John Travolta movies have given us some iconic costumes over the years, including the T-Bird leather jacket favoured by Danny Zuko in one of the best musicals ever made. However, there’s arguably a more famous Travolta look from the ’70s, and you can buy it for yourself – still stained with the actor’s sweat. Lovely.
A year before Grease, Travolta disco danced his way to stardom in one of the decade’s best movies. Saturday Night Fever swaggered through multiplexes with the help of the biggest hits of the Bee Gees. The soundtrack album is still one of the highest-selling movie records of all time.
One of the best drama movies ever, it is well-known for the white suit Travolta wears in some of the most famous scenes. One of two versions of the polyester garment bought off the rack in New York by the production for $100 is now expected to fetch $250,000 at auction.
The Guardian reported that Julien’s Auctions in Los Angeles is set to sell the suit, having acquired it from an anonymous collector of Hollywood merchandise. And apparently, those sweat marks are crucial.
“The sweat is how you know it’s authentic,” said Martin J Nolan, executive director of Julien’s Auctions. Whatever happened to certificates of authenticity? Much neater, and less obviously disgusting.
Nolan added: “It was incredibly hot during filming, so you can still see the sweat marks around his waist. We never wash memorabilia. People want the stains, the DNA, particularly when a suit like this one hasn’t been auctioned before.”
Travolta fans, though, will love the chance to own such a major part of movie history. And they probably won’t wash it either. That sweat will be there forever.
Travolta became one of the youngest nominees for the Best Actor Oscar for Saturday Night Fever, and it had a big role to play in cementing his career. He reprised the role of dance floor enthusiast Tony Manero in the poorly-received 1983 sequel Staying Alive.
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