Joseph "Joey" Travolta (born October 14, 1950) is an American actor, producer, director, and screenwriter. He is the older brother of the actor John Travolta.
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Life and career
Travolta, one of six children, was born and raised in Englewood, New Jersey, an inner-ring suburb of New York City. His father, Salvatore Travolta, was a semi-professional football player turned tire salesman and partner in a tire company. His mother, Helen Cecilia (née Burke; 1912–1978), who was 38 when Travolta was born, 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.
He attended Shepherd University in West Virginia while rooming with future West Virginia historian and special education vanguard, Dave Lind. Travolta also graduated from Paterson State College, now William Paterson University, with a degree in special education.
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 in the episode, The Hottest Ticket in Town. Additional acting credits include work with director John Landis on multiple feature film projects: Beverly Hills Cop III (1994) with Eddie Murphy and Hector Elizondo, Oscar (1991) with Sylvester Stallone and Chazz Palminteri, and Susan's Plan with Adrian Paul and Dan Aykroyd. He was also a series regular on the WB television hit Movie Stars (1999). 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.
In 1991, he produced and starred in Da Vinci's War with James Russo and Michael Nouri. He later produced and starred in the sequel, To the Limit (1995), which also featured Nouri and Anna Nicole Smith.
Travolta made directing his main priority in 1994. He directed the action thrillers Hard Vice (1994) starring Shannon Tweed and Navajo Blues (1996) starring Steven Bauer. Subsequent titles include Earth Minus Zero (1996) starring Academy Award nominee Pat Morita, Laws of Deception (1997) starring C. Thomas Howell and Brian Austin Green, Detour (1999) starring Michael Madsen and Academy Award nominee Gary Busey, Mel (1996) starring Jack Scalia and Academy Award winner Ernest Borgnine, Partners (2000) starring Casper Van Dien, Enemies of Laughter (2000) starring Peter Falk, and Waiting to Live (2002) starring Lee Majors and second generation star Alison Eastwood.
Travolta has also gained national acclaim for his mission of helping students develop self-esteem, confidence, and creativity through acting and digital film making. He founded Inclusion Films, which involve individuals with special needs in the process of making films. The first of these, Sweet Sixteen, was made in 2008. In late 2009, Travolta hired filmmaker Tyler Norman to write and direct Inclusion's second film, "Spud". Travolta's students crewed the film, which premiered in 2010 and took numerous festival awards. Shortly thereafter, the third film "Accidents" was completed.
He has also collaborated with a non-profit organization called HEAL, based in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, to form another film camp in association with Inclusion Films and Jacksonville-based Filmlab Productions, called the HEAL Film Camp with Joey Travolta.
Joey is married to Wendy Shawn (daughter of comedian Dick Shawn) and they have one daughter, Rachel.
Filmography
Actor
2019
Lulu (Short) as
Waiter
2019
The Bold and the Beautiful (TV Series) as
Mr. Thicke
- Episode #1.8019 (2019) - Mr. Thicke
2017
Decker (TV Series) as
Judge Buchanan
- Double Decker (2017) - Judge Buchanan
2004
A Lousy 10 Grand as
Sal
2004
Skeleton Man (TV Movie) as
Sheriff
2001
Nailed as
Uncle Dave
1999
Movie Stars (TV Series) as
Joey Travolta
- Who's on First? (2000) - Joey Travolta
- He's Reese. He's Here. Get Used to It. (2000) - Joey Travolta
- Stand by Me (2000) - Joey Travolta
- No Justice, No Piece (2000) - Joey Travolta
- Two Guys, Two Girls and a Guest House (2000) - Joey Travolta
- The Goodbye Guy (2000) - Joey Travolta
- The Seduction of Reese Hardin (2000) - Joey Travolta
- The Two Faces of Steve (2000) - Joey Travolta
- Third Time's a Charm (1999) - Joey Travolta
- Like Father, Like Son (1999) - Joey Travolta
- Leap of Faith (1999) - Joey Travolta
- Educating Lori (1999) - Joey Travolta
- Pilot (1999) - Joey Travolta
- Bad Boy, Bad Boy, What'cha Gonna Do? - Joey Travolta
1999
If You Only Knew as
Newspaper Editor
1999
The Basket as
Charlie Cohn
1998
Susan's Plan as
Bartender
1997
Dumb Luck in Vegas as
Geno
1996
Dangerous Cargo as
Mr. Smith
1996
Vendetta as
Dr. Carl Steiner
1995
The Last Game as
Mark
1991
Dream On (TV Series) as
Duke / Assistant Director
- Am I Blue (1995) - Duke
- The Second Greatest Story Ever Told: Parts 1 & 2 (1991) - Assistant Director
1995
To the Limit as
Frank DaVinci
1994
Beverly Hills Cop III as
Giolito
1994
3 Ninjas Kick Back as
Mustangs Coach
1993
No Escape No Return as
Stark
1993
Beach Babes from Beyond as
Dr. Veg
1993
Da Vinci's War as
Frank Da Vinci
1991
Oscar as
Ace
1990
Wilding as
Robert Meyers
1990
American Born as
Patsy
1990
Snow Kill (TV Movie) as
Myles
1990
Night of the Wilding (Video) as
Paul
1990
Sinners as
Jerry / Mary's husband
1989
Ghost Writer as
Bee-Jay
1988
Splash, Too (TV Movie) as
Jerry
1988
ABC Afterschool Specials (TV Series) as
Bobby
- Daddy Can't Read (1988) - Bobby
1987
Amazon Women on the Moon as
Butch (segment "Amazon Women on the Moon")
1987
They Still Call Me Bruce as
Ronnie
1986
Hunter's Blood as
Marty Adler
1986
Hollywood Vice Squad as
Stevens
1983
The Prodigal as
Tony
1982
Rosie: The Rosemary Clooney Story (TV Movie) as
Dante DiPaulo
1982
Simon & Simon (TV Series) as
Rick Brewster
- The Hottest Ticket in Town (1982) - Rick Brewster
1981
Car Crash as
Paul
1980
Hello, Larry (TV Series) as
Curt Stone
- The Rock Star: Part 2 (1980) - Curt Stone
- The Rock Star: Part 1 (1980) - Curt Stone
1979
Sunnyside as
Nick Martin
Producer
2022
Closure (Short) (executive producer)
2019
Game Trafficking (Short) (executive producer)
2019
The Daughter (Short) (executive producer)
2019
Open House (Short) (executive producer)
2019
Rush (Short) (executive producer)
2019
Haunted (Short) (executive producer)
2018
Starstruck (TV Movie) (executive producer)
2018
A Christmas Surprise (Short) (executive producer)
2018
The Birds & the wheels (Short) (executive producer)
2018
Operation: Get the hell out of California (Short) (executive producer)