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.

Their sixteen-year-old son, Jett, tragically hit his head on the bathtub and had a seizure, passing away soon after. This left the whole family, including Jett’s sister, Ella, heartbroken and deeply sad. The Travoltas’ family lawyer told People Magazine that “Burying your son is the most terrible thing one can experience.”

A Family Affair

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.

Travolta Senior

Helen and John, who were mother and son, had a strong connection because they both loved acting and performing. Salvatore Travolta, who was the head of the family, was Italian-American. His grandparents came from Italy to live in the United States. Salvatore believed in the American dream and was passionate about playing 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

Apart from acting, Travolta loves flying. He’s a talented pilot and got his license to fly private planes. Because of this passion, he purchased five planes. One of them is a Boeing 707 that he uses to take his family and friends on trips across the country and to distant, exciting places.

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.

Net Worth

John Travolta has been very successful in his career, making a lot of money and gaining a good reputation. Right now, his net worth is around $170 million. He’s among the highest-paid actors in Hollywood because of movies like “Grease,” “Hairspray,” and “Saturday Night Fever.” He keeps earning money from these movies through royalties.

It’s not surprising with this level of income that Travolta is able to spend his money on expensive homes and airplanes adding to his already impressive fleet. Not to mention the incredible trips he’s able to take his family to all four corners of the globe.

Dancing Confession

In the popular movie “Saturday Night Fever” from 1977, Travolta amazed people with his acting and dancing skills. Even though he had talent, he worked really hard for nine months in a dance school to become a great dancer. He was inspired by the show “Soul Train” and wanted to include some of its style in his dancing.

Speaking about it at the time, Travolta told Vanity Fair magazine that he preferred “black dancing than white dancing” and that he had tried to bring elements of the Soul Train atmosphere into “Saturday Night Fever.”