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A television channel is a physical or virtual channel over which a television station or television network is distributed. For example, in North America, "channel 2" refers to the broadcast or cable band of 54 to 60 MHz, with carrier frequencies of 55.25 MHz for NTSC analog video (VSB) and 59.75 MHz for analog audio (FM), or 55.31 MHz for digital ATSC (8VSB). Channels may be shared by many different television stations or cable-distributed channels depending on the location and service provider.

Depending on the multinational bandplan for a given region, analog television channels are typically 6, 7, or 8 MHz in bandwidth, and therefore television channel frequencies vary as well. Channel numbering is also different. Digital television channels are the same for legacy reasons, however through multiplexing, each physical radio frequency (RF) channel can carry several digital subchannels. On satellites, each transponder normally carries one channel, however small, independent channels can be used on each transponder, with some loss of bandwidth due to the need for guard bands between unrelated transmissions. ISDB, used in Japan and Brazil, has a similar segmented mode.

Channel separation on over-the-air channels is accomplished by skipping at least one channel between two analog stations' frequency allocations. (There can be gaps between channels, where numbers are sequential, but frequencies are not contiguous, such as the skip from VHF low to high, and the jump to UHF.) On cable TV, it is possible to use adjacent channels only because they are all at the same power, something which could only be done over the air if the two stations were transmitted at the same power and height from the same location. For digital TV, selectivity is inherently better, therefore channels adjacent (either to analog or digital stations) can be used even in the same area.

Other meanings[link]

Commonly, the term "television channel" is used to refer to either a terrestrial television station or its cable/satellite counterpart (both outlined below). Sometimes, especially outside the U.S. and in the context of cable/satellite television, it is used instead of the term television network, which otherwise (in its technical use above) describes a group of geographically-distributed television stations that share affiliation/ownership and some or all of their programming with one another.

This terminology may be muddled somewhat in other jurisdictions, for instance Europe, where terrestrial channels are commonly mapped from physical channels to common numerical positions (i.e. BBC One does not broadcast on any particular "channel 1" but is nonetheless mapped to the "1" input on most British television sets). On digital platforms, such (location) channels are usually arbitrary and changeable, due to virtual channels.

Television station[link]

A television station is a type of broadcast station that broadcasts both audio and video to television receivers in a particular area. Traditionally, TV stations made their broadcasts by sending specially-encoded radio signals over the air, called terrestrial television. Individual television stations are usually granted licenses by a government agency to use a particular section of the radio spectrum (a channel) through which they send their signals. Some stations use LPTV broadcast translators to retransmit to further areas.

Many television stations are now in the process of converting from analogue (NTSC, PAL or SECAM) broadcast, to digital TV (ATSC broadcast, DVB or ISDB).

Non-broadcast television channels[link]

Because some regions have had difficulty picking up over-the-air signals (particularly in mountainous areas), alternative means of distribution such as direct-to-home satellite and cable television have been introduced. Television channels specifically built to run on cable or satellite blur the line between TV station and TV network. That fact led some early cable channels to call themselves superstations.

Satellite and cable have created changes. Local programming TV stations in an area can sign-up or even be required to be carried on cable, but content providers like TLC cannot. They are not licensed to run broadcast equipment like a station, and they do not regularly provide content to licensed broadcasters either. Furthermore, a distributor like TNT may begin producing its own programming, and shows presented exclusively on cable/satellite by one distributor may be syndicated to broadcast stations. The cost of creating a nationwide channel has been reduced and there has been a huge increase in the number of such channels, with most catering to a small group. See also: significantly viewed.

From the definitions above, use of the terms "network" or "station" in reference to nationwide cable/satellite channels is technically inaccurate. However, this is an arbitrary, inconsequential distinction, and varies from company to company. Indeed, the term "cable network" has entered into common usage in the United States in reference to such channels. There is even some geographical separation among "national" cable/satellite channels in the U.S., be it programming (e.g., the Fox Sports Net group of regional sports channels, which share several programs), or simply regionalized advertising inserted by the local cable company.

Should a legal distinction be necessary between a (location) channel as defined above and a television channel in this sense, the terms "programming service" (e.g. [1]) or "programming undertaking" (for instance, [2]) may be used instead for the latter definition.

A person viewing by cable or satellite might not know what kind of organization is responsible for a given program, especially if it is syndicated, so what seems to be a station or a network may be neither.

See also[link]

Look up television channel in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Barker channel
• Lists of television channels
• Television channel frequencies

v t e Telecommunications (general) History Beacons Broadcasting Communications satellites Computer networks Drums Electrical telegraphs Fax Heliographs Hydraulic telegraphs Internet Mass media Mobile phones Optical telegraphy Photophones Radio Radiotelephones Telegraphy Telephones The Telephone Cases Television Undersea telegraph lines Videophones Pioneers Edwin Howard Armstrong John Logie Baird Alexander Graham Bell Tim Berners-Lee Jagadish Chandra Bose Vint Cerf Claude Chappe Lee De Forest Philo Farnsworth Reginald Fessenden Elisha Gray Guglielmo Marconi Alexander Stepanovich Popov Johann Philipp Reis Nikola Tesla Alfred Vail Charles Wheatstone Vladimir K. Zworykin Media Coaxial cable Free-space optical Optical fiber Radio waves Telephone lines Terrestrial microwave Networks ARPANET BITNET Ethernet FidoNet ISDN Internet Local area Mobile NGN Packet switched Public Switched Telephone Radio Television Telex Wide area World Wide Web Wireless Geographic v t e Telecommunications in Africa Sovereign states Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Comoros Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) Djibouti Egypt Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Ethiopia Gabon The Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Morocco Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Rwanda São Tomé and Príncipe Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa South Sudan Sudan Swaziland Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe States with limited recognition Azawad Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Somaliland Dependencies and other territories Canary Islands / Ceuta / Melilla / Plazas de soberanía (Spain) Madeira (Portugal) Mayotte / Réunion (France) Saint Helena / Ascension Island / Tristan da Cunha (United Kingdom) Western Sahara v t e Telecommunications in Asia Sovereign states Afghanistan Armenia Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Burma (Myanmar) Cambodia People's Republic of China Cyprus East Timor (Timor-Leste) Egypt Georgia India Indonesia Iran Iraq Israel Japan Jordan Kazakhstan North Korea South Korea Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Lebanon Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Nepal Oman Pakistan Philippines Qatar Russia Saudi Arabia Singapore Sri Lanka Syria Tajikistan Thailand Turkey Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates Uzbekistan Vietnam Yemen States with limited recognition Abkhazia Nagorno-Karabakh Northern Cyprus Palestine Republic of China (Taiwan) South Ossetia Dependencies and other territories British Indian Ocean Territory Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Hong Kong Macau v t e Telecommunications in Europe Sovereign states Albania Andorra Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Georgia Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Kazakhstan Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Malta Moldova Monaco Montenegro Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom England Northern Ireland Scotland Wales States with limited recognition Abkhazia Kosovo Nagorno-Karabakh Northern Cyprus South Ossetia Transnistria Dependencies and other territories Åland Faroe Islands Gibraltar Guernsey Jersey Isle of Man Svalbard Other entities European Union v t e Telecommunications in North America Sovereign states Antigua and Barbuda Bahamas Barbados Belize Canada Costa Rica Cuba Dominica Dominican Republic El Salvador Grenada Guatemala Haiti Honduras Jamaica Mexico Nicaragua Panama Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Trinidad and Tobago United States Dependencies and other territories Anguilla Aruba Bermuda Bonaire British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Curaçao Greenland Guadeloupe Martinique Montserrat Navassa Island Puerto Rico Saint Barthélemy Saint Martin Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saba Sint Eustatius Sint Maarten Turks and Caicos Islands United States Virgin Islands v t e Telecommunications in Oceania Sovereign states Australia East Timor (Timor-Leste) Fiji Indonesia Kiribati Marshall Islands Federated States of Micronesia Nauru New Zealand Palau Papua New Guinea Samoa Solomon Islands Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu Dependencies and other territories American Samoa Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Cook Islands Easter Island French Polynesia Guam Hawaii New Caledonia Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Pitcairn Islands Tokelau Wallis and Futuna v t e Telecommunications in South America Sovereign states Argentina Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia Ecuador Guyana Paraguay Peru Suriname Uruguay Venezuela Dependencies and other territories Aruba Bonaire Curaçao Falkland Islands French Guiana South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands

Rashida Jones
Rashida Jones, May 2007
Born	Rashida Leah Jones (1976-02-25) February 25, 1976 (age 36) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Alma mater	Harvard University
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1997–present
Parents	Peggy Lipton Quincy Jones

Rashida Leah Jones (born February 25, 1976) is an American film and television actress, comic book author, screenwriter and occasional singer. She played Louisa Fenn on Boston Public and Karen Filippelli on The Office as well as roles in the films I Love You, Man, Our Idiot Brother, The Social Network and The Muppets. As of 2009^[update], Jones stars on the NBC comedy series Parks and Recreation as Ann Perkins.

Early life[link]

Jones was born in Los Angeles, the younger daughter of media mogul, producer and musician Quincy Jones and actress Peggy Lipton. She has an older sister, Kidada Jones, and five half-siblings by her father's other relationships. Her father is of mostly black American, as well as European, ancestry,^[1] and is from a Christian family.^[2] Her mother is Ashkenazi Jewish (a descendant of immigrants from Russia and Latvia via Ireland),^[3] and Rashida Jones attended Hebrew school.^[4] She was raised in Bel Air, Los Angeles, California.

In his autobiography, Jones's father recalled how he would often find his six-year-old daughter under the covers after bedtime with a flashlight reading five books at a time.^[5] Jones also displayed musical ability from a young age and can play classical piano.^[6] Her mother told Entertainment Tonight that Jones is "also a fabulous singer and songwriter, so she has inherited it (from Quincy), there's no question about it. Her dad's teaching her how to orchestrate and arrange too."^[7]

Jones attended The Buckley School in Sherman Oaks, California, where she made the National Honor Society and was voted "Most Likely To Succeed" by her classmates.^{[citation needed]} Jones's parents divorced when she was 14 years old; her sister subsequently remained with their father while she moved to Brentwood with their mother.

In 1994, Jones garnered attention with an open letter responding to scathing remarks made by Tupac Shakur about her parents' interracial marriage.^[8] She later befriended Shakur, who was engaged to her sister before he was killed.^[5] After high school, Jones left California to attend Harvard University.

At Harvard, Jones was a resident of Eliot House and belonged to the Hasty Pudding Theatricals, Harvard Radcliffe Dramatic Club, Harvard-Radcliffe Opportunes, Black Students Association and the Signet Society.^[9] She was initially interested in becoming a lawyer but lost interest after being disillusioned by the O. J. Simpson murder case.^[5] Instead, she became involved in the performing arts, and served as musical director for the Opportunes a cappella group, co-composed the score for the 149th annual Hasty Pudding Theatricals performance, and acted in several plays.^[10] In her second year at college, she performed in For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf, which she said was "healing" because she was seen by many blacks as not being "black enough".^[11] She studied Religion and Philosophy and graduated in 1997.

Career[link]

Jones made her professional acting debut in The Last Don, a 1997 mini-series based on the novel by Mario Puzo. She then appeared in Myth America, East of A and If These Walls Could Talk 2. In 2000, she guest starred as Karen Scarfolli in an episode of Freaks and Geeks before landing the role of Louisa Fenn on Boston Public. Between 2000 and 2002, she appeared in 26 episodes, earning an NAACP Image Award nomination in her final year.^[12] Although she only had a minor supporting role in the series, film opportunities quickly surfaced. She had a small role in Full Frontal, directed by Steven Soderbergh, and starred in Now You Know, written and directed by Kevin Smith regular Jeff Anderson. She also starred in the short film Roadside Assistance with Adam Brody.

After Jones left Boston Public, she appeared in Death of a Dynasty, directed by Damon Dash, and two episodes of Chappelle's Show on Comedy Central. In 2004, she was cast in Strip Search, an HBO film directed by Sidney Lumet, but her scenes were cut from the final broadcast version. Later that year, she played Dr. Rachel Keyes in Little Black Book and starred as Edie Miller in British drama series NY-LON. In 2005, Jones played Karen in the Stella pilot on Comedy Central and special government agent Carla Merced in the TNT police drama Wanted.

Jones joined the ensemble cast of The Office in September 2006, playing the role of Karen Filippelli. She appeared regularly during the third season and then returned as a guest star for two episodes in season four and another in season five. Jones had been considering leaving the acting profession and pursuing a graduate degree in public policy before she was offered the part on The Office.^[13] Jones also played Karen in the February 2007 Saturday Night Live episode hosted by Rainn Wilson, appearing briefly in the opening monologue's Office parody. Jones filmed cameo roles in The Ten and Role Models, both directed by David Wain, with the latter appearing on the Blu-ray release.^[14] She then co-starred in Unhitched, the short-lived 2008 comedy series produced by the Farrelly brothers.

In January 2009, Jones voiced several characters in an episode of the Adult Swim show Robot Chicken.^[15] She played Hannah in Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, an independent film by John Krasinski that screened during the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. She also co-starred as Zooey Rice in I Love You, Man, a Dreamworks comedy with Paul Rudd and Jason Segel. Jones then accepted a role in Parks and Recreation, a mockumentary-style sitcom in development for NBC. The show was created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, who she previously worked with on the American version of The Office. She has played nurse Ann Perkins since its primetime debut in April 2009.

Jones had a small role in the Kevin Smith film Cop Out. She appeared in The Social Network, alongside Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake, which is set at Harvard, coincidentally the school from which she graduated in 1997. She played Marylin Delpy, a second year legal associate assisting with the defense of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

She has a starring role opposite Chris Messina in Monogamy, a drama directed by Dana Adam Shapiro. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2010 and was released theatrically on March 11th, 2011.^[16][17]

Jones' other 2011 films were Friends with Benefits, starring Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis, The Big Year, with Steve Martin, Owen Wilson, and JoBeth Williams, The Muppets, with Jason Segel, Amy Adams and Chris Cooper, and Our Idiot Brother, with Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, and Emily Mortimer.^[18] In the latter she played a lesbian lawyer named Cindy, the caring, responsible girlfriend of a flaky bisexual played by Zooey Deschanel.^[19] Jones also has a cameo in the Beastie Boys' short film Fight For Your Right Revisited, which premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.^[20]

Jones also appeared on an episode of Wilfred as Lisa, a hospice volunteer. The episode aired on July 21, 2011 on FX.

Other work[link]

Jones created Frenemy of the State, a comic book series about a socialite who is recruited by the CIA. The comics are published by Oni Press and co-written with husband-and-wife writing team Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir.^[21] In October 2009, before the first issue had been released, Jones sold the screen rights to Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment. Brian Grazer and Eric Gitter will produce the film and Jones will co-write the screenplay with writing partner Will McCormack.^[22] Jones sold her first screenplay, a comedy titled Celeste and Jesse Forever, in March 2009. She co-wrote the script with McCormack and is attached to star in the film.^[23] Jones' other written work has appeared in Teen Vogue magazine, where she worked as a contributing editor.^[24] She also wrote chapter 36 of her father's biography, Q: The Autobiography Of Quincy Jones, published in 2001.

As a singer, Jones has provided backing vocals for the band Maroon 5. She appears on the tracks "Tangled", "Secret" and "Not Coming Home" from their debut record, Songs About Jane, and on "Kiwi" from the follow-up album It Won't Be Soon Before Long. Jones was a guest vocalist on the Tupac Shakur tribute album The Rose That Grew from Concrete, released in 2000. The track, "Starry Night", also featured her father's vocals, Mac Mall's rapping, and her half-brother QD3's production. Jones contributed vocals to songs on The Baxter, The Ten and Reno 911!: Miami soundtracks. She also sang in some episodes of Boston Public and for charitable events such as the What A Pair Benefit to raise money for breast cancer research.^[25]

Jones in March 2009

As a model, Jones has appeared in print campaigns for Triple 5 Soul, television commercials for The Gap, and editorials for In Style and O Magazine, among others. She has been chosen as one of People magazine's "Most Beautiful People in the World" three times, in the years 2002,^[26] 2007,^[27] and 2009,^[28] and as one of Harper's Bazaar's "Best Dressed Women In America".^[8]

Jones has appeared in music videos for Aaliyah, The Boy Least Likely To song "Be Gentle With Me" and the Foo Fighters' single "Long Road to Ruin". In the latter she was credited as Racinda Jules and played the role of Susan Belfontaine.^[29]

Jones has appeared in several online comedy series projects. She starred in Funny or Die's "Speak Out" series with Natalie Portman and guest starred in two episodes of Web Therapy with Lisa Kudrow.^[30] She also played David Wain in disguise for an episode of My Damn Channel's Wainy Days. In 2008, Jones appeared with several other celebrities in Prop 8 – The Musical, an all-star video satirising California's anti-gay marriage initiative, written by Marc Shaiman.

In 2011, Dove selected Jones as its spokeswoman for its Dove Nourishing Oil Care Collection.^[31]

Philanthropic efforts[link]

Jones has worked to promote Peace First (formerly Peace Games), a nonprofit that teaches children to resolve conflict without violence. She has been a board member since 2004 and holds several annual benefits to raise money for the organization.^[32] Jones has participated in Stand Up to Cancer events, EDUN and ONE: The Campaign to Make Poverty History and The Art of Elysium's volunteer program, which runs artistic workshops for hospitalized children.^{[33][34][35][36]} In 2007, she was honorary chair of the annual Housing Works benefit, which fights AIDS and homelessness in New York City.^[37] She has also been involved in fundraising for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, the EB Medical Research Foundation and New York's Lower Eastside Girls Club.^{[38][39][40][41]}

Jones campaigned for Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential election. Along with Kristen Bell, she visited college campuses in Missouri to discuss the candidates and to encourage voter registration for the Democratic Party.^[42][43] She previously campaigned for Democratic candidate John Kerry during the 2004 election, speaking at student rallies and a public gallery in Ohio.^[44][45]

Personal life[link]

Jones had a 3½ year relationship with actor Tobey Maguire, ending in 2000.^[46][47] Jones became engaged to the Grammy Award-winning music producer Mark Ronson in February 2003. He proposed on her 27th birthday, using a custom-made crossword puzzle spelling out "Will you marry me?" Their relationship ended approximately one year later.^[48][49] Jones then dated actor John Krasinski prior to becoming his co-star on The Office^[24][47] (their characters were also dating on the show). She also dated Jon Favreau, the Director of Speechwriting for President Barack Obama.^[50][51][52]

Though raised Jewish, Jones, like her mother, began practicing Hinduism in her early teens after the two visited an Ashram in India.^[5] Today, however, she practices Judaism and told a reporter, "In this day and age, you can choose how you practice and what is your relationship with God. I feel pretty strongly about my connection, definitely through the Jewish traditions and the things that I learned dating the guy that I dated. My boyfriends tend to be Jewish and also be practicing ... I don’t see it as a necessity, but there’s something about it that I connect with for whatever reason."^[4]

Awards[link]

Jones was nominated for an NAACP Image Award, and was recognized as a 2011 Influential Multiracial Public Figure runner-up.^[53] She also contributed to the Grammy Award-winning audio version of Q: The Autobiography Of Quincy Jones.

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rashida Jones

• Rashida Jones at the Internet Movie Database

John Travolta
John Travolta in 2007
Born	John Joseph Travolta (1954-02-18) February 18, 1954 (age 58) Englewood, New Jersey, U.S.
Residence	Jumbolair subdivision; Ocala, Florida
Occupation	Actor, singer, dancer, producer, writer
Years active	1969–present
Religion	Roman Catholic (until 1975) Scientologist (1975-present)
Spouse	Kelly Preston (1991–present)
Children	Jett Travolta (1992–2009) Ella Bleu Travolta (b. 2000) Benjamin Travolta (b. 2010)
Website
http://www.travolta.com

John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor, dancer, and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease. Travolta's acting career declined in the early 1980s and continued to deteriorate for the rest of the decade. His career enjoyed a resurgence in the 1990s with his role in Pulp Fiction, and he has since continued starring in Hollywood films, including Face/Off, Ladder 49, and Wild Hogs. 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.

Early life[link]

Travolta, the youngest of six children,^[1] was born and raised in Englewood, New Jersey, an inner-ring suburb of New York City. His father, Salvatore Travolta (November 1912 – May 1995),^[2] was a semi-professional American football player turned tire salesman and partner in a tire company.^[3] His mother, Helen Cecilia (née Burke, January 1912 – December 1978),^[2] 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.^[4] His siblings, Joey, Ellen, Ann, Margaret, and Sam Travolta, have all acted.^[4] His father was a second-generation Italian American and his mother was Irish American;^[5][6] he grew up in an Irish-American neighborhood and has said that his household was predominantly Irish in culture.^[7][8] He was raised Roman Catholic, but converted to Scientology in 1975.^[6][9]

Career[link]

Early career[link]

After attending Dwight Morrow High School,^[10] 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'".^[11][12] 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,^[13] 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).^[14] Around the same time, he landed his star-making role as Vinnie Barbarino in the TV sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter (1975–1979), in which his sister, Ellen, also occasionally appeared (as Arnold Horshack's mother).^[15] The show aired on ABC.

1970s stardom[link]

Travolta in 1983

Around this time, Travolta had a hit single entitled "Let Her In", peaking at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.^[16][17] 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).^[4] The films were among the most commercially successful pictures of the decade and catapulted Travolta to international stardom.^[18] Saturday Night Fever earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.^[19] At age 24, Travolta became one of the youngest performers ever nominated for the Best Actor Oscar.^[20] 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.^[21] 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.^[22]

Downturn[link]

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^[23] and An Officer and a Gentleman, both of which went to Richard Gere.^[24]

Resurgence[link]

In 1989, Travolta starred 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 Vega in Quentin Tarantino's hit Pulp Fiction (1994), for which he received an Academy Award nomination, that his career revived.^[25][26][4] 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),^[4] and a military detective in The General's Daughter (1999).

2000–present[link]

Travolta also starred in 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.^[27] Travolta played Mrs. Edna Turnblad in the remake of Hairspray, his first musical since Grease.^[28]

Personal life[link]

Travolta dancing with Princess Diana at the White House, November 9, 1985

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.^[29]

Travolta married actress Kelly Preston in 1991. The couple had a son, Jett (1992–2009).^[30] Their daughter, Ella Bleu, was born in 2000. On May 18, 2010, Travolta and Preston announced that she was pregnant with the couple's third child,^[31] later confirmed to be a boy.^[32] Their son, Benjamin, was born on November 23, 2010 in Florida.^[33]

Travolta and Preston have regularly attended marriage counseling; Travolta has stated that therapy has helped the marriage.^[34]

Travolta is a certified private pilot and owns five aircraft, including an ex-Qantas Boeing 707–138 airliner. The plane bears the name Jett Clipper Ella in honor of his children.^[35] 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. 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 front door.^[36]

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 under instrument 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.^[37]

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 over a year.^[38]

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.^[39] After the 2010 Haiti earthquake, joining other celebrities in helping with the relief efforts, Travolta flew his 707 full of supplies, doctors, and Scientologist Volunteer Ministers into the disaster area.^[40]

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.^[41] A second masseur later joined the lawsuit making similar claims.^[42][43]

Son's death[link]

On January 2, 2009, Travolta and Preston's son, Jett, died while on their vacation in The Bahamas.^[44][45] A Bahamian death certificate was issued, attributing the cause of death to a seizure.^[46] Jett, who had a history of seizures,^[47] reportedly suffered from Kawasaki disease as an infant.^[48] On September 24, 2009,^[49] Travolta and Preston confirmed speculation that their son had autism and suffered regular seizures.^[50] They made their statements while giving testimony after a multi-million dollar extortion plot against them regarding the circumstances of their son's death. After a mistrial,^[51] Travolta dropped the charges.^[52] Travolta has credited his family and faith in helping him survive the tragic death of his son, and in moving forward with his film career.^[53]

Filmography[link]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Singles[link]

• "Dream Drummin'" (1974)
• "Easy Evil" (1975)
• "Can't Let You Go" (1975)
• "You Set My Dreams To Music" (1976)
• "Goodnight Mr. Moon" (1976)
• "Rainbows" (1976)
• "Settle Down" (1976)
• "Moonlight Lady" (1976)
• "Right Time Of The Night" (1976)
• "Big Trouble" (1976)
• "What Would They Say" (1976)
• "Back Doors Crying" (1976)
• "Let Her In" (1976) – #10
• "Whenever I'm Away From You" (1976) – #38
• "Slow Dancin'" (1976)
• "It Had To Be You" (1976)
• "I Don't Know What I Like About You Baby" (1976)
• "All Strung Out On You" (1977) – #34
• "Baby, I Could Be So Good At Lovin' You" (1977)
• "Razzamatazz" (1977)
• "You're the One That I Want" – #1 (1978) (w/ Olivia Newton-John)
• "Sandy" (1978)
• "Greased Lightnin" (1978) – #47
• "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again" (1980)
• "Take A Chance" (1983) (w/ Olivia Newton-John)
• "Two Sleepy People" (1997) (w/ Carly Simon)
• "I Thought I Lost You" (2008) (w/ Miley Cyrus)

See also[link]

Scientology portal

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

References[link]