Hollywood and tech billionaire Barry Diller has just released his autobiography and in it he claims actor John Travolta pulled out of making the 1980 film American Gigolo because he had concerns about the film’s gay subtext.
Diller’s book Who Knew is lifting the lid of Diller’s decades of working in the film and technology sectors.
Ahead of its release Diller shared that he’s been attracted to and involved with men for most of his life, and the only woman he’s been attracted to is his wife fashion designer Diane von Fürstenberg.
Travolta had signed on to play high priced escort Julian Kay in Paul Schrader’s 1980 neo-noir crime drama. At the time Travolta has successfully made the switch from television to feature films with hits like Saturday Night Fever and Grease.
The leading role in American Gigolo was a bold move, the film featured full frontal nudity, a rarity for male actors at the time.
Before filming began Travolta reportedly visited Paramount studio chief Michael Eisner and said he couldn’t do the film and he was still grieving the recent deaths of his mother, and his girlfriend Diana Hyland who had passed away after battling breast cancer.
Eisner let Travolta out of his contract. In his book Diller says he believes Travolta’s plea to be released was all an act, and the real reason Travolta wanted out of the film was because of its gay subtext.
Diller shares that he met with Travolta and pleaded to him to ignore the advice of his manager who was recommending he pull out of the production.
“John came to my house one afternoon. I began by saying, ‘Right now, you are the biggest star in the world, and you worry you’re going to screw it up. You’re listening to this twerpy, inexperienced manager of yours, and it’s leading you to the wrong decisions,” he writes. “This is a critical time for you, and when you’ve got a great script and a great part, you don’t let anything put you off it.’ I went on with various examples of how his management had been mishandling things since his spurt to superstardom.”
Diller’s pleas did nothing to convince Travolta to return to the project, leaving producers scrambling to find a new lead actor.
They offered a million dollars to Superman star Christopher Reeve to to take on the part, but he declined. There are reports that comedian Chevy Chase was also offered to role. Finally the team secured Richard Gere, who had just made his debut in a supporting role 1978’s Looking for Mr. Goodbar and had starred in Terrence Mallick’s Days of Heaven.
Gere may have been Diller’s saviour on the project, which was a huge hit, but there was a big downside. The actor went on to have an affair with Diller’s partner Diane von Furstenberg. The couple split but reunited decades later, finally marrying in 2001.
Travolta’s representatives have yet to comment on Diller’s claims.
