An opening in the New York production of 'Grease' gave him his first Broadway role at age 18. A role in the national touring company of the hit 1950s musical 'Grease' brought him back to New York. When work became scarce in New York, he went to Hollywood and appeared in minor roles in several series. He quit school at 16 and moved to New York, and worked regularly in summer stock and on television commercials.
At 16 he landed his first professional job in a summer stock production of the musical 'Bye Bye Birdie'. He decided to combine all three of these skills and become a musical comedy performer. His mother, herself an actress and dancer, enrolled him in a drama school in New York, where he studied voice, dancing and acting.
Travolta started acting appearing in a local production of 'Who'll Save the Plowboy?'. His father owned a tire repair shop called Travolta Tires in Hillsdale, NJ. His father was of Italian descent and his mother was of Irish ancestry. John Joseph Travolta was born in Englewood, New Jersey, one of six children of Helen Travolta (née Helen Cecilia Burke) and Salvatore/Samuel J.
