- published: 17 Jan 2016
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John F. Revolta (April 5, 1911 – March 3, 1991) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour in the 1930s, 1940s, and early 1950s. He won a major title, the 1935 PGA Championship, and had 18 career wins on tour.
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Revolta's family relocated to Oshkosh, Wisconsin in 1923 when he was twelve. He learned the game as a caddie at the public course in Oshkosh and won the state caddie championship at age 14. Like most professional golfers of his generation, Revolta started out as a club professional. He worked at Swan Lake Country Club in Portage in 1930, Chippewa Elks Golf Club in 1931, Menominee, Michigan 1932–1933, and Tripoli Country Club in Milwaukee from 1934–1936. He won the Wisconsin State Open four times in a six-year period; he was not eligible for two years while working in Michigan. Revolta was a member of the PGA Tour from 1935–1952.
Revolta's best year as a tour pro was 1935, when he won five tournaments and led the PGA Tour's money list. He defeated Tommy Armour 5 & 4 in the PGA Championship held at Twin Hills Golf & Country Club and also won the Western Open, the era's "fifth major." He also played in the Ryder Cup in 1935 and 1937.
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 (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.
Travolta, the youngest of six children, was born and raised in Englewood, New Jersey, an inner-ring suburb of New York City. His father, Salvatore Travolta (November 1912 – May 1995), was a semi-professional American football player turned tire salesman and partner in a tire company. His mother, Helen Cecilia (née Burke; January 18, 1912 – December 1978), 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. His siblings, Joey, Ellen, Ann, Margaret, and Sam Travolta, have all acted. His father was a second-generation Italian American and his mother was Irish American; he grew up in an Irish-American neighborhood and has said that his household was predominantly Irish in culture. He was raised Roman Catholic, but converted to Scientology in 1975. Travolta attended Dwight Morrow High School, but dropped out as a junior at age 17 in 1971.