Sad Travolta worries friends
July 26, 2009
By Paul Scott
Gorging on junk food, unable to sleep, his bizarre behaviour is worrying friends. But it's not just grief - and guilt - over his dead son that are tearing John Travolta apart.T here are darker secrets, too...
In the dead of night, and on a deserted Florida landing strip, the silence of the oppressively hot early hours is broken by the low whirring of an electric golf cart, driving lazy circuits.
At the wheel is a bulky, lone figure, hunched forward over the controls as he tries to kill time during another long, sleepless night.
It is a sight that has become something of a regular occurrence in recent weeks, as Hollywood star Travolta acts out his bizarre nocturnal ritual on the private runway that services his Jumbolair estate
'Now it's just John by himself'
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"We often see John driving himself around at night," one of Travolta's neighbours said.
"It's sad to see. You rarely catch sight of him during the day. We used to see him driving around on a buggy with his son. Now it's just John by himself. He's always been a night owl, but now even more so."
But then Travolta has much on his mind. Six months after the tragic death of his only son, Jett, during a family New Year holiday to the Bahamas, he is said by his closest friends to remain in a state of almost constant distress.
Work has been cancelled, the shutters pulled down, and until a rare appearance in public last week, the actor had been living the life of a virtual recluse
'One minute he's okay, the next he's in tears. He's such a sweet, sweet person'
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Last month the grieving star and actress wife Kelly Preston paid tribute to their late son Jett by honouring the teenager in his favourite vacation spot - South Africa.
They rented a lodge in the Eastern Cape's Shamwari Game Reserve.
Weeks earlier Travolta pulled out of media promotion for his new movie, The Taking of Pelham 123, as he couldn't face reporters' questions.
His friend and fellow actor, Denzel Washington, who appears with Travolta in the upcoming thriller - which was shot before the tragedy - gave an indication of the depth of his co-star's despair: "One minute he's okay, the next he's in tears. He's such a sweet, sweet person."
And Travolta cut a miserable figure when he was spotted for the first time in months on a flying visit to Miami last week.
The 55-year-old actor, who was sporting an eccentric handlebar moustache and a shapeless, baggy shirt, looked bloated and puffy. He hid under a black baseball cap as he ate a cheeseburger and chips alone outside a fast-food joint.
Few would blame the formerly lithe Saturday Night Fever and Grease star for over-indulging his long-time love of junk food as he struggles to come to terms with the death of his 16-year-old son, who died after suffering a seizure at his father's holiday villa.
But if rumours buzzing around Hollywood are to be believed, it's not just the death of his beloved son that has been torturing Travolta of late.
His distress, say sources close to him, has been compounded by the first cracks in his 34-year relationship with the Church of Scientology, the cult-like religion of which Travolta is a prominent and generous benefactor.
And there are dark mutterings that if he carries out private threats to leave, the organisation will go public with embarrassing details of his private life, including, it is claimed, allegations of past homosexual relationships.
Sources disclosed his son's sudden death had "deeply shaken" Travolta's faith in the strange sect, which makes wild claims about its ability to cure a variety of physical and mental disorders.
The star - who, thanks to his dedication and open cheque book, has risen to the top of the secretive organisation - is said to be angry that the religion was unable to help Jett, who was widely reported to have suffered from autism.
"There have been strong rumours coming out of Scientology that John Travolta is disappointed that the religion was not able to help his son more," Rick Ross, an American author and lecturer on Scientology, said.
"It's led him to question his faith."
Travolta is also said to be upset that senior members of the sect have instructed him to undergo intensive sessions with one of Scientology's "ethics officers", trained to question the actor and other grieving family members to establish whether their "negative influences" might have contributed to the tragedy.
