Word: helene
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...George Papashvily, about 80, undauntable Russian emigrant who turned his scuffling initiation to America into a humorous bestseller, Anything Can Happen; in Cambria, Calif. His father in Soviet Georgia taught him swordmaking, but Papashvily washed dishes and raised chickens after reaching Ellis Island in 1922. His U.S.-born wife Helen put his misadventures to paper in 1944, and four more books followed. Papashvily also found success as a sculptor of animals...
...Travolta clan has not yet become the Barrymores of Bergen County it will not be for want of the firm support and encouragement of Helen ("a very sensitive, giving woman," says Johnny) and Sam ("a very gentle, sensitive man") Travolta. Sam played semipro football and baseball, worked in the tire business to keep the family dreams within reach. Helen, who was one of the Sunshine Sisters on Hackensack radio during the '30s, joined a local stock company after she married Sam. "She was a great, great actress," Sam says. Adds Helen: "They used to compare me with Barbara Stanwyck...
...midst of raising the six kids, Helen also found time to direct neighborhood theatricals and pass along some sound tips on acting to young Johnny. "I said once you become a character, you are another person," she recalls now. "You have to be quiet when it is not your turn. And you just don't make an entrance by running into a room. You let people have a look at you as you walk...
These lessons took root, and Johnny was soon up for a part in one of Helen's productions down at the local high school. He wanted a role as big as Brother Joey's, balked at taking second billing and toddled out of the show. He consoled himself with such pursuits as organizing backyard carnivals and starting a bowling alley in the basement with croquet balls and milk bottles (20¢ per game, soda pop a nickel extra). He did extravagant, free-form tap dances in front of the TV, imitating Cagney ("I loved him. He was so loving and sensitive...
Along with his tutorials in ethnic rhythms, Travolta had also enrolled for professional dancing lessons at a local school run by Fred Kelly (brother of Gene). Reinforced by the enthusiasm of Sam and Helen and looming academic catastrophe, Travolta left school and home at 16. "I decided I was good enough to compete with the professionals," he remembers. "So I went into New York City...