Proper Noun: Famous singer, actor, dancer, producer, and pilot. During the latter half of the 1970s, John Travolta became on of the biggest stars in Hollywood. After a string of hits in films, on television and on the radio, he had emerged as a true cultural phenomenon, defining tastes in
music and fashion while dominating innumerable column inches in newspapers, magazines and gossip columns. Like so many other celebrities, Travolta's initial fame proved
short-lived, and by the
80s he was viewed by the media and the public alike largely as a relic of his
era. Unlike so many other celebrities, however, he resurfaced,
Phoenix-
like, the following decade, re-establishing his claims to film superstardom and staking out new territory as one of the most acclaimed actors in contemporary film.