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.
He Was a Loner
High school wasn’t the easiest for Travolta as he often found himself alone. He did not enjoy the same popularity as he does now, and he wasn’t successful with girls either. Travolta was mostly interested in perfecting his acting craft and so would spend most of his spare time in acting classes.
In an interview with the Phoenix, Travolta said, “Not too many of my friends identified with what I was doing. I participated in football and basketball and did what they were doing, but not many kids understood my going to acting studios at night.” It was this love for acting that most likely separated Travolta from his peers and as a result, he spent much of his teen years alone.
Behind 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.
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.