Mickey Gilley Remembers His Dinner With John Travolta During ‘Urban Cowboy’ Filming [Exclusive Video]
On June 6, 1980, Urban Cowboy opened in theaters. The John Travolta-led film, adapted from an Esquire piece about the real-life love story of two regulars at Gilley's Club -- a Pasadena, Texas, honky-tonk co-owned by country artist Mickey Gilley and his producer, Sherwood Cryer -- helped revive Gilley's career, and put him on set with Travolta, Debra Winger and the rest of the cast.
"Not only was he a great actor, but, I mean, he's a nice guy," Gilley recalls of Travolta in a new interview, filmed for the 40th anniversary of Urban Cowboy. The clip, which readers can watch in full above, is premiering exclusively on The Boot.
"John was just down-to-Earth about the whole thing," Gilley remembers. In fact, Gilley's then-mother-in-law cooked Travolta dinner one night. The actor, who was by then a megastar thanks to films including Saturday Night Fever and Grease, "came over and ate with us," says the singer.
Travolta, according to Gilley, was taking flying lessons while filming Urban Cowboy, much to the chagrin of the studio, Paramount Pictures. The two talked about Travolta's hobby, and Gilley even got to go on a practice flight with him.
Gilley's interview is part of the 40th anniversary Blu-ray release of Urban Cowboy, due out on Tuesday (June 2). Good Times With Gilley: Looking Back at Urban Cowboy is one of several special new features to be included with the new edition of the film; multiple deleted scenes, as well as previously released outtakes and rehearsal footage, are also included.
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