On This Day

Birthday of John Travolta

February 18th 1954

07:29 18 February 2024

American actor and singer John Travolta was born on this day in 1954. Travolta began his acting career on stage and got his first Broadway role in a New York production of 'Grease' aged 18. He came to national prominence after landing a part in the US sitcom 'Welcome Back. Kotter' (1975-1979). His first significant movie role was as the bully, Billy Nolan in Brian De Palma's 'Carrie' (1976).

Two films over the next two years catapulted Travolta to international stardom: 'Saturday Night Fever' (1977) and 'Grease' (1978) were among the most commercially successful films of the decade and for the former, he received a Best Actor Oscar nomination aged 24. making him one of the youngest performers nominated for the award.

Travolta had another big hit with 'Urban Cowboy' (1978) but his career took a downturn shortly after and with the exception of 'Look Who's Talking' (1989) and its sequels, his movies failed to make an impression at the box office or with the critics.

It wasn’t until Tarantino chose him to play Vincent Vega in ‘Pulp Fiction’ (1994) that his career was revived, with the role earning him a Best Actor Oscar nomination. Notable film credits that followed include ‘Get Shorty’ (1995), ‘Michael’ (1996), ‘Phenomenon’ (1996), ‘Broken Arrow’ (1996), ‘Face/Off’ (1997), ‘Primary Colors’ (1998), ‘Wild Hogs’ (2007), ‘The Taking of Pelham 123’ (2009), 'In a Valley of Violence' (2016), 'Gotti' (2018) and 'Mob Land' (2023). Happy Birthday John.