Joey Travolta | |
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 Travolta in 2018 | |
| Born | Joseph Allen Travolta October 14, 1950 Englewood, New Jersey, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1979–present |
| Spouse | Wendy Shawn (m. 1980) |
| Children | 1 |
| Relatives | John Travolta (brother) Ellen Travolta (sister) Margaret Travolta (sister) |
Joseph Allen Travolta (born October 14, 1950) is an American actor. [1] He is the elder brother of actor John Travolta. [1]
Travolta was born and raised in Englewood, New Jersey, a nearby suburb of New York City, where he attended Dwight Morrow High School. [2] His father, Salvatore Travolta, was a semi-professional football player turned tire salesman and partner in a tire company. [3] His mother, Helen Cecilia (née Burke; 1912–1978), 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 father was a second-generation Italian American and his mother was Irish American. [4] He is one of six children including actors John Travolta, Ellen Travolta and Margaret Travolta. [5]
He graduated from Paterson State College with a degree in special education in 1974. [6] [7]
Travolta began a singing career in 1978 as a recording artist on Casablanca Records, releasing his eponymous album. The following year he made his acting debut starring in the feature film Sunnyside for Filmways Productions. He then became a guest star in the 1980s television show Simon & Simon (episode: "The Hottest Ticket in Town").[ citation needed ]
Additional acting credits include work with director John Landis on multiple feature film projects: Amazon Women on the Moon , Beverly Hills Cop III , Oscar , and Susan's Plan . He was also a series regular on the WB television hit Movie Stars .[ citation needed ]
Stage performances include starring roles in Bye Bye Birdie , Guys and Dolls , and West Side Story . He wrote and directed Diva Las Vegas in 1989, which went on to win the Italian Funny Film Festival.[ citation needed ]
In 1991, Joey Travolta produced and starred in Da Vinci's War. He later produced and starred in the sequel, To the Limit . He made directing his main priority in 1994. He directed the action thrillers Hard Vice and Navajo Blues . Subsequent titles include Earth Minus Zero, Laws of Deception , Detour, Mel , Partners, Enemies of Laughter , and Waiting to Live.[ citation needed ]
For television audiences he directed the police drama L.A. Heat , Friday Night After the Movies, and the syndicated Disney series Honey, I Shrunk The Kids . He has directed music videos as well such as Aqua's Doctor Jones and Latvia's entry, in Eurovision Song Contest 2008, Pirates of the Sea .[ citation needed ]
Travolta has worked as a disability education teacher in New Jersey. In 2005, he produced a documentary film called Normal People Scare Me , directed by a 15 year old autistic boy whom he mentored. [8] Around this time, he founded Inclusion Films, which involve individuals with disabilities the process of making films. [9] [10]
He has collaborated with a non-profit organization called HEAL to form a Jacksonville, Florida based HEAL Film Camp with Joey Travolta. [11]
In 2019, Travolta directed Carol of the Bells for Inclusion Films starring R.J. Mitte as an adoptee who discovers his biological mother has Down Syndrome. 70% of the crew had developmental disabilities. [12] The film won the Audience Award for Best Feature at the 2019 San Diego International Film Festival. [13] His next feature film titled Let's Work premiered at SDIFF in the documentary competition in October 2020. [14] Travolta’s Inclusion Films continues to employ disabled filmmakers.
Travolta is married to Wendy Shawn, [15] daughter of comedian Dick Shawn. [16]
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