American actor and director John Travolta, famous for leading roles in cultural classics like Grease and Pulp Fiction, has paid tribute to his son Jett, who died following a seizure, and his late wife, actor Kelly Preston, dedicating his new film to them, his parents and his siblings.
The 72-year-old recently made his directorial debut at the Cannes Film Festival with his new, semi-autobiographical film ‘Propeller One-Way Night Coach’. Paying tribute to his family, he said: “They are the model from which this film was born.”
He spoke about losing his son Jett in 2009 who died from injuries following an epileptic seizure.
Jett, who was autistic and had Kawasaki disease as a young child as well as a history of seizures, died at the age of 16 after having a seizure on a family holiday in the Bahamas.
In an interview on stage at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London in 2014, Travolta said it was “the worst thing that’s ever happened in my life”.
He added: “Life was no longer interesting to me, so it took a lot to get me better.”
John Travolta family
In 2020, John Travolta lost his wife, Twins and Jerry Maguire actor Kelly Preston, who died aged 57 from breast cancer.
The couple met on the set of 1989 comedy film The Experts and married in 1991. They had three children: Jett, Ella Bleu, and Benjamin.
At the Cannes Film Festival, John Travolta received a standing ovation for ‘Propeller One-Way Night Coach’, which also stars his daughter Ella Bleu. The film is now available on Apple TV.
In a recent interview with Italian newspaper, La Republica, he said “life has certain tested me,” adding, “I can look at the darkness, but I don’t choose to die in that darkness.”
Epilepsy and injuries
Epilepsy Action explains that seizures can put people with epilepsy at risk of accidents and injuries, depending on the type of seizures a person has and how well controlled they are.
Riskier situations involve heights, traffic, water and sources of heat or power, but the organisation says people can put measures in place to lower the risks.
These include things like seizure alarms or monitors, guards on heaters, safety glass and no trailing wires in the home, as well as medical ID cards or jewellery, smart watches or tracking devices and planning ahead when out and about.
Epilepsy Action has a lot more examples and ideas on the safety advice page.
