currenti was replaced byPhil Rudd and Mark Evans was hired as a permanent bassist, and AC/DC began recording their second album T.N.T., which was released in Australia in December 1975. The first AC/DC album to gain international distribution however was a compilation of tracks from the first two albums, also entitled High Voltage, which was released in May 1976. Another studio album, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap was released in the same year, but only in Australia; the international version of the album was released in November 1976 in the UK and in March 1981 in the U.S., with a different track listing.

In the following years, AC/DC gained further success with their albums Let There Be Rock and Powerage. The 1978 release ofPowerage marked the debut of bassist Cliff Williams (who had replaced Mark Evans), and with its harder riffs, followed the blueprint set by Let There Be Rock. The album was the last produced by Harry Vanda and George Young with Bon Scott on vocals and is claimed to be AC/DC's most underrated album.^[14] Only one single was released forPowerage – "Rock 'n' Roll Damnation" – and gave AC/DC their highest chart position at the time, reaching #24. An appearance at the Apollo Theatre in Glasgow during thePowerage tour was recorded and released as If You Want Blood You've Got It.^[15]

The band's sixth album, Highway To Hell, was produced by Robert "Mutt" Lange and was released in 1979. It became AC/DC's first LP to break the U.S. top 100, eventually reaching #17, and it propelled AC/DC into the top ranks of hard rock acts.^[16][17]

19 February 1980: Death[edit]

 

Death certificate of Bon Scott

 

Bon Scott's grave

 

67 Overhill Road, East Dulwich, London, the site of Bon Scott's death

On 15 February 1980 Scott attended a session where Malcolm and Angus Young were working on the beginnings of two songs that would later be recorded on the Back in Black album; "Have a Drink On Me" and "Let Me Put My Love Into You" with Scott accompanying on drums rather than singing or writing lyrics.^[1] On 19 February 1980, Scott, 33, passed out after a night of heavy drinking in a London club called the Music Machine (currently known as the KOKO). He was left to sleep in a Renault 5 owned by an acquaintance named Alistair Kinnear, at 67 Overhill Road in East Dulwich, South London.^[18] The following afternoon, Kinnear found Scott lifeless, and alerted the authorities. Scott was rushed to King's College Hospital in Camberwell, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. It has been contended that pulmonary aspiration of vomit was the cause of Scott's death,^[19] but the official cause was listed on the death certificate as "acute alcohol poisoning" and classified as "death by misadventure".^[20][21] As part of the funeral arrangements, Scott's body was embalmed by Desmond Henley;^[22] it was later cremated and Scott's ashes were interred by his family at Fremantle Cemetery in Fremantle, Western Australia.^[23]

Inconsistencies in media accounts of Scott's death (incorrect spelling of Alistair Kinnear's first name, among others) have been cited inconspiracy theories, which suggest that Scott was killed by exhaust fumes redirected into the car, or that Kinnear did not exist.^[20]Additionally, Scott was asthmatic, and the temperature was below freezing on the morning of his death.^[24]

Shortly after Scott's death, the remaining members of AC/DC briefly considered quitting, however, it was eventually decided that Scott would have wanted them to continue and after the encouragement of Bon's family that they continue, the band hired Brian Johnson as the new vocalist.^[25] Five months after Scott's death, AC/DC finished the work they began with Scott and released Back in Black as a tribute to him with two tracks from the album, "Hells Bells" and "Back in Black", dedicated to his memory.

His grave site has become a cultural landmark; more than 28 years after Scott's death, the National Trust of Australia decreed his grave important enough to be included on the list of classified heritage places.^[23][26] It is reportedly the most visited grave in Australia.^[27] On 7 July 2006, to mark his 60th birthday, the Metropolitan Cemeteries Board completed refurbishments on the Bon Scott Grave Area. This consisted of a Bon Scott Arch and Memorial Entrance gate off Carrington Street in the north-west corner of Fremantle Cemetery.^[28] On 9 July 2006, 60 years to the day from Scott's birth, the bronze plaque was stolen from the site.^[29]

Legacy[edit]

 

Statue of Bon Scott, Fremantle, Western Australia

AC/DC released a box set named Bonfire as a tribute to Scott on 18 November 1997. It contains four albums; a remastered version of Back in Black; a "rarities" album with alternate takes, outtakes, and stray live cuts, Volts; and two live albums, Live from the Atlantic Studios and Let There Be Rock: The Movie.

The French rock band Trust wrote their hit song "Ton dernier acte" ("Your last act") in memory of Scott in 1980. German hard rock band Kingdom Come wrote and recorded a song titled "Bon Scott" for their album, Ain't Crying for the Moon, as a tribute to the former AC/DC frontman. Romanian hard rock group Iris recorded the song Ultimul mic dejun al lui Bon (Bon's Last Breakfast) as a tribute to Bon Scott, released on their 1997 album Lună plină.

Live from the Atlantic Studios was recorded on 7 December 1977 at the Atlantic Studios in New York City.

Let There Be Rock: The Movie is a double album which was recorded on 9 December 1979 at the Pavillon de Paris in Paris, and was the soundtrack of the motion picture,AC/DC: Let There Be Rock.^[30]

In 2003, Scott was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of AC/DC^[31] with his nephews present to accept the honour in his place.^[32]

In 2003 Scott's final studio album with AC/DC, 1979's Highway to Hell ranked 199 on Rolling Stone's "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time".

In 2004 the song "Highway to Hell" that Scott co-wrote with Malcolm and Angus Young ranked 254 on Rolling Stone's The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

In the July 2004 issue of UK magazine Classic Rock, Scott was rated as number one in a list of the "100 Greatest Frontmen," ahead of Freddie Mercury and Robert Plant.^[2]

On 6 May 2006, the town of Kirriemuir in Scotland held a service and unveiled a Caithness stone slab commemorating the singer.^[33] A message was read from long-time friend and fellow member of The Valentines, Vince Lovegrove in which he said:

ACDC Lane is a street in the central business district of Melbourne. It was renamed on 1 October 2004 as a tribute to AC/DC. The trademark lightning bolt or slash ("/") used to separate the AC and the DC in the band's name contravened the naming policy of the Office of the Registrar of Geographic Names, so the punctuation was omitted on the street sign. Melbourne's Lord Mayor John So launched ACDC Lane with the words, "As the song says, there is a highway to hell, but this is a laneway to heaven. Let us rock." Bagpipers then played "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)." Those were all songs from Bon Scott era. The lane contains a rock 'n' roll nightclub called the Cherry Bar.

More recently a new street in Kirriemuir has been named after Scott.

Kirriemuir hosts an annual festival known as 'Bonfest' as a tribute to Bon Scott and AC/DC. It was originally held in July on the weekend closest to his birthday but recently moved to May because of other events in the local area during July.

A bronze statue of Scott was unveiled at Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour in Western Australia on 24 February 2008.^[35] The statue portrays Scott atop a Marshall amplifier.

Scott is the subject of three books, Clinton Walker’s biography Highway to Hell (1994), his ex-wife Irene Thornton’s My Bon Scott (2014), and the variously-authored Live Wire (2015).

John Travolta
Travolta in 2013
Born	John Joseph Travolta February 18, 1954 (age 61) Englewood, New Jersey, U.S.
Residence	Jumbolair subdivision; Ocala, Florida Los Angeles
Occupation	Actor, producer, writer, singer, dancer, pilot
Years active	1969–present
Religion	Roman Catholic (1954–75) Scientologist (1975–present)
Spouse(s)	Kelly Preston (m. 1991)
Children	3
Relatives	Ellen Travolta (sister)
Website	travolta.com

John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954)^[1][2] is an American actor, dancer, and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter (1975–1979) and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever (1977) and Grease (1978). His acting career declined through the 1980s, but enjoyed a resurgence in the 1990s with his role in Pulp Fiction (1994), and he has since starred in films such as Face/Off (1997), Swordfish(2001), Wild Hogs and Hairspray (both 2007).

Travolta was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for Saturday Night Fever and Pulp Fiction. He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his performance in Get Shorty. In 2014, he received the IIFA Award for Outstanding Achievement in International Cinema.^[3]

Early life

Travolta, the youngest of six children,^[4] was born^[1] and raised in Englewood, New Jersey, an inner-ring suburb of New York City. His father, Salvatore Travolta (November 1912 – May 1995),^[5] was a semi-professional American football player^{[citation needed]} turned tire salesman and partner in a tire company.^[1] His mother, Helen Cecilia (née Burke, January 1912 – December 1978),^[5] 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.^[6] His siblings, Joey, Ellen, Ann, Margaret, and Sam Travolta, have all acted.^[6] His father was a second-generation Italian American and his mother was Irish American;^[7][8] he grew up in an Irish-American neighborhood and has said that his household was predominantly Irish in culture.^[9][10] He was raised Roman Catholic, but converted to Scientology in 1975.^[8][11] Travolta attended Dwight Morrow High School, but dropped out as a junior at age 17 in 1971.^[12]

Career

Early career

 

Travolta as Vinnie Barbarino in the ABC comedy Welcome Back Kotter, c. 1976

After attending Dwight Morrow High School,^[13] Travolta moved across the Hudson River 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'".^[14][15] He then moved to Los Angeles to further his career in show business.

Travolta's first California-filmed television role was as a fall victim in Emergency! (S2E2), in September 1972,^[16] but his first significant movie role was as Billy Nolan, a bully who was goaded into playing a prank on Sissy Spacek's character in the horror film Carrie (1976).^[17] Around the same time, he landed his star-making role as Vinnie Barbarinoin the TV sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter (1975–1979), in which his sister, Ellen, also occasionally appeared (as Arnold Horshack's mother).^[18] The show aired on ABC.

1970s stardom

Travolta had a hit single entitled "Let Her In", peaking at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in July 1976.^[19][20][21] In the next few years, he appeared in two of his most noted screen roles: Tony Manero in Saturday Night Fever (1977) and as Danny Zuko in Grease (1978).^[6] The films were among the most commercially successful pictures of the decade and catapulted Travolta to international stardom.^[22] Saturday Night Fever earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.^[23] At age 24, Travolta became one of the youngest performers ever nominated for the Best Actor Oscar.^[24] His mother and his sister Ann appeared as extras in Saturday Night Fever and his sister Ellen appeared as a waitress in Grease. Travolta performed several of the songs on the Grease soundtrack album.^[25] In 1980, Travolta inspired a nationwide country music craze that followed on the heels of his hit film, Urban Cowboy, in which he starred with Debra Winger.^[26]

Downturn

 

Travolta in 1983

After Urban Cowboy, Travolta starred in a series of financial and critical failures that sidelined his acting career. These included Perfect, co-starring Jamie Lee Curtis, and Two of a Kind, a romantic comedy reteaming him with Olivia Newton-John. During that time he was offered, but turned down, lead roles in what would become box office hits, including American Gigolo^[27] and An Officer and a Gentleman, both of which went to Richard Gere.^[28]

Resurgence

 

Travolta in 1997

In 1989, Travolta starred with Kirstie Alley in Look Who's Talking, which grossed $297,000,000, making it his most successful film since Grease. Travolta continued to the two sequels Look Who's Talking Too (1990) and Look Who's Talking Now (1993). But it was not until he played Vincent Vegain Quentin Tarantino's hit Pulp Fiction (1994), for which he received an Academy Award nomination, that his career revived.^[6][29][30] The movie shifted him back onto the A-list, and he was inundated with offers. Notable roles following Pulp Fiction include a movie-buff loan shark in Get Shorty (1995), an FBI agent and terrorist in Face/Off (1997), a desperate attorney in A Civil Action (1998), a Bill Clinton-esque presidential candidate in Primary Colors(1998),^[6] and a military investigator in The General's Daughter (1999).

2000–present

Travolta also starred in and co-produced Battlefield Earth (2000), based on a work of science fiction by L. Ron Hubbard, in which he played the leader of a group of aliens that enslaves humanity on a bleak future Earth. The film received almost universally negative reviews and did very poorly at the box office.^[31] Travolta's performance in Battlefield Earthalso earned him two Razzie Awards. In 2007, he starred in Wild Hogs and played Mrs. Edna Turnblad in the remake of Hairspray, his first musical since Grease.^[32] In 2008 he lent his voice for the film Bolt, in which he played the title role. Similarly, he is to play the voice of Gummy Bear in an animated film release scheduled for late 2015, Gummy Bear the Movie 3D, a film that may be noted more for its associated merchandise revenues.

Personal life

Relationships

 

Travolta dancing with Diana, Princess of Wales, at the White House, November 9, 1985. She is wearing herTravolta dress.

Travolta was in a relationship with actress Diana Hyland, whom he met while filming The Boy in the Plastic Bubble; Hyland died of breast cancer in 1977.^[33]

Travolta married actress Kelly Preston in 1991. The couple had a son, Jett (April 13, 1992 – January 2, 2009).^[34] Their daughter, Ella Bleu, was born in 2000 and a third child, a son named Benjamin, was born in 2010 in Florida.^[35] Travolta and Preston have regularly attended marriage counseling; Travolta has stated that therapy has helped the marriage.^[36]

 

Travolta and wife Kelly Preston at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival.

In May 1991, Time magazine published a cover story entitled "The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power". In the article, former Church of Scientology Executive Director William Franks alleged that Travolta was wary of leaving the faith because he feared the Church would publish detailed revelations of his private life, to include homosexual behavior.^[37] These claims were reiterated by Franks and other Scientology defectors in Lawrence Wright's 2013 book Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief, and former Church official Marty Rathbun claimed that he worked with Travolta's attorneys several times to keep allegations about Travolta's homosexuality out of the press and resolve lawsuits against the star.^[38][39]

In May 2012, an anonymous masseur filed a lawsuit against Travolta citing claims of sexual assault and battery. A lawyer for Travolta said that the allegations were "complete fiction and fabrication" and someone wanting their 15 minutes of fame. Travolta's counsel also stated that his client would be able to prove that he was not in California on the day in question and asserted that Travolta would "sue the attorney and Plaintiff for malicious prosecution" after getting the case thrown out.^[40] A second masseur later joined the lawsuit making similar claims.^[41][42] Both lawsuits were subsequently dropped by the complainants and dismissed withoutprejudice.^[43]

A judge ruled to dismiss a defamation lawsuit against Travolta and his attorney Marty Singer by writer Robert Randolph. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Malcolm Mackey dismissed the case on September 27, 2012, because he found that a letter, written by Singer in response to allegations in a book by Randolph, had free speech protection.^[44]

In September 2014, Travolta denied claims made in January 2014 by his former pilot, Douglas Gotterba, that they had shared a sexual relationship while working for Travolta's aircraft company, Alto, for six years before leaving voluntarily in 1987. Gotterba argued that he was not bound by any confidentiality agreement during his term in the position.^[45]

Son's death

In 2009, Travolta's son, Jett, died while on a Christmas vacation in The Bahamas.^[46][47] A Bahamian death certificate was issued, attributing the cause of death to a seizure.^[48] Jett, who had a troubled history of seizures, reportedly suffered from Kawasaki disease at the age of two.^[49][50] Travolta confirmed speculation that his son had autism and suffered regular seizures and immediately made his public statements while giving testimony after a multimillion-dollar extortion plot against him in connection to his son's death.^[51] After a mistrial, Travolta dropped the charges and has credited his immediate family and faith in helping him survive the premature death of his son and in moving forward with his film career.^[52][53][54]

Religion

Travolta has been a practitioner of Scientology since 1975 when he was given the book Dianetics while filming the movie The Devil's Rain in Durango, Mexico.^[55] After the 2010 Haiti earthquake, joining other celebrities in helping with the relief efforts, Travolta flew his Boeing 707 full of supplies, doctors, and Scientologist Volunteer Ministers into the disaster area.^[56]

Pilot

 

Travolta in 2002, in the cockpit of his Boeing 707

Travolta is an accomplished private pilot, with multiple certifications and extensive experience.^[57][58] He owns five aircraft, including an ex-Qantas Boeing 707-138 airliner that bears the name Jett Clipper Ella in honor of his children.^[59] Pan American World Airways was a large operator of the Boeing 707 and used Clipper in its names. The 707 aircraft bears the marks of Qantas, as Travolta acts as an official goodwill ambassador for the airline wherever he flies.^[60]

His $4.9 million estate in the Jumbolair subdivision in Ocala, Florida, is situated on Greystone Airport with its own runway and taxiway right to his house, with two outbuildings for covered access to planes.^[57][61][62]

On November 24, 1992, Travolta was piloting his Gulfstream N728T at night above a solid undercast, when he experienced a total electrical system failure, while flying underinstrument flight rules into Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. During the emergency landing, he almost had a mid-air collision with a USAir Boeing 727, an event attributed to a risky decision by an air traffic controller.^[63]

Travolta was inducted into the Living Legends of Aviation in 2007 and acts as the award show's official ambassador.^[64]

On September 13, 2010, during the first episode of the final season of her talk show, Oprah Winfrey announced that she would be taking her entire studio audience on an 8-day expenses-paid trip to Australia, with Travolta serving as pilot for the trip. He had helped Winfrey plan the trip for more than a year.^[65]

He is the author of the book Propeller One-Way Night Coach, the story of a young boy's first flight.^[66]

Filmography

Discography

Albums

Singles

See also

Scientology portal

• List of oldest and youngest Academy Award winners and nominees – Youngest Nominees for Best Actor