John Travolta Celebrates Sister Ellen In Dream Hallmark Movie Role

Ellen Travolta had a dream come true after her brother, John Travolta helped her to star in Hall Out the Holly on Hallmark

It turns out that new Hallmark star, Ellen Travolta had the help of her famous brother John Travolta in snagging a role in Hail Out the Holly. In fact, it had always been her dream to star in a Hallmark movie since her husband of 34 years, Jack Bannon, passed away in 2017. Read the heartwarming story about the Happy Days alum and her latest role.

John Travolta helped Ellen Travolta snag a role on Hallmark Channel

The new, original movie Haul Out the Holly premiered on Saturday night on Hallmark Channel and it seems Ellen Travolta’s role in the movie was a dream come true. Known for her roles in classic sitcoms like Charles in Charge and Happy Days, Ellen lost her husband of 34 years, Jack Bannon in 2017. Following his passing, Ellen took in a friendly orange cat from the wild, one that her husband nicknamed “O”. Travolta and the cat worked through her grief for her husband by watching Hallmark movies together.

Speaking to The Spokesman-Review, Travolta said, “For half a minute I thought, ‘Is Jack back as a cat? I can’t ignore this,’” adding:

So I let him in. He came up on the couch and we watched Hallmark. And that was the beginning of the rest of that year. From October 25 on through, O and I watched Hallmark movies and I fell in love with them.

It turns out that during that time, Ellen began to dream of appearing in a Hallmark Christmas movie. In fact, she wanted to be involved, as the movies are always “hopeful,” even when not realistic. Travolta started speaking about her dream to everyone she know in show business, including her famous brother, John Travolta. Luckily, John was able to pull a few strings to get Ellen cast. This led to her getting a call from the network, following which she was cast in the festive movie Hall Out the Holly.

Ellen explained that she was away with John in Austria and all she did was talk about wanting to star on Hallmark Channel. Meanwhile, when they returned home, John called his agent, asking:

What do we have to do to get Ellen in a Hallmark movie? All she wants is one line. Lo and behold, they called.

Ellen in Haul Out the Holly on Hallmark

In the movie, Haul Out the Holly, Emily (Lacey Chabert) gets to unexpectedly spend the holidays alone at her parents’ house. This led to the HOA roping her into all the Christmas festivities in the neighborhood. Meanwhile, Ellen Travolta plays Mary Louise, a Christmas-crazy neighbor who gets Emily involved. The movie also stars Stephen Tobolowsky, Melissa Peterman and Wes Brown.

Shortly before Haul Out the Holly premiered on Hallmark, John Travolta celebrated Ellen’s role on his Instagram Stories. Sharing a screenshot of his sister in the movie, he captioned the post, “My sister Ellen always wanted to be in a Hallmark Christmas movie and has had so much fun making it!”

If you missed the premiere of Haul Out the Holly, you can catch an encore showing. The movie encores on Friday, December 2, at 6 pm, Saturday, December 10, at 10 pm, Thursday, December 15, at 8 pm, Wednesday, December 21, at 2 pm, and Saturday, December 24, at 8 pm, all times ET.