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Such low-altitude flights of humor and fancy would not qualify Travolta to bus dishes at the Algonquin Round Table. That may be the way he wants it. Part of Travolta's success has been sticking close to what he knows and where he comes from.
His old neighborhood in Englewood hasn't changed, and his parents still live in the same frame house. Kids frequently descend on the place now, and the elder Travoltas pass out glossies of their youngest son. Down in the bright red basement recreation room, there is a large bulletin board crowded with pictures of all the kids. Here the superstar receives equal billing with his siblings, and his picture smiles out among shots of Ellen, now 37, who is acting in pilots for both NBC and CBS; Margaret, 32, who does TV and voice-overs in Chicago; Anne, 29, just married and acting in New York City; Joey, 27, who was once a teacher and has now taken off for Los Angeles with a gift of $5,000 from his kid brother and the promise of a screen test; and Sam, 34, who has worked for years as a shipping clerk at Faberge but, hooked on show biz ("While I was in the service in Europe, I did Dial M for Murder"), is learning to play the guitar and trying to get his own band together.
I f the Travolta clan has not yet become the Barrymores of Bergen County it will not be for want of the firm support and encouragement of Helen ("a very sensitive, giving woman," says Johnny) and Sam ("a very gentle, sensitive man") Travolta. Sam played semipro football and baseball, worked in the tire business to keep the family dreams within reach. Helen, who was one of the Sunshine Sisters on Hackensack radio during the '30s, joined a local stock company after she married Sam. "She was a great, great actress," Sam says. Adds Helen: "They used to compare me with Barbara Stanwyck."
In the midst of raising the six kids, Helen also found time to direct neighborhood theatricals and pass along some sound tips on acting to young Johnny. "I said once you become a character, you are another person," she recalls now. "You have to be quiet when it is not your turn. And you just don't make an entrance by running into a room. You let people have a look at you as you walk in."e
These lessons took root, and Johnny was soon up for a part in one of Helen's productions down at the local high school. He wanted a role as big as Brother Joey's, balked at taking second billing and toddled out of the show. He consoled himself with such pursuits as organizing backyard carnivals and starting a bowling alley in the basement with croquet balls and milk bottles (20ยข per game, soda pop a nickel extra). He did extravagant, free-form tap dances in front of the TV, imitating Cagney ("I loved him. He was so loving and sensitive") in Yankee Doodle Dandy.