On January 6th, 2005, The Oprah Winfrey Show aired a show taped this fall to honor heroes. The focus of the show promoted real-life heroes portrayed by actors John Travolta, Joaquin Phoenix and Jacinda Barrett in their Fall 2004 movie release of Ladder 49.

I was impressed by and started to write about this Jay Russell-directed tribute to firefighters back in October, but the story never came to fruition.

In fact, I wanted to write a post that would serve as a thank you letter to all firemen and women. My hope was to help inspire the general public to appreciate the risks these brave people take on on behalf of the general public.

Among the thirty other stories still in "Backdraft" yet to be published -- thanks to Oprah -- this one is an October 1st unexpected resurrection.

In all the years Oprah Winfrey has been on television I have only now seen a half dozen of her programs.

Thanks to TiVo I have a Season Pass to her daily show. Those I have actually watched over the past couple of months have always been worth the time.

Of course, any show that touts the talents of John Travolta, Joaquin Phoenix and Australia actress, Jacinda Barrett, who grew up the daughter of a firefighter, are well worth it.

Clearly, Oprah Winfrey has a special affinity for Mr. Travolta.

She told her audience without hesitation that if she could pick one person to be stranded on a desert island with, or in an elevator with, or the back of her closet with, she would pick John Travolta.

In preparing to introduce Travolta to her live audience, Oprah said:

Today, my dream guy is here.

I love him.

He's a huge star; he's so huge.

And he's also one of my favorite people on earth.

He's here to talk about his movie, Ladder 49.

Please welcome my dear friend, John Travolta

Now, I am always amazed how crazy Oprah's fans get when she comes onto the stage.

You'd think you were watching a rock concert at the beginning of each show.

Her fans scream and throw their bodies at her with hopes of touching her hand as she walks out to greet them. It's insane. Not that I don't love Oprah Winfrey. I do.

But if you think the audience's response to Oprah is something to behold, you should have seen the response to John Travolta walking into their presence.

Women literally wept at the sight of him. They gasped. They screamed.

And the look of delight in Oprah's eyes only cheered them on more.

Dressed in all black with a grin on his face, Travolta took to Oprah's stage.

Humbly he bowed in three directions to her guests.

Oprah kicked off her interview with Travolta by making the audience swoon all the more.

She said, "Let me tell you. He is everything you think he is, and then some. I'm not kidding."

John responded by saying, "You know what I love. You gave all of those people cars but the difference is they needed them. People have to know that."

Speaking of cars, is it true that Lady O recently received a beautiful shiny black Rolls Royce, with a price tag of around $400,000, from her friend, Mr. Travolta?

Desert island. Elevator. Back in the closet. The One & Only Palmilla. Oh, the places she could go with Captain 49. But alas they are truly just friends, and they both are spoken for.

Just had to get that out there.

There was no mention of the Rolls on the show. However, there was mention of a silver tray that John gave Oprah.

His hope, in giving it to her for her fiftieth birthday, was that she would adopt a similar ritual that he has. Every morning, he is served his espresso with fruit and a muffin. When she is at her home in California, Oprah has tea at 3 o'clock, in honor of this gift that John has bestowed upon her, only using her "John Travolta cup".

Their daily ritual: An effort to enjoy the best that life has to offer.

Before making the transition to the subject of his family vacation in Africa, his 50th birthday bash hosted by his wife, Kelly Preston, and his latest movie, Travolta shared a sentiment that I'm sure resonates with every one of Ms. Winfrey's fan. He said, "Honey, you turned fifty and you look better than you have ever looked."

As one of the world's top celebrities, Oprah has done a magnificent job sharing her own personal struggles in life and her triumphs. Both are an inspiration to the audience that watches her every day and the people who read her magazine, O.

The Palmilla Pool & View of The Baja

I mentioned The One&Only Palmilla Resort. As a quick but relevant "rugged elegant" tangent, we recommend this resort to anyone interested in experiencing the best of Cabo San Lucas. This place has soul!

We have been five times, at least, and are currently planning our sixth return this Spring.

We've stayed both at the resort, and we have rented their nearby villa "casas".

In fact, the first time we stayed on the property, well before having children and prior to the resort's second $90 million transformation last February, we were told that Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman were the last couple to sleep in the bedroom we were given. Bedroom #10 in the corner, in the "old" section of the hotel.

Other notable guests who have indulged in the Palmilla since it opened in 1956: Hemingway and Harlow.

No, we weren't invited to Travolta's 50th at The Palmilla.

The One&Only Palmilla

But thanks to Kelly Preston, his actress (Jerry McGuire and Twins) wife of over thirteen years, Barbra Streisand, Olivia Newton-John, Meg Ryan, Sylvester Stallone, Robin Williams, Tom Cruise, Diane Sawyer, Quincy Jones, and 250 Hollywood A-List guests were in attendance.

Turning Fifty

Travolta and Oprah spoke about the transformation that has occurred in their lives since they turned fifty.

Other than the obvious, physical transformation that Oprah has experienced, she resonated with John's statement.

He said:

You feel alive when you feel like you can help.

Amen brother!

"And that's why you are so alive," he told Oprah.

John Travolta's High-Flying Life

John Travolta became a celebrity when he played Vinnie Barbarino in the 1970's hit TV series Welcome Back, Kotter. He became a superstar after the success of the 1977 movie Saturday Night Fever.

His experience on Broadway in Grease made him a natural Danny Zuko in the 1978 movie, Grease in which he co-starred with Olivia Newton-John.

Today, twice Academy Award-nominated actor is one of the hottest movie stars on the planet, as well as a sex symbol, a passionate, accomplished pilot, a dedicated Scientologist, and a doting husband to Kelly, friend to many, and father to daughter Ella Bleu, 4, and son Jett, 12.

Some of the other movies he has been in include: Urban Cowboy (1980), the Look Who's Talking trio (1989, 1990 and 1993), Pulp Fiction (1994), Get Shorty (1995), Michael (1996), Phenomenon and Face/Off (1997).

And his latest, Ladder 49.

His performances in Saturday Night Fever and Pulp Fiction both earned him Oscar nominations.

One of Travolta's next films will be shot "close to home" in Jacksonville, Florida. It is called The Lonely Hearts.

The movie is a drama about the infamous 1940s serial killers, Martha Seabrook Beck and Raymond Fernandez who were sentenced to electric chair deaths on August 22, 1949. Travolta will play Edward Robinson, Jr. (not the famous actor), the Nassau County District Attorney who prosecuted the "Lonely Hearts Killers". The writer/director of the film is Todd Robinson, the grandson of the character played by Travolta. Their story was fodder for the 1970's film written and directed by Leonard Kastle called The Honeymoon Killers and the 1996 award-winning film Deep Crimson directed by Arturo Ripstein. Robinson was not a character in the 1970 film. However, Beck was previously played by Shirley Stoler and Fernandez was played by Tony Lo Bianco in The Honeymoon Killers and by Regina Orozco and Daniel Gimenez Cacho in Deep Crimson. Deep Crimson will be released on DVD with English subtitles on March 15th. The parts of Beck and Fernandez in Lonely Hearts Killers have yet to be filled. Perhaps Antonio Banderas and Kirstie Alley, before she loses weight?

JetBlue Estates

Last year, John and Kelly were featured on the April 2004 cover of Architectural Digest which showed off the two planes that reside in the front yard of their 16,000 square foot, 400 acre residence called Jumbolair located in Anthony, Florida.

As Oprah said, his residence "is an airport."

It includes a Gulfstream jet and the only privately-owned Boeing 707B.

The house was eight years-in-the-making.

It has two kitchens, six bedrooms, eight individual apartments and a pool.

The Preston Travoltas even have a live-in flight crew, ready to take off, at the drop of the hat.

They can literally walk out their front door and be airborne in minutes. With Travolta often in the cockpit, manning the plane.

Ladder 49

Ladder 49's Joaquin Phoenix, Jacinda Barrett & John Travolta are hot!

Ladder 49's Joaquin Phoenix As Firefighter Jack Morrison

A bond forged by fire is never broken.

Joaquin Phoenix (pronounced "WAA-keen") and Jacinda Barrett star in the action drama film, Ladder 49 together with John Travolta.

The Oscar-nominated actor (Gladiator) turned 30 on Oct. 28th. For him, the film is a real "thank you to firefighters." "A showing of appreciation," he says. "If firefighters respond to this film and think it's an accurate portrayal of their lives, then that's all we can ask for."

Jay Russell's Ladder 49 is reminiscent of its predecessor Backdraft. Backdraft, starring Kurt Russell, was made in 1991 by Ron Howard.

Joaquin Phoenix plays a firefighter, Jack Morrison, who gets trapped in a burning building. Hoping and waiting to be rescued, he reflects upon his life and experiences.

Joaquin Phoenix .... Jack Morrison

John Travolta .... Captain Mike Kennedy

Jacinda Barrett .... Linda Morrison

Robert Patrick .... Lenny Richter

Morris Chestnut .... Tommy Drake

Billy Burke .... Dennis Gauquin

Balthazar Getty .... Ray Gauquin

Tim Guinee .... Tony Corrigan

Kevin Chapman .... Frank Mckinny

Jay Hernandez .... Keith Perez

Kevin Daniels .... Don Miller

Steve Maye .... Pete Lamb

Robert Lewis .... Ed Reilly (as Robert Logan Lewis)

Brooke Hamlin .... Katie Morrison

Spencer Berglund .... Nicky Morrison

Rated: PG-13 - for intense fire and rescue situations, and for language

Genre: Action, Drama

Running Time: 105 minutes

The official movie site can be found at: Ladder49.Movies.Go.com

A Picture With A Bigger Picture Message

Travolta has been so successful that he is now free and able to do "bigger picture" films like Ladder 49.

John told Oprah that this movie was done for the first time in their career as an ego-less endeavor.

This movie is a tribute to firefighters everywhere.

Oprah describes the film as follows:

John Travolta is Fire Chief Mike Kennedy.

Joaquin Phoenix plays firefighter Jack Morrison. These are the men of Ladder 49.

Ordinary men who become extraordinary heroes. Dedicated to saving the lives of strangers.

At the heart of Ladder 49 is a love story.

Rising star, Jacinda Barrett, plays the wife of firefighter, Jack Morrison. Together, they face the joy and fear that goes along with living in harm's way, every single day.

What happens next is every firefighters' worst fear.

Can he be saved?

In speaking with some local San Francisco firemen after seeing the movie, I thanked them for their service and asked them if life was always that dangerous.

They said that they would never go into a burning building by themselves. If you can get beyond some of the Hollywood drama, they said, there is a lot of truth in this film.

An hour before going to this movie, we were walking down Union Street in Cow Hollow. Two fire trucks came screaming down the street, their alarms at full blast. I noticed how few people were quick to pull over to let them pass.

After seeing this movie, I wanted to track down these people and give them the money to go see Ladder 49 with hopes that next time a fire truck comes up behind them, they will think about the potential lives these men and women are hustling to save, and the greater risk these firefighters are put in, the longer it takes to get to their destination.

Travolta, Phoenix & Barrett's Real-Life Co-Stars

While I'm dreaming of having a small impact of my own community, Oprah and Harpo Studios had already planned a show that touts the stars of Ladder 49 along with two real-life firemen from Maryland's Engine Company 21, Lt. Kenny Ward and firefighter Phil Bird.

John graciously flew these two firefighters from Prince George's County, Maryland to Harpo Studios in Chicago in his 707 plane.

On September 20th, 2004, they appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

John Travolta's tears of compassion as Oprah told their story said it all.

After watching Ward and Bird receive a medal of honor from Lt. Dino Mahaffey, the fellow firefighter whose life they saved on February 2nd, 2004, John invited the three men and their families to the premier of their movie in Hollywood.

Thanks to Kenny and Phil, Dino survived a 28-day coma and is now alive today to watch his children grow up.

Lt. Mahaffey, Lt. Ward & Firefighter Bird

Upon seeing Touchstone Pictures' Ladder 49 which will be released on DVD on March 8th, and then watching Oprah's show today, I agree with Oprah. You'll just want to hug every firefighter you ever meet.

Thank you first and foremost, every firefighter in this nation and around the world. Thank you also to all the service men and women around the world.

And thank you to the makers of Ladder 49 for giving citizens like us more compassion and appreciation for the risks these men and women take on our behalf, every day.

Finally, thank you Oprah and Harpo for so eloquently sharing John Travolta's real life fairy-tale story, Captain Kennedy's heart-wrenching story and Dino, Kenny and Phil's heroic story.

Inspire & Be Inspired (R).

Here's to healthy, adventuresome, soulful, and heroic living!

~ Jennifer King

In August 2003, John Travolta teamed up with three of his five siblings (Joey, Ann and Ellen) to form the Los Angeles-based Travolta Family Films.

Travolta Family Films was created to restore the tradition of families watching movies together.

The company is responsible for the independent comedy Enemies of Laughter starring David Paymer, Peter Falk and Judge Reinhold, and a 2004 remake of the 1971 classic Black Beauty.