SUBCHAPTER 768 - OBSERVATION 81

SUBCHAPTER 612 - ROBERT STIGWOOD'S GOOD LUCK

Rick Archer's Note: 

As I tell my tale of Dumb Luck, please be patient.  Just follow the bouncing ball and enjoy the ride.  I will start my story with our old friend Robert Stigwood.

They always say that when you're hot, you're hot.  When it came to Saturday Night Fever, Producer Robert Stigwood was hot.  He had the greatest run of Good Luck I have ever witnessed.  Everything he touched turned to gold.  I could not escape the feeling that Stigwood was the Luckiest guy of all time. 

Everything broke right for him... Nik the Slick's Disco story which appeared out of thin air, the stratospheric talent of John Travolta, the genius script writer Norman Wexler, the brilliant Bee Gees music added at the last minute. 

Indeed, everyone who touched Saturday Night Fever was at the top of their game.  The way Fever worked out so perfectly defies the imagination.  In fact, so many things clicked, one might believe Robert Stigwood had the Wheel of Fortune spinning in his direction and brought everyone else along for the ride. 

Anyone who reads the story of Robert Stigwood's success might conclude he was brilliant.  Good grief, the man achieved a $400 million return on an investment of $3.5 million.  Not just that, the phenomenal success of Grease further burnished Stigwood's reputation as a genius.  

SUBCHAPTER 613 - ROBERT STIGWOOD'S BAD LUCK

One might conclude that Stigwood was brilliant beyond brilliant.  But guess what?  Not necessarily so!  On Stigwood's next three projects, he failed miserably.  Have you ever heard of a movie titled Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band?  Probably not.  This Stigwood production is widely considered one of the worst movies ever made. 

In 1978, the Bee Gees and singer Peter Frampton had reached mega-stardom.  They sold millions of records, had their faces plastered on magazine covers and played sold-out concerts to venues across the globe.  Casting the Bee Gees and Frampton as stars of the movie had seemed like a sure winner.  What better way to sell countless billions of records? 

But then this awful movie came along and made them a laughing stock.  This look at the reviews gives a clear picture.

•  "the film is humorless"
•  "a film with a dangerous resemblance to wallpaper"
•  "ranges from barely tolerable to embarrassing"
•  "it just doesn't work"
•  "quite possibly the silliest movie ever conceived"
•  "mind-bogglingly awful"

Nor did Stigwood's run of bad luck stop there.  Soon after, Robert Stigwood produced two other truly awful movies, both of which starred John Travolta.  One was the ill-fated movie Staying Alive in 1983.  The funniest part was the huge dance scene with Travolta looking more like Tarzan than a dancer.

Roger Ebert had this to say:

"Staying Alive" is a big disappointment. This Sequel to the gutsy, electric "Saturday Night Fever" is a slick, commercial cinematic jukebox.

The movie was co-authored and directed by Sylvester Stallone, and is the first bad movie he's made.  Stallone remembers all the moves from his Rocky plots, but he leaves out the heart -- and, even worse, he leaves out the characters.  Everybody in "Staying Alive" is a cliché.  Their lives are clichés and God knows their dialogue is cliché.

The big musical climaxes are interrupted only long enough for people to shout prepackaged emotional countercharges at each other. There is little attempt to approximate recognized human speech.

Stallone makes little effort to convince us we're watching a real stage presentation; there are camera effects the audience could never see, montages that create impossible physical moves and -- most inexplicable of all -- a vocal soundtrack even though nobody on stage is singing.  It's a mess. Travolta's big dance number looks like a high-tech TV auto commercial that got sick to its stomach."

SUBCHAPTER 614 - TALENT VERSUS LUCK

His failures aside, Robert Stigwood was considered a genius.  To begin with, Stigwood was the man who saw something special in Travolta.  Despite criticism, he signed Travolta to a million dollar contract at a time when the lad was still an unproven talent. 

Travolta had auditioned for the lead in Stigwood's Jesus Christ Superstar back in 1969.  Stigwood was so impressed, he tried as hard as he could to look past the fact that Travolta was only 16.  But he could not get past the age problem, so instead Stigwood underlined the lad's name and held onto the memory. 

Seven years later Stigwood's original hunch was reinforced by Travolta's TV success in Welcome Back, Kotter.  Believing the young man had oodles of Star Power, Stigwood signed Travolta to a million dollar, three-movie contract.  Stigwood's main purpose was to give the starring role in Grease to Travolta.  However, Stigwood was surprised when he learned that the rights to film Grease would have to wait another two years.  That is when Stigwood noticed the script to Saturday Night Fever laying on his desk.  Hmm, why not put Travolta in a Disco movie and get the Bee Gees involved?  One year after Fever, Travolta went on to star in Grease, thereby making him the biggest name in Hollywood.

Give Stigwood the credit he deserves for betting the farm on Travolta.  In addition, Stigwood recognized the value of Nik the Slick's Disco story that appeared in Clay Felker's New York Magazine.  When Nik the Slick raised the price from $10,000 to $150,000, Stigwood paid it anyway over the objections of his lawyer.  Stigwood said, "This movie could be worth a hundred million dollars. I'm going to pay the kid whatever he wants."  

And you know what?  Stigwood was right!  Not only that, he was spectacularly right.  The movie made $400 million dollars!

But then Stigwood turned around and made the TWO WORST MOVIES of all time!  According to the website Creative Loafing, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Staying Alive are listed Number One and Number Two as the worst movies ever. 

Thanks Robert Stigwood, we have a state of extreme conflict.  Was Robert Stigwood a genius or was he merely Dumb Lucky? 

Nor does the list stop there.  Were the Bee Gees as good as advertised or was their Saturday Night Fever music a once in a lifetime fluke?  Their music not only bombed in Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, it bombed again in Staying Alive.

Sylvester Stallone not only acted in Rocky, he wrote the brilliant script.  But his handling of Staying Alive bordered on pathetic. 

What about John?  Welcome Back Kotter, Grease, Saturday Night Fever.  In the world of entertainment, John Travolta's Talent made him the undisputed Icon of the Seventies.  And yet after Grease, Travolta made two of the worst movies of all-time.  The first will remain a mystery for the time being and the other was Staying Alive.  Whatever happened to all that Talent? 

Time and again, we have stories of geniuses who fail.  Not only do they fail, sometimes they fail in spectacular fashion.  The all-time poster boy for the Genius Who Failed was Napoleon.  His decision to invade Russia proved to be a colossal mistake. 

As we recall, Napoleon laid waste to Europe.  Winning battle after battle against the best generals on the continent, Napoleon had genius, experience, plus an unbeatable army of half a million soldiers.  He was going up against a ragtag Russian army full of untrained farmers who used pitchforks for weapons.  Not exactly a fair fight, yet Napoleon lost. 

The Russian army pursued a cat and mouse Scorched Earth strategy.  Every time Napoleon got close, the Russians retreated and burned their crops in the process.  Guess who died?  Napoleon's men?  No.  They had dwindling supplies from home.  It was the Russian peasants who were left with no food.  Refusing to see the danger he faced, Napoleon chased the Russians all the way to Moscow.  He knew there was plenty of food in Moscow.  So what did the Russians do?

They burned Moscow to the ground.  No more food.  Checkmate.

And what is my point?  When geniuses fail, I ask myself if perhaps there might be a Supernatural explanation.  It seems to me that Napoleon should have seen the danger he was facing.  How could a man as smart as Napoleon allow his entire army to get trapped?

Here is the way I see it.  Robert Stigwood had talent.  No one can deny that.  So did the Bee Gees, Sylvester Stallone, and John Travolta.  And yet they all experienced spectacular failure in situations where they should have succeeded.  How can John Travolta possibly fail in his Staying Alive sequel to Saturday Night Fever?  The anticipation for this movie was incredible; it should have worked.  Did I mention the writer for Staying Alive was Norman Wexler?   Wexler was the man who wrote the brilliant script for Saturday Night Fever.  How can a man with Wexler's writing ability come up with such a worthless plot for Staying Alive?  The list goes on.

Let me add that I too have failed in situations where I was certain of success.  The best example was the time I failed in my 'Dance Curse' situations seven times in a row.  Yes, there was a sixth and seventh incident.  I will save the details for later, but I will share my conclusion now.  These were situations where by all rights I should have succeeded, but came up short.  Each time I failed, I failed due to circumstances out of my control.  No matter how much preparation, no matter how much foresight, something always went wrong.  That led me to conclude that all the Talent in the world is meaningless unless Destiny approves the outcome. 

Let us return to the Arabic saying about God moving two mountains if it is meant to be.  Did you know there is a corollary?  The entire phrase says this:

“What is meant for you will reach you even if it is beneath two mountains, ... and what is not meant for you will not reach you even if it is between your two lips.” 

In other words, even if Victory is so close you can taste it, you will always lose if that is what your Fate dictates.  As for Napoleon, my guess is that he reached a similar conclusion.  In letter to Abbé du Pradt regarding his painful retreat in the snow from Moscow, Napoleon exclaimed, "From the sublime to the ridiculous is but a step."

Napoleon later added, "All great events hang by a hair.  I believe in Luck, and the wise man neglects nothing which contributes to his Destiny."

In other words, a wise man should do everything in his mortal power to succeed, but the outcome will still be left to Fate. 

Napoleon spoke of Luck several times.  Back when Bonaparte was criticized for winning battles simply because of Luck, he retorted: “I would rather have lucky generals than good ones.” 

In other words, Napoleon believed in Talent, but he knew that Talent without Luck would never succeed.  I agree with that.  When we get the good breaks, everyone comments on how smart we are.  But when we have a mysterious downfall, suddenly we don't look so smart anymore.  I firmly believe that sometimes it is more important to be Lucky than Good.  

SUBCHAPTER 615 - BAD LUCK OVERWHELMS TALENT

Rick Archer's Note: 

Clay Felker, genius or idiot?  As they say, when you're hot, you're hot.  But when you're not, you're not.  

In 1976, Clay Felker, editor of New York magazine, was Not Hot.  First Felker let a street hustler named Nik Cohn con him into placing a fake Disco story in his magazine.  Of all the people involved in Saturday Night Fever, Clay Felker was the only one who failed to make a dime. 

Then Felker got badly out-maneuvered by Rupert Murdoch for control of his magazine.  Out of a job with his reputation badly tarnished, one can imagine Felker craved to get back in the game.  He was down, but not out. 

First Felker purchased Esquire Magazine in 1977.  His next move was to find a way to use the Saturday Night Fever nightmare to his own advantage.  That prayer was answered the night he arrived at Gilley's doorstep.  From there, Felker staged his comeback.  Yes, even geniuses fail, but the smart ones have the sense to get back up and try again.

SUBCHAPTER 616 - TALENT OVERCOMES BAD LUCK

Rick Archer's Note: 

Of course, I never knew any of these behind-the-scenes events back in 1979.  I speculated on the identity of the Wizard of Oz responsible for these dramatic changes in Houston, but got nowhere.  It was not until 2016 that I finally had my answer.  The time had come to write my book, so I began poking my nose around the Internet to look for background information.  I started with Saturday Night Fever and kept digging. 

One day I ran across a fascinating article in Texas Monthly magazine titled 'Urban Cowboy Turns 35'.   Written by John Spong, the article consisted of follow-up interviews with many of the key people associated with the movie. 

Spong began his article by retelling the story of how Clay Felker discovered Gilley's during his June 1978 trip to Houston.  Here is what William Broyles Jr., editor of Texas Monthly, had to say: 

"I took Felker to Gilley’s.  I’d hung out there multiple times, and it was so much a part of the world I was from that I didn’t see it as a story, whereas Clay saw these people coming in from the country with their cowboy cultural map still in their head. That’s why we drive pickups in River Oaks, right?

So we walk through acres of parking lot, past a fistfight or two, and as we got closer, we could hear the sound of it. Once we got inside, it assaulted us: men hitting the punching bag, two-stepping, hundreds of them gathered at the bar, and over in the corner the giant mechanical bull.  Clay had no business being there.  He was in his New York suit and handmade English shoes.  However, the moment Clay saw four thousand people dressed up like cowboys with the mechanical bull and punching bags, he could hardly contain his excitement.  His eyes got really wide.  I thought to myself, 'Boy, this Felker guy really loves this place!'"

Keeping his revelation a secret, that night Felker wasted no time calling his writer friend Aaron Latham.  Latham was told to drop everything and write an article similar to the one that had created the Saturday Night Fever sensation. 

Aaron Latham flew to Houston and visited Gilley's daily for a month.  Latham was not terribly creative.  He more or less copied Nik the Slick's theme about restless youth using dance to achieve respect among their peers, then put boots on it.  Just to show the story was not a complete rip-off, Latham added a mechanical bull and handed it to Clay Felker.

Felker published Latham's Urban Cowboy article in the September 1978 issue of Esquire Magazine.  Then Felker went about using his extensive media contacts to shop the article as the script for a movie.  Aaron Latham said 100 people were chasing this script.  After a spirited bidding contest, a man named Irving Azoff paid an astounding $200,000 for the film rights.

So was Clay Felker's move an example of Talent or Dumb Luck?  I say Talent.  Clay Felker was the Wizard of Oz.  Only Clay Felker could have seen a dump like Gilley's and visualized a Gold Mine.  On the other hand, it took a certain amount of Luck to run across Gilley's in the first place.  But then what exactly is 'Luck'? 

"I think Luck is the sense to recognize an opportunity and have the ability to take advantage of it.  Everyone has bad breaks, but everyone also has opportunities.  The man who can smile at his bad breaks and grab his chances is the one who gets on."   -- Samuel Goldwyn

So who was Irving Azoff?  Azoff was the man who personally changed the direction of country music.  He started with the Eagles.  Under Azoff's tutelage, the Eagles became the best-selling band in United States history during the Seventies.

In 1998 the Eagles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  Don Henley immediately pointed to Azoff in the audience and said, "Without Irving, we wouldn't be standing here today!"

Glenn Frey, standing next to Henley on stage, quipped, "Well, Don, we might have made it here on our own, but we wouldn't have made nearly as much money."

Henley laughed, then added, “You're right, Glenn.  Irving may be Satan, but he’s our Satan!”

The Eagles were unanimous.  They knew their big break was getting Azoff to manage them.  One can imagine Irving Azoff said the same thing about the Eagles.  Irving Azoff was the same age as the members of the band.  Considering them his buddies in addition to his clients, Azoff felt a fierce loyalty.  

Thanks in large part to the Eagle's success during the Seventies, Azoff had the money necessary to win the 1978 bidding contest for Urban Cowboy.  Azoff put up the big bucks because he knew a rare opportunity had just crossed his path. 

Even before Urban Cowboy, Irving Azoff had already noticed a new trend taking place in country music.  While Saturday Night Fever Disco tunes dominated the airwaves in 1978, Azoff sensed a potential revolution in country music.  An emerging sound best described as 'Country Rock' was going head to head with the hard-edged Willie and Waylon 'Outlaw' music.

First came the Byrds, then Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young.  They were the forerunners.  After that, artists such as Neil Young, Pure Prairie League, Creedence Clearwater and the Grateful Dead tied their fortunes to 'Country Rock' in the Seventies.  However, no one dared whisper that these so-called rock bands were actually playing country music.  That was a taboo subject.

Consequently I had no idea I was listening to covert country music.  Considering how prejudiced I was against Country music, it was probably just as well I did not know some of my favorite music was tainted by Country.  Songs like Neil Young's Heart of Gold, Bob Dylan's Lay Lady Lay and Pure Prairie League's Amie,  came dangerously close to crossing the forbidden line.

A foremost trailblazer was John Denver.  The winds of change were apparent at the 1975 CMA Awards.  This was the year John Denver beat out Loretta Lynn, Waylon Jennings, Ronnie Milsap, and Conway Twitty as the Country Music Association 'Entertainer of the Year'.  The presenter, Charlie Rich, was so disgusted he burned the piece of paper announcing Denver as the winner on the stage.  Right or wrong, the incident was seen as a protest in defense of traditional country music against pop usurpers.

The Eagles were leading pioneers in the formation of this new 'Country Rock' style of country music.  With songs like Peaceful Easy Feeling, the Eagles crafted a sound that synthesized elements of country music and rock.  The Eagles were gifted song writers.  Indeed, many of their songs  told a complex story.  As opposed to Disco music and Rock music with their inane, repetitive lyrics, the Eagles found that country-style ballads such as Lyin' Eyes and Tequila Sunrise worked better to country music formats. 

Meanwhile, the Eagles were still rockers at heart.  They found a way to make country-style vocal harmonies blend to a rock beat in songs like Bitter Creek and Outlaw Man.  Their music found a wide, appreciative audience.  On a personal note, the Eagles were my favorite rock band of the Seventies.  Although Desperado, the Eagles' second album, was at best a so-so commercial success in 1973, I adored this album.  Little did I know the deliberate Western theme of Desperado was paving the way for a music revolution. 

Irving Azoff was an entertainment genius who parlayed his triumph with the Eagles into managing a veritable Who's Who list of American recording artists during the '70s.  However, he made it clear the Eagles were closest to his heart.  Azoff was to the Eagles as Robert Stigwood was to the Bee Gees.  Although Azoff was disgusted with Disco music, he could not help but notice Stigwood's success with the Bee Gees.  Now Azoff was prepared to do the same for the Eagles and his other clients. 

Azoff believed that Disco music would soon run its course.  By securing the rights to Urban Cowboy, Azoff bet the farm he could do for the Eagles what Stigwood had done for the Bee Gees.  This bold, strategic move came at the perfect time in Azoff's spectacular career.  The soundtrack for Saturday Night Fever had brought in millions.  Why not give Country music a chance to show what it could do? 

Azoff knew what he was doing.  Having witnessed first-hand the widespread acceptance of the emerging California sound... Jackson Browne, the Eagles, Linda Ronstadt... it was Azoff's good fortune that Urban Cowboy came along at just the right time.  Urban Cowboy was the opportunity Azoff needed to take this country rock sound to the next level. 

It was a shrewd gamble.  Azoff's experience in the music business convinced him Urban Cowboy would greatly benefit the Eagles and his other acts as well.  First Azoff packed his Urban Cowboy soundtrack with many of his own artists such as Boz Scaggs, Dan Fogelberg, Jimmy Buffett, Linda Ronstadt and of course the Eagles.  Then Azoff took a page from Robert Stigwood and released the album well in advance of the movie. 

Immediately there were howls of protest.  Where's Willie Nelson?  Where's Waylon Jennings?  The answer should have been obvious... Irving Azoff was deliberately steering the direction of country music towards the new California sound.

Azoff did not stop there.  Following the Stigwood playbook to the letter, Azoff understood the movie could impact the way people dressed, danced, and listened.  The potential for tie-ins was phenomenal.  There is ample circumstantial evidence to suggest Irving Azoff and Clay Felker contacted the fashion industry.  What other explanation could there be for the Western fashions that flooded Houston well over a year in advance of the debut?

In addition, Clay Felker and Irving Azoff passed on the secret to McFaddin-Kendrick, owners of élan here in Houston.  It was this insider tip that convinced McFaddin-Kendrick to research what kind of music would be most acceptable to their target customers.  The research revealed the emerging country-rock sound characteristic of the Eagles was the direction to go. 

Convinced their wealthy clientele would respond favorably to this new music recommended by Azoff, McFaddin-Kendrick came up with the ground-breaking decision to create an 'upscale' Western club.  This was a huge gamble that ran in direct opposition to the rough and tumble honky-tonks such as Gilley's. 

Ah, the winds of change.  The excellent music at Cowboy was no accident.  The combination of great music and stunning decor was a major breakthrough.  Not just that, rumors of the upcoming movie fanned the flames.  Cowboy was so successful that immediately other Houston night clubs jumped on the country-western bandwagon.  In so doing, the Western Transformation destroyed Disco here in Houston.  So long, Donna Summer.  You have been replaced by a Peaceful, Easy Feeling. 

SUBCHAPTER 618 - AN EXAMPLE OF TALENT IN ACTION

Filming on Urban Cowboy was scheduled to begin at Gilley’s in May 1979.  One night country singer Johnny Lee was on break when a stranger approached him.  The newcomer was a short, pudgy Jewish guy.  Wearing the wrong kind of clothes and thick glasses bigger than his face, this little guy stuck out like a sore thumb here at the rough honky-tonk. 

At first glance, Johnny Lee was not impressed.  But he also noticed the man was quite sure of himself.  Identifying himself as the Urban Cowboy producer, Irving Azoff wasted no time making his pitch.  "Would you be interested in singing in a movie?"

Accustomed to being courted by would-be 'managers' and 'I’m-going-to-make-you-a-star' hustlers, Lee decided to humor the guy.  Rolling his eyes, Lee replied, “Yeah, buddy, sure, whatever, let me know when, I'll sing in your movie.”

Johnny Lee's recording of Lookin’ for Love was released in June 1980.  The song quickly became the breakout hit on the Urban Cowboy soundtrack.  Lookin’ for Love made Lee a star and stayed on the charts for 37 weeks.  The song peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles and No. 5 on the pop charts.  A country-western song high on the pop charts?  Virtually unheard of.  What was going on here?

Country music would never be the same.

Johnny Lee would later reminisce.

“You have to understand, people were coming in all the time promising this, saying that.  Azoff came out one night and heard me do “Cherokee Fiddle” which was a big hit for me in Houston.  He said, “You want to sing it in a movie?” Well, people were bullshitting me all the time. So I said, “Yeah, sure, just as soon as I finish this watermelon. You bet.”

I thought Azoff was just somebody feeding me a line of baloney.  I blew him off and went on drinking my beer.  So when it actually happened, it freaked me out.

That movie broadened the audience that listened to country music.  A lot of people started listening to country music and going to country dance halls that never did before.  It gave country music a shot in the arm.  It was a fun time, and it absolutely was the best thing that ever happened to me in my life."

So was Azoff's success an example of Dumb Luck or Talent?  I say Talent.  Give Irving Azoff his credit.  He possessed the foresight to see Robert Stigwood's music maneuver could be applied elsewhere.  Indeed the Urban Cowboy soundtrack became the fourth best-selling movie album of all time. 

Wildly successful at virtually every stage of his career, in his later years Irving Azoff would emerge as the most powerful man in the music industry.  Azoff would often comment that his Urban Cowboy gamble was the move that sent his career into the stratosphere. 

In my opinion, if Irving Azoff had not introduced the new wave of country music, the impact of Urban Cowboy on Western music would have been greatly reduced.  Frankly speaking, much of the 'Outlaw Sound' was tough to listen to for everyone but hard core country types raised on twang and rockabilly.  While there are many purists who will disagree ('Urban Cowboy ruined country music!'), Azoff guessed correctly that Country Rock with its harmonies and intricate lyrics would appeal to a wider audience. 

Johnny Lee recalled, “When Urban Cowboy came along, my thoughts were, ’If this is a success, this is really going to slingshot my career.  And if it isn’t, it’s going to shoot me backwards and knock down everything I’d been working for.’  I didn’t know which way it was going to go, but I thought it was a pretty big deal having John Travolta in it.  I’m still grateful that John Travolta put on that cowboy hat and made that movie.”

Johnny Lee was not the only person to credit John Travolta for the success of the movie.  Based on the success of the Saturday Night Fever project, once John Travolta committed to the new movie, it didn't take much to convince the fashion people to jump in.  This project signaled a Western fashion gold mine certain to pay off in a big way. 

Saturday Night Fever had been a surprise hit to everyone involved.  However, with Travolta aboard, Urban Cowboy would be no surprise.  Hyped by Clay Felker as the 'Sequel' to the box office Disco monster, Urban Cowboy was the safest investment anyone could imagine.  The music and fashion industry wasted no time putting their marketing wheels in motion. 

SUBCHAPTER 619 - WHAT WAS TRAVOLTA THINKING?

SUBCHAPTER 619 - WHAT WAS TRAVOLTA THINKING?

Rick Archer's Note: 

We are back in 1979.  As I watch the Western Menace slowly strangle the life out of Disco like a powerful boa constrictor, I am absolutely certain the only reason Urban Cowboy ever got off the launch pad was due to the star power of John Travolta, Numero Uno Cultural Icon of the Seventies. 

Overcome with morbid fascination, I wonder how the muckamucks ever persuaded Travolta to do this movie. As the brightest star in the constellation, Travolta is in the enviable position of choosing his next project. 

Money?  Perhaps.  But one would think Travolta had enough money to wait for a better vehicle.  Travolta is not right for this role.  He's a tall, skinny kid who comes across as soft and pretty.  Not a scar on his face.  One look is all it takes to guess Travolta has never thrown a punch in his life.  Who is going to believe this guy is the toughest Hombre at Gilley's?

I rack my brain to understand what would persuade John Travolta to accept a role in such a strange Sequel.

What kind of Sequel is this anyway?  A Movie Sequel is supposed to continue the story of an earlier work.  Audiences are eager for more stories about popular characters.  What will happen to our hero next time?  This is what makes a Sequel so appealing.

What is Gone with the Wind II without Rhett and Scarlett?  What is King Kong II without King Kong?  What is Godzilla II without Godzilla?  Look at it this way.  Godzilla is a major movie star.  He is larger than life, by far the biggest movie star in Hollywood.  Godzilla knows everyone wants to see him return and kick some more ass.  So what is Godzilla's next move?  In his next movie, Godzilla appears as Barney the Singing and Dancing Dinosaur.  Immediately everyone begins scratching their head.  What kind of career move is this? 

For crying out loud, John Travolta is the hottest property in Hollywood.   With his credibility, Travolta could snap his fingers and insist on continuing the Tony Manero Fever story line.  Why not simply demand a Sequel to reprise his Disco role?  None of this adds up.

I finally decide the answer is 'Loyalty'.  Nothing else makes sense.  Since Travolta's name is involved and the dancing angle of Urban Cowboy is being emphasized, I assume the same people who made Saturday Night Fever are making Urban Cowboy.  Whoever hired Travolta to do Saturday Night Fever and Grease had made him a huge star.  So I imagine they have asked him to do this goofy 'Sequel' as a favor and Travolta said okay.

I was comforted by the fact that a lot of my friends reached the same conclusion.  Trust me, during the Dying Days of Disco, we talked endlessly about the mysteries of Urban Cowboy as we cried in our beers.  Still, no matter how much beer I drink to drown my sorrows, there is one issue I cannot resolve to my satisfaction... why are the muckamucks calling this movie a 'Sequel'?  'Sequel' to what? Every time I read about the movie in the newspaper, they are calling it a Sequel to Saturday Night Fever.  Why not just advertise it as a normal movie starring Travolta like they did with Grease?  What makes this a Sequel?

My idea of a Sequel would feature Travolta reprising his Tony Manero role.  That role had made Travolta famous beyond his wildest dreams.  So why not do it again?  The utter absurdity of making a Sequel that is not a Sequel blows my mind. 

SUBCHAPTER 620 - THE SEQUEL THAT WAS NOT A SEQUEL

Rick Archer's Note: 

It took me 37 years to figure out what was really going on, but it was worth the wait. 

As the Texas Monthly article made clear, Clay Felker, the guy who conjured up Urban Cowboy, had absolutely no connection to John Travolta.  Nor did he have any connection to Robert Stigwood, the guy who made Saturday Night Fever.  The only link between Saturday Night Fever and Urban Cowboy was John Travolta.  All Felker had to do was point at Travolta and fool the world into thinking the movies were connected.  Guess what?  It worked!  We were fooled.  Maybe even me. 

Clay Felker was a sly fellow.  Back when he decided to rip off the Saturday Night Fever plot and transfer it to Gilley's, Felker could not legally come right out and say 'Sequel'.

However, Felker found an effective way to convey the message nonetheless.  The subtitle to Aaron Latham's Esquire story said it all: 'Saturday Night Fever, Country-Western Style'

Clay Felker wasn't interested in subtlety.  Felker intended to link this story to Fever from the start.  He was going to make sure every reader of the Urban Cowboy tale had the 'Sequel' concept firmly emblazoned in their brain.  It worked on me and it worked on a lot of other people as well, including certain Movie Moguls.

Keep this in mind.  The advertising campaign did not call Urban Cowboy a Sequel.  That would have invited a lawsuit.  It was the media that called it a Sequel.  My guess is that Clay Felker referred to Urban Cowboy as a sequel in phone conversations and casual interviews, but had the sense not to put it writing.  The gushing TV personalities would then pass on the rumor wink wink. 

Without John Travolta, this trick would have never worked.  To me, the presence of John Travolta was the ONLY THING that made Urban Cowboy a 'Sequel' to Fever.  Take Travolta out of it, who would go to see this flick?  Although my friends and I were dumbfounded to understand why brilliant movie moguls would choose a Country-Western theme over Disco for the Disco Icon's next starring role, once we heard that Travolta was involved, we numbly accepted the weird 'Sequel Rumor' must be legitimate. 

Seriously, Travolta's presence was the only reason we were fooled us into believing this 'Sequel' bullshit was on the level.

Eventually our doubts went away.  Once we saw all the fuss stirred up by John Travolta filming a movie in our hometown, we concluded those Hollywood people were pretty darn smart after all.  Those movie people were so clever they had the sense to know that hiring John Travolta over the objections of the country purists would guarantee the project's success.  Clearly they had the brains to know city folk were their target audience and that using Travolta was the only possible way to reach them. 

Personally, I was humbled by the man's star power.  A lot of my dance student friends told me they would never dream of going to see this movie if Travolta had not been in it.  However, now their curiosity was out of control.  Thanks to the media buzz, the entire city of Houston anticipated Travolta would do the same thing for Western dancing that he had done for Disco. 

Holy Smokes, this guy was worth every cent they paid him!  I could not turn sideways without someone talking about 'John'.  Oh, 'John' is so special!  Every day another female TV personality made a fool of herself gushing over how handsome 'John' was.  Or I would read some smarming 'John' story in the gossip column.  His face was on every billboard. 

Talk about charisma!  Well before the movie was released, Travolta's name and face were already selling clothes and soundtrack albums like crazy.  Nightclub businessmen throughout Houston were gambling small fortunes on the potential of a Travolta-inspired Western craze.  Nor was Travolta's effect limited to Houston.  Travolta went national!  John Travolta was a marketing franchise who singlehandedly inspired a shift to Western culture in 1979-1980. 

As if by magic, cowboy hats and cowboy boots were showing up on Wall Street, in Times Square, on yachts at Cape Cod, in BMW's speeding down Sunset Boulevard.  Three piece suits were replaced with Wrangler Jeans and open collar cowboy shirts.  The chic martini set put aside their gin and ordered themselves a Lone Star beer just to prove they were Real Cowboys at heart.  Yee haw! 

Here in Houston, grown men and women took complete leave of their senses and paraded around the city with unabashed pride in their outlandish country costumes.  Some of the weirdest outfits I have ever seen appeared with startling regularity in random places such as grocery stores, movie theaters and restaurants. 

These developments convinced me that signing John Travolta to do this movie was an act of sheer genius!   This opinion remained unchanged for the next thirty seven years. 

SUBCHAPTER 621 - TYPECASTING

Rick Archer's Note: 

It is time to discuss Typecasting.  Before we begin, keep in mind everything I say is hypothetical speculation.  It would be difficult for me, a complete stranger, to call up Paramount Pictures and get a candid answer to my questions 40 years after the fact.  So I made some guesses instead.  Please take everything I say with a grain of salt.

What is Typecasting?  

•  Cowboy and soldier.  John Wayne. 
•  Wise old man.  Morgan Freeman, Martin Sheen.
•  Action hero.  Arnold Schwarzenegger, The Rock.
•  Badass.  Samuel Jackson, Scott Glenn. 
•  Smarmy foreign guy in film noir thrillers.  Peter Lorre. 
•  Crazy psychotic.  Christopher Walken. 
•  Romantic female comedy star.  Jennifer Aniston, Cameron Diaz. 
•  Sophisticated Romantic male comedy star.  Hugh Grant, Cary Grant. 
•  Dancing.  Fred Astaire, John Travolta. 

What is Reverse Typecasting?  John Travolta, Urban Cowboy. 

We are getting closer to the heart of my Dumb Luck story.  John Travolta really had no business starring in Urban Cowboy.  In fact, according to the Texas Monthly article, the producers deliberately ruled Travolta out.

•  Jack Larson, Urban Cowboy Producer: "Director Jim Bridges hadn’t even thought of John; his first thought was Dennis Quaid."

•  Aaron Latham, Writer: "I thought it was crazy, a big mistake."

•  Dew Westbrook, Gilley's Romeo: "I told Jim Bridges and Paramount Pictures that I didn’t think Travolta oughta play me.  Too disco."

Yes, it's true, the producers did not want him!!   Behind the scenes, the Suits were determined to avoid Travolta at all costs.  They were convinced he was wrong for the part.  And you know what?  They had a good point.

This was a movie about country people who moved to Houston and Pasadena from rural Texas.  Travolta's hiring risked alienating the very people he was supposed to attract.  Didn't anybody know that John Travolta was despised by most Country folk? 

When Travolta was hired to film Urban Cowboy, he was currently Public Enemy Number One thanks to the 'Disco Sucks' backlash.  In particular the Country Crowd hated 'John Ravolta' with a purple passion for making trashy Disco so disgustingly popular.  

Believe it or not, none of the Moguls wanted Travolta!  Why would they want to hire a wise-cracking Italian grease ball with a Jersey accent to play a tough Texas boy?  That would be almost as stupid as hiring Rock Hudson to play the son of Indian chief Cochise (true story).  How on earth would audiences ever accept the Disco King as the Dancing Cowboy? 

Except for one thing... John Travolta was the Number One movie star on the planet.   Didn't that count for something?

SUBCHAPTER 622 - JOHN TRAVOLTA SAVES URBAN COWBOY

Rick Archer's Note: 

On a personal note, the one thing I never could reconcile was the appearance of John Travolta as the Dancing Cowboy.  The word 'Sequel' is what tripped me up.  What kind of SEQUEL is this?  Based on the rumors, I assumed 'Tony Manero', the Disco King from SNF, had moved to Texas.  Weird plot, but okay.  But then I heard Travolta was playing someone named 'Bud'.  Now I was really confused.  If Urban Cowboy was a true SEQUEL to Saturday Night Fever, then why wasn't the star named 'Tony Manero'?   I obsessed over this riddle night and day, but there were no answers. 

My instincts said that something weird was going on here.  In a Sequel, you don't have a star playing a different character.  But here in Houston we were being given the strong impression that Urban Cowboy and Saturday Night Fever were somehow linked.  The only thing that linked the two movies was John Travolta.  Therefore, it was the presence of John Travolta that gave the rumor credibility.  Surely Travolta had been hired to do for Western dancing what he had been hired to do for Disco dancing.  Everyone in Houston was convinced the presence of Travolta guaranteed that Western dancing would be the next big thing. 

Many people agreed the only thing that saved Urban Cowboy was the casting of John Travolta.  Country singer Johnny Lee said it best. 

"I thought it was a pretty big deal having Travolta in it.  I am still grateful John Travolta put on that cowboy hat and made that movie."

In my opinion, Johnny Lee was absolutely right.  Without Travolta, I think the movie would have been a giant flop.  Back in the beginning, I was very skeptical about casting Travolta in this role, but I became a convert.  Let me explain why I think John Travolta was indispensable.  To begin with, as I have made clear, Urban Cowboy was shamelessly billed as a 'Sequel' to Saturday Night Fever.  The only thing that could have possibly sold this Sequel nonsense to the public was John Travolta.  Therefore Clay Felker was very fortunate to land Travolta.  Without Travolta, how on earth would Felker ever gotten away with his nutty 'Sequel' claim?

Throughout 1979, I could see my fellow citizens going bonkers over the fact that John Travolta was here in town.  The presence of John Travolta absolutely ignited Houston.  My first inkling of Travolta's power came when all the Discos closed and reopened as Country-Western clubs.  My second inkling came when the Jewish ladies at the Meyerland Club showed up wearing those preposterous western outfits.  I asked myself who had the power to make all these women lose complete control of their better judgment?

My third inkling came in January 1980.  This is when my dance program benefitted from a transfusion of new western students.  Every single one of my new country-western dance students went on and on about John Travolta.  All they could talk about was "John Travolta this, John Travolta that, John Travolta is going to put country dancing on the map."

It had taken me a while to catch on, but now I was convinced this unorthodox move had paid off for everyone concerned. I now realized the casting of John Travolta as the lead in Urban Cowboy was a truly inspired choice, a no-brainer.  Listening to my students gush, I shook my head in disbelief.  'My students are right, but I wonder how did the producers ever talked John Travolta into appearing in this movie?'

The answer to that question is the reason I wrote this article in the first place.  We will get to it shortly.  In the meantime, everyone said this movie would be doomed without Travolta.  I completely agreed with them.  His inclusion was the only reason most of us were interested.

Like I keep saying, John Travolta was the hottest movie star on the planet.  Travolta was coming off of Grease, a mega-hit.  He had an Oscar nomination for Saturday Night Fever.  Everyone I talked to agreed the master stroke was lining up John Travolta to do this movie.  History bears this out. 

With the advantage of hindsight, we know Urban Cowboy turned out to be a bad movie.  Lame, predictable script.  The professional critics didn't care for the movie and neither did I.  Feel free to disagree, but that's the way I see it.  Fortunately for the producers, the movie made good money in spite of its ho-hum, by-the-numbers plotline. 

On a $10 million dollar investment, Urban Cowboy made good money... $50 million box office, $30 million record sales.  From my viewpoint, this success could be attributed to one thing and one thing only... the dominating presence of John Travolta. 

If ever there was a movie that would have stood little chance of success without its star, that would be Urban Cowboy.  Since the thought of seeing Travolta dance again was irresistible, his presence sold this movie in advance.  Word of mouth was not necessary.  Hyped as a 'SEQUEL', the intense pre-movie hype did the trick instead. 

Knowing now what I did not know then, I suspect that Clay Felker, the Wizard of Oz himself, was using his universal media connections to endlessly plug the movie.  Indeed, here in Houston the days leading up to this movie were filled with ubiquitous TV features.  One feature covered a night at a Texas cowboy bar.  Another feature showed gang of Gilley-rats who devoted their entire life around being extras in the movie.  

There were newspaper 'Lifestyle' articles on suburban 'Cowgirl' fashions.  There were constant media references to the likelihood of western dancing catching on.  Here in Houston, you could not turn sidewise and not run into some sort of reminder that the biggest thing since Davy Crockett, the Alamo and the Astrodome was right around the corner.  Urban Cowboy was a Texas-size Big Deal.  It was so big the movie could not fail because the pre-game hype was so overpowering. 

At the very center of this whirlwind storm of publicity stood the Dancing Cowboy himself, John Travolta.  John Travolta is the man who sold this movie.  Take my word for it.

That is the moment I concluded the Urban Cowboy producers had been really smart to get Travolta.  I was embarrassed at how wrong I had been wrong to question their decision.  Sure, putting Travolta in this role was reverse typecasting, but I had underestimated his hold on America's imagination.  Obviously someone had known what they were doing.  I decided that is why they were getting paid the big bucks and not me. 

Just for the fun of it, I tried to visualize the thinking process that had gone into the controversial selection of Travolta for this part.  In my mind, I pretended to be a Paramount Movie Mogul making a casting decision on this Urban Cowboy vehicle my company is interested in financing.

As everyone knows, movie moguls are very bright guys.  I have earned my job because I always know what I am doing.  I am well aware that movies cost a lot of money so my job is to make sensible decisions in a risk-filled business.  I understand that one really bad mistake can bankrupt a studio.  Indeed, there is so little room for failure that one bad movie could end my career as a producer.  Therefore I am ultra-conscious to minimize risk.  Unfortunately I have found it is not easy to predict winners and losers.  Some movies have a surprising chemistry... Saturday Night Fever for example... and some have no chemistry at all... Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. 

So how does a Movie Mogul like me decide which movie is a sound investment?   I hedge my bet!  If there is one word that makes Moguls like me tremble with excitement, it is the word 'SEQUEL'.  If you say it the right way, 'Sequel' and 'Squeal' are virtually the same.  A Sequel makes a movie mogul Squeal with delight.  A Sequel is movie magic. 

"Ooh, baby, baby, b-b-baby baby, I just love dem Sequels!"

'SEQUEL' is the movie industry's favorite word because it guarantees a built-in audience.   'Sequels' are the safest bet in Hollywood, especially if the star is willing to return.   A perfect example would be the countless James Bond movies.  Think about the James Bond movies with Sean Connery.  It was never the same without him, was it?  

Nor would a SEQUEL to Saturday Night Fever be any good without John Travolta.   

Right now I am sitting with other sharp Paramount executives in our plush Hollywood office.  We are staring at the Urban Cowboy script.  It is a tale about displaced country yahoos forced to work in smelly Pasadena oil refineries.  Unattractive people, no nudity, ugly location.  And yet Clay Felker is sitting here insisting this is a SEQUEL to Saturday Night Fever.  I shake my head.  This guy must be out of his mind.

As a Mogul, I have a major problem.  This here Gilley's place is the focus for most of the movie's events.  From what I gather, Gilley's is not attractive.  It has been described to me as a hot, sticky, beer-drenched dump. 

I have also been told the people who hang out at Gilley's are not easy on the eyes.  My colleagues refer to them as 'Redneck Rodeo'.  We aren't talking about cute Rednecks like Daisy Duke on the Dukes of Hazzard TV show.  Nope.  My comrades are talking about angry, bigoted people who flirt with Klu Klux Klan membership and beat their wives.  They are talking about nasty bullies who think getting drunk and fighting on the premises is the very finest in Saturday night entertainment. 

So I ask a question.  Is there any way we can make this movie more like Dallas?  Can we get Larry Hagman to play Bud?  Rich, conniving oil barons and their beautiful trophy wives make it happen for Dallas.  Therefore it is a serious reach to expect brawling, beer-bellied rednecks and foul-mouthed women with plus-sized butts to achieve a similar fascination.  I've got some pictures in front of me.  The way I see it, whoever said Country is Cool has not been to Gilley's lately. 

Therefore I have to hand it to Clay Felker.  As we Moguls listen to his pitch here in our Mogul office, Felker's bullshit makes this run-down honky-tonk sound like the second coming of Xanadu.  Don't ask me how he did it, but Felker threw Ugly into his spin machine and made Badass sound beautiful.

However, we Movie Moguls are not stupid.  We know better than to believe a con artist like Clay Felker.  No amount of lipstick on this pig will sell this movie.  So we decide to accept this project only on one condition.  We have to get John Travolta! 

Otherwise no one will ever believe this is a SEQUEL.  The only way this movie will ever make us a dime is if John Travolta is willing to star in this movie!!!  Let's go get him!

SUBCHAPTER 623 - THE DUMB LUCKIEST GUYS OF ALL TIME

Rick Archer's Note: 

Since John Travolta ended up starring in the movie, I think we can assume the Paramount moguls came to their senses and pulled out all stops to Travolta well in advance.  These muckamucks obviously knew what they were doing after all.

But what if the producers did not know what they were doing? 

I was 66 years old when I read the 'Urban Cowboy Turns 35' article.  When I discovered the true story, my jaw dropped open in shock.   The article said the mogul muckamucks never had any intention of asking Travolta to star in the movie.  Not once did they bother to ask Travolta if he was interested.  Unbelievable!!!  I had just spent the past 40 years thinking these guys were geniuses, but nothing could be further from the truth.

These movie moguls weren't brilliant at all, they were just ridiculously lucky!   Or should I say 'Dumb Lucky'?  The whole Travolta thing was based on unbelievable Dumb Luck!!!

Surely the Reader assumes I am joking.  Right now you are saying, "Gosh, Rick, are you serious when you say they didn't ask John Travolta to do this movie?" 

Yes, folks, that is correct.  Prepare to be outrageously amused.  These movie guys were not smart, at least not when it came to this movie.  They were the Dumb Luckiest movie moguls in Hollywood History.  Let's face it, sometimes it is better to be lucky than smart.  As it turned out, the people who were planning to make Urban Cowboy did not ask John Travolta to participate in this movie because he was obviously wrong for the part.  That makes sense.  As I have pointed out, on paper, Travolta was an odd choice. 

So now you wonder how John Travolta ended up starring in Urban Cowboy even though no one wanted him there to begin with.  The answer is fascinating to say the least.

SUBCHAPTER 624 - A QUIRK OF FATE

To make a long story short, John Travolta had to beg the Moguls to let him be in this movie.  This is hard to believe, but it is true. 

It all went back to the contract Travolta signed with Robert Stigwood.  The contract called for Travolta to do three movies. 

1. Saturday Night Fever
2. Grease
3. And, uh, yeah, that third blockbuster. 

Out of curiosity, can you name John Travolta's third Stigwood movie?   If you are stumped, don't feel bad.  I drew a compete blank and I bet you will too.  The odds of getting it right are slim and none.  But if you succeed, then I definitely want you on my Movie Trivia team. 

One reason no one remembers Travolta's third Stigwood movie is because apparently no one ever saw it.  Well, maybe a few people saw it, but they won't admit it.  Okay, you either know the answer or you've finished looking it up on Google, so let's get to it. 

Moment by Moment (1978) with Lily Tomlin was Travolta's third Stigwood movie.  This movie was an unmitigated flop. 

'The only thing they have in common is each other.' 

What utter nonsense.  They had NOTHING IN COMMON.  Any two people off the street reading lines from the script would have been more effective.  Cast as a 'May-December' romance, Tomlin and Travolta were mismatched stars from the start.  They had the worst chemistry in cinematic history.  Tomlin did not click at all as Travolta's cougar girlfriend.  No sizzle, just fizzle.

However, the thing that catapulted this flick from mere flop to catastrophic failure was an unanticipated bad break.  Lily Tomlin bore an uncanny resemblance to Travolta in both facial structure and body type.  Making matters worse, their matching hair styles made the weird resemblance impossible to miss. 

On screen, Tomlin looked more like Travolta's mother than his girlfriend.  It did not help that Tomlin was 16 years older, thus making the mother-son connection a biological possibility. 

The moment their icky hot tub scene screamed 'Incest!', everyone in the theater got a bad case of the heebie-jeebies.  The movie was so creepy, droves of people got up and left.

The Travolta-Tomlin resemblance was so obvious, one would think the director or someone would have noticed during the filming.  Or more likely everyone had the sense to look the other way, sort of like 'The Emperor's New Clothes'.  For crying out loud, will someone give Travolta a crew cut or stick a blonde wig on Tomlin?  Either Travolta was guilty of seducing his mother or he was having sex with his older sister.  Either way, the sex scenes were unbearable to watch. 

The bad news was that no one went to see this movie.  The good news was that no one went to see this movie.  The movie was pulled from theaters as fast as humanly possible, but the ensuing criticism drove Travolta to madness.  Although his star power survived due to the movie's anonymity, his ego was seriously damaged by the withering negativity.  Many years later, Travolta was asked to comment on the Moment by Moment fiasco. 

Interview Question: 

"John, Saturday Night Fever turned you into a cultural icon.  What was your reaction to the impact of Moment by Moment?”

Travolta:

"I think with Fever, people were evaluating my impact more than they were my acting.  As for Moment by Moment, my God, you would have thought I had committed murder or something!  It was serious trouble. 

And the weird thing was that everything in my life up to that point, well, I don’t know of a career that had gone more smoothly and successfully than mine.  Welcome Back Kotter, Carrie, Boy in the Plastic Bubble, Saturday Night Fever and Grease - they were five major strokes that were 100 percent all right. 

Unfortunately, at the very peak, when the lights were on full and everybody was watching and waiting, here comes Moment by Moment.  Boom.  Failure!  And not just ordinary failure, but gut-wrenching, horrible failure.  I cringe every time I think about it."

After Moment by Moment, one would assume Travolta would lick his wounds, dust himself off and get ready to begin filming Urban Cowboy.  After all, we can assume the muckamucks had the sense to lock Mr. Indispensable up contractually.  However, such was not the case.  Travolta had no idea Urban Cowboy even existed.  His next film was American Gigolo.   

American Gigolo?  You mean the Richard Gere movie?   It turns out that John Travolta was contractually obligated to film American Gigolo.  This raises a fascinating question, one for which I have no answer.  How on earth did Clay Felker intend to sell the Sequel idea without John Travolta playing the lead?  The only way Felker's rip-off could successfully hop onto Stigwood's coattails would be to link it to Saturday Night Fever.  Felker and Paramount needed Travolta for that.  There was no other way.  Therefore ordinary people like you and me would can see Paramount needed to lock Travolta up ahead of time to prevent Stigwood interference.  Since these Moguls were really smart guys, we can assume they already had this angle figured out.  Leaving nothing to chance, surely the geniuses who bought the film rights had Travolta signed, sealed and delivered for Urban Cowboy well in advance.

That, of course, would be the obvious conclusion.   However, we now know it is the wrong conclusion.  They did not have the sense to do that.  Travolta was definitely headed to American Gigolo. 

Should Paramount have contacted Travolta?  YES!!  And did the Producers do that?  NO!!  They never once contacted him which was very risky.  The moment Robert Stigwood discovered that Felker was trying to steal the 'Sequel' concept, he would probably tell his attorney to dissuade Travolta from participating.  In Stigwood's mind, the only thing that could make Felker's copycat maneuver worse would be if the Urban Cowboy producers went out and hired John Travolta to play the lead. 

So let's try to guess what happened next.  Here's an idea.  Since Paramount owned the rights to both movies, some Paramount Mogul must have pleaded with another Paramount Mogul to trade John Travolta to Urban Cowboy in return for Richard Gere and a Mickey Mantle baseball card because they had to have Travolta.  But that is not what happened. 

As it turned out, the smartest guys in the room decided John Travolta was completely wrong for the role.  Instead they lined up Houston-born actor Dennis Quaid to play the role of Bud.  Aaron Latham had written the Urban Cowboy script with Quaid specifically in mind.  I imagine Dennis Quaid would have been good for the role.  Unlike pretty boy John, Quaid had a tough, rugged look that suggested he had actually thrown a punch or two at some point in his life.

Meanwhile Travolta had no idea he had been overlooked for the part.  All he could think about was his Moment to Moment failure, the first black mark in his career.  Badly shaken by the scathing criticism surrounding his recent movie, Travolta experienced tremendous self-doubt.  Reeling from his Moment to Moment failure, Travolta wanted nothing to do with his next picture, American Gigolo.  He decided to ditch the movie because it reminded him too much of the effeminate pretty boy role in his recent failure.  Travolta preferred a more masculine role, so the part went to Richard Gere. 

Paramount Pictures was producing American Gigolo.  They said Travolta could withdraw if he wanted to, but only if he would agree to make two films for them instead of one.  Paramount told Travolta to study some of the other films in production and see which one he liked.  By coincidence, Paramount had just agreed to film Urban Cowboy at the same exact moment Travolta withdrew from Gigolo.  In other words, John Travolta had just become available at the exact moment casting for Urban Cowboy had begun.  Nice timing.  In fact, it sounds rather Fateful, doesn't it?

Through the grapevine, Travolta heard Urban Cowboy had dancing in it and that casting for the movie was taking place right this minute.  Curious, he asked a friend for a copy of the script.  After reading the script, Travolta wanted to do the movie.  In hindsight, given the details of his Moment to Moment failure, Travolta's decision to chase this script makes sense.  Following the criticism for being passive and effeminate in his previous role, Travolta was understandably drawn to the macho role of a tough Texas cowboy. 

In Travolta's own words:

"Shortly after Moment by Moment, I read the script for Urban Cowboy.  I wanted to check out Gilley’s and the mechanical bull.  It seemed like something new to me, with a rough element that made it exciting.  The bull riding, the dancing, the dangerous atmosphere — it had all the right elements.  It was a one-shot project and I made my own decision, took my own risk.”

Obviously the dancing interested Travolta.  As the star of the two most popular dance movies since the days of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Travolta was no doubt drawn to a situation that promised to restore his damaged confidence.  So Travolta took the unusual step of calling director Jim Bridges to lobby for the part.  Director Bridges was not very encouraging.  Without explaining his reluctance to Travolta, he was totally locked into Dennis Quaid.  Bridges told Travolta he would talk it over with writer Aaron Latham and the producers to see what they thought.  They thought the idea of hiring Travolta was ridiculous. 

Jim Bridges got back on the phone and told Travolta not to bother, Dennis Quaid had already been promised the spot.  Undeterred, Travolta insisted on an audition.  Bridges didn't know what to say.  The Urban Cowboy brain trust were all of one mind... they were convinced that Dennis Quaid, the rawboned native Texan, was right for the role.  They were equally convinced that Travolta, the Jersey kid with a thick East Coast accent, was a big mistake.  On the other hand, riding his considerable Saturday Night Fever and Grease fame, John Travolta did occupy the Center of Cinema Universe.  Apparently that small detail was enough to get him an audition. 

It is a well-known fact that A-list Hollywood Gods and Goddesses do not have to read for anything.  Their previous work speaks for itself.  Nevertheless Travolta was humble enough to give it a try.  First of all, he did something very clever... he practiced in advance for his audition!

In his own words: 

"Right away I went to Texas to rub elbows with cowboys, real and urban, and it was a revelation.  I was used to New York and L.A., where people looked over each other’s shoulders at parties for someone more interesting to talk to.  These Texans just wanted to have a beer, a whiskey, and a fantastic time.  I spent a good month hanging out with them, and another training at my ranch in Santa Barbara, where I’d installed a mechanical bull and a dance floor."

Buying his own ticket, Travolta hopped on a plane and flew from California to chase the part.  To begin with, apparently Travolta had more guts than people gave him credit for.  He was the best mechanical bull rider in the cast.  In addition, to everyone's surprise, Travolta turned out to be a kicker at heart.  Little did they know that Travolta had always fancied himself a cowboy.  Even before the movie, Travolta wore boots wherever he went, drove a pickup truck and loved Westerns.  Practicing his southern drawl beforehand, Travolta swept the producer, writer and director off their feet. 

"Howdy, y'all!!  I'm right darn tootin' glad to be here tooo-day.  Got my boots on and I'm cowboyed up 'bout dancin' and kickin' some ass in this here movie!  Now do me a favor and show me where this cotton-pickin' mechanical bull is hidin'!"

Let me say this one more time:  Although John Travolta, supernova supreme, was the only thing that could have possibly turned this likely flop into a money maker, the movie muckamucks never once asked if he was interested.  Then Fate intervened and gave the Mucks a second chance.  Due to a Quirk of Fate regarding Gigolo, John Travolta was not only available, he was very interested.

So what did the muckamucks do with their second chance?  The most brilliant minds in Hollywood yawned and said don't bother.  We've got Dennis Quaid lined up, so who needs you?  After being told he was wrong for the part, Travolta, the hottest star on the planet, was forced to BEG for an audition.  Once Travolta insisted, the muckamucks finally relented and gave him lukewarm permission to fly to Houston and try out for the part. 

Thanks to the most serious case of Dumb Luck imaginable, the movie would rake in $50 million on a budget of $10 million.  And only God knows how many weird western outfits and cowboy soundtrack albums were sold strictly because Travolta was the star.  No doubt the Paramount Moguls had the nerve to take credit for their 'brilliant' casting decision.  However, in their heart of hearts, they had to wonder how on earth they were ever lucky enough to get the hottest star on the planet to appear in this movie and why they had discouraged him in the first place. 

Can you believe those Muckamucks made JOHN TRAVOLTA crawl for an audition!?!?!

Seriously, this story belongs in Ripley's Believe it or Not.  That's the thing about success.  Sometimes we succeed because we have talent and we are smart.  And sometimes it is better to be lucky than smart.  Just ask me.  As far as I am concerned, my career as a Western instructor was a complete accident.  I should have seen the potential in Western dancing, but turned my back.  Thanks to Fate, I succeeded in spite of my own stupidity.  Apparently the same can be said for the men who made Urban Cowboy.  They not only overlooked the number one star in Hollywood to begin with, they brushed him off when Travolta initially showed interest.  Dumb Luck occurs when someone succeeds despite colossal stupidity.