The tempestuous career of this formidable Hollywood star of the late 1970s and early 80s decisively discredits the old adage that there are no second acts in American life. Bright-eyed and boyish, Identity first gained fame as Vinnie Barbarino, head Sweathog on the popular high school sitcom "Welcome Back, Kotter" (Abc 1975-79). The character began as a dim-witted, swaggering bully but soon evolved into a sweet-natured, vulnerable and sexy teen idol. Travolta even recorded the requisite pop album during this period ("Let Her In" which rose to BILLBOARD's No. 10 in 1976) and found himself mobbed by teeny-boppers at suburban malls. He first registered in features as a teen cad who plots against "Carrie" (1976) in the rousing Brian De Palma thriller. He truly graduated from TV and "hustled" his way to stardom in one of the signature films of the late 70s, "Saturday Night Fever" (1977). Travolta's convincing urban Italian-American posturing, combined with a bruised sensitivity and several fiery disco routines helped make the film a resonant hit and earned the actor an Oscar nomination. The film benefited from and contributed to the growing popularity of disco with mainstream America.

After the critical and commercial fiasco of "Moment By Moment" (1978), a laughable romantic drama co-starring Lily Tomlin, Travolta cemented his popularity and proved himself a capable light romantic lead opposite Olivia Newton-John in "Grease" (1978). Buoyed by the immense popularity of TV's "Happy Days", this faux 50s song-and-dance fest became one of Hollywood's highest grossing film musicals. Travolta's next feature, the well-received "Urban Cowboy" (1980), featured the dancing lead in cowboy hat and boots as it tapped into America's ascendant interest in country-and-western culture. De Palma's "Blow Out" (1981) offered Travolta one of his most complex roles: a dedicated film sound recordist who accidentally records a political assassination. Though the result was a richly shaded portrait of the hack artist as fallen idealist, "Blow Out" stalled at the box-office, as did a pumped-up Travolta in "Staying Alive" (1983), the Sylvester Stallonedirected sequel to "Saturday Night Fever".

Travolta subsequently languished for nearly a decade in mostly forgettable, unpopular films. His most notable work during this phase was a 1987 AbcTV special: Harold Pinter's "The Dumb Waiter", a one-act, two-character play directed by Robert Altman, in which Travolta played a Cockney hit man. It was not until the 1989 sleeper hit "Look Who's Talking", however, that Travolta would become associated with another major box-office success--though, in this case, he was not the main attraction. This romantic comedy featured the unreasonably popular gimmick of presenting a baby's thoughts in voice-over and generated two more jobs for the former superstar--"Look Who's Talking Too" (1990) and "Look Who's Talking Now" (1993). Glowing reviews for his performance in Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction" (1994) restored Travolta to Hollywood's A-list. Relatively heavy-set, long-haired and wearing earrings, his Vincent Vega was a strangely sympathetic hitman with a heroin habit and a disconcertingly innocent view of the world. The resuscitated star found himself deluged with scripts and deals offering him the biggest paydays of his estimable career as well as a second Oscar nomination for Best Actor.

Though Travolta had neglected to follow up on the success of "Look Who's Talking", he did not make the same mistake twice, parlaying his "Pulp Fiction" success into an even greater stardom than anything he had known in the 70s or 80s. He has worked non-stop since, taking advantage of film opportunities like Barry Sonnenfeld's popular "Get Shorty" (1995), in which he garnered acclaim for his portrayal of a hitman entranced by Hollywood. In "White Man's Burden" (also 1995), Travolta starred with Harry Belafonte in an ambitious film about reverse discrimination that won mixed critical notices and little audience support. He followed with John Woo's action-adventure thriller "Broken Arrow" (1996) in which he played a pilot who masterminds an extortion plot against the US government. Travolta reportedly received an $8 million fee for "Phenomenon" (also 1996), in which he played a man who develops superior abilities after being struck by a white light, but walked out on more than twice that rather than suffer through Roman Polanski's "The Double". He was so hot, the press virtually overlooked his indiscretion, and other studios just lined up for his services.

That $8 million fee was a bargain compared to what Travolta was soon earning. He finished 1996 as a fallen angel in Nora Ephron's "Michael" (for $11 million) before unleashing a juggernaut on 1997, that again paired with John Woo for "Face/Off", a lyrical thriller about identity exchange that wove together sadistic cruelty and grotesque sentimentality with breathtaking assurance. Although most critics despaired over Costa-Gavras' "Mad City" (1997) and panned Travolta's singularly stupid character, he found himself on surer ground in Nick Cassavetes' romantic drama "She's So Lovely" (1997), which matched him with far better results opposite Sean Penn and Robin Wright Penn and afforded a role of some nuance. He received $20 million (or more) to portray Governor Jack Stanton in Mike Nichols' "Primary Colors" (1988). He also played Jan Schlichtman, an attorney battling powerful corporations on behalf of toxic poisoning victims, in "A Civil Action" and was part of a star-studded cast including Sean Penn, John Cusack, Gary Oldmanand George Clooney among many others, in Terence Malick's remake of "The Thin Red Line" (both 1998). That year also marked the 20th anniversary and re-release of "Grease".

After appearing in the unsuccesful and highly ridiculed apocolyptic alien movie "Battlefield Earth" (2000), Travolta redeemed himself in the action thriller "Swordfish" (2001). Next, Travolta played a DEA agent investigating a mysterious disappearance in "Basic" (lensed 2002).