Travolting? A History of John Travolta's Hairstyles

Thankfully he's going bald in his new movie, because this actor has had some pretty ridiculous 'dos over the years.

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Complex Original

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Not a fan of baldies? At least John Travolta's not wearing hair plugs.

In his new movie, the action thriller From Paris With Love, John Travolta finally traded in bad hair plugs for a bald head. We ain't mad at it. It's just funny that it took him so long, considering that his Pulp Fiction co-star Bruce Willis has been holding it down on the razor's edge for decades. To honor him for finally owning up to his hair loss (not that we don't expect all kinds of wig fuckery to come), we give you the good, the bad, the ugly: a history of John Travolta's hairstyles.

JT_Kotter

WELCOME BACK, KOTTER, 1975-79
Hairstyle: "The Sherm Perm"
Complex says: We're betting that Vinnie Barbarino, the heartthrob of his 1970s remedial high school class in Brooklyn, achieved his look with some products not found in the hair care aisle. Unless that's where they kept the PCP back in the day.

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JT_Fever

SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER, 1977
Hairstyle: "The Disco Jockey"
Complex says: Brushing and hair-spraying—first you do it to your coiffure, then you do it to a dancing queen.

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JT_Grease

GREASE, 1978
Hairstyle: "The Motor-Oil-a"
Complex says: Chicks love it when they can lube their camshaft after running fingers through your hair.

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JT_Staying_Alive

STAYING ALIVE, 1983
Hairstyle: "The Sensual Seduction"
Complex says: As an added bonus, any dandruff produced by this look can be used in coffee as a sweetener.

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JT_Pulp_Fiction

PULP FICTION, 1994
Hairstyle: "The Thank You, Quentin, For Helping Me Make A Comb-back"
Complex says: A career is one thing, but even Tarantino can't revive dying hair follicles.

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JT_Michael

MICHAEL, 1996
Hairstyle: "The Heaven Only Knows"
Complex says: Apparently the Archangel Michael is a big Michael Bolton fan.

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JT_Mad_City

MAD CITY, 1997
Hairstyle: "The Sideburning Sensation"
Complex says: Doesn't require penicillin, but it may still prevent you from getting laid.

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JT_Battlefield

BATTLEFIELD EARTH: A SAGA OF THE YEAR 3000, 2000
Hairstyle: "The Waaay Extra Extraterrestrial"
Complex says: Unlike the aliens in Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard's teachings, these nine-foot, Ras Trent-on-a-crack-binge-looking fuckers, which originated in one of his sci-fi books, aren't real. We hope not, 'cause if they are, hairstylists all around the universe should be very, very afraid.

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JT_Swordfish2

SWORDFISH, 2001
Hairstyle: "The Nobody Will Notice My Plugs If They're Frosted"
Complex says: The only frosting distracting us from Travolta's hairline was the kind we wanted to apply to Halle Berry's naked twos.

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JT_Bobby_Long

A LOVE SONG FOR BOBBY LONG, 2004
Hairstyle: "The Begrudging Curmudgeon"
Complex says: The one time it would have made perfect sense to be balding...

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JT_Hairspray2

HAIRSPRAY, 2007
Hairstyle: "The White Tyler Perry"
Complex says: That's...one way to wear a wig.

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JT_Pelham

THE TAKING OF PELHAM 1 2 3, 2009
Hairstyle: "The Somebody Pulled A Heist On My Hairline!"
Complex says: After years of plugs and wigs, Travolta finally acknowledged that he was thinning and went with a buzz cut. The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem.

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