From the moment I saw the iconic image of John Travolta in a white suit, chest out, one arm pointing up, one arm pointing down from the movie poster of “Saturday Night Fever” - directed by John Badham - I've never stopped feeling excited whenever I see it! Not only because it’s from one of my favorite movies of all time, but also because watching Travolta play the character of “Tony Manero” in that film inspired my younger self to reach for the stars!
In the film, 19-year-old Tony Manero (Travolta was 23 at the time) doesn't have much going for him during the weekdays. He still lives at home and works as a paint store clerk in his Brooklyn, N.Y., neighborhood. But he lives for the weekends when he and his friends go to the local disco and dance the night away. He is trapped in a world where nothing and nobody changes so by the end of the film he decides to break away from everything he knows to pursue his dreams for a better life.
That was my story too! Growing up in a small town in Bergen County, New Jersey, the people who lived there had no ambition for anything other than what they already had. I desperately wanted to get out of there and pursue all the HUGE dreams I had planned for my life. So when I saw Tony’s journey from Brooklyn to Manhattan in “Fever” it helped motivate me - in so many ways - to eventually leave that small town behind and find my way here to Hollywood! And even though it’s been decades since that Oscar-nominated performance changed my life, that image of “Tony Manero” standing on that multicolored dance floor, under that glowing disco ball, has stayed with me as a beacon pushing me forward whenever I doubted myself.
For example, before I moved to Hollywood I was a nightlife columnist - known as "Mr Nightlife" - in South Beach, Florida during the fabulous 1990s. And when I was creating the invite to my 34th birthday party at Michael Tronn's legendary weekly club night "Guido" at Liquid Lounge I asked photographer David Senatra to help me create a photo that not only reinforced my Mr. Nightlife image but also paid homage to the movie character that motivated me to follow my dreams at the same time! That's me in the photo above doing my best Tony Manero pose, wearing the blue Gucci suit, and holding up that fabulous disco ball! I still love it! I see so much happiness on my face that I thankfully still have. :)
Then in 2019, I finally had the opportunity to meet actor John Travolta at a screening of his film “Fanatic” at the Landmark Theater in West Los Angeles! While I was speaking to him I got the chance to tell him about my ongoing obsession with his “Fever” character and how grateful I am for how he motivated me to go after my dreams so long ago. He was so touched by the words that he gave me a huge hug! Wow! I had been waiting for this moment my entire life and it was beyond amazing!
So when I started the Hollywood Obsessed podcast last year I knew I wanted to invite some of the cast members and other people who were responsible for creating "Fever" to come and talk to me about it. So far I’ve interviewed Karen Lynn Gorney (Episodes 19 & 20) who played Tony's love interest “Stephanie Mangano” in the film and danced with him on that iconic multicolor dance floor, Paul Pape who played “Double J” the toughest of Tony’s neighborhood friends (Podcast Episodes Coming Soon) and director John Badham (Episodes 57 & 58) who was the man responsible for making the iconic 1977 classic disco film!
Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to get Travolta to be a guest on the podcast YET but if the film SNF has taught me anything it’s that no dream is impossible to attain! So hopefully one day that dream WILL come true too! Until then, I’ll keep dreaming big and continue reaching for the stars. Thank you Mr Manero & Mr Travolta (of course) for being my inspiration then and now!
To listen to my fascinating conversation with legendary director JOHN BADHAM on my podcast - click on the links below. Enjoy!
Episode 57 - HERE
Episode 58 - HERE
