Who Else From Saturday Night Fever Is In John Travolta's Santa Claus Commercial?
John Travolta just reprised his role as Tony Manero — sort of. More than 45 years after he played the disco-dancing Brooklynite in the 1977 film "Saturday Night Fever," the actor donned a Santa Suit to show off some familiar moves for a Capital One ad. But this Kris Kringle "sleighed" in a whole new way.
The Bryan Buckely-directed commercial, titled "Holiday Night Fever," kicks off with the familiar strains of the Bee Gees hit "Stayin' Alive" as Travolta's boots — er, Santa's shoes — get a close-up. Travolta is almost unrecognizable in a white beard and red suit as he makes pit stops at a cookie shop, a shoe store, and more, all while waving his magical Capital One Mastercard for payment. After gulping down a glass of milk at the bar, Travolta's Santa ends up on the dance floor, where he shows off his signature moves straight out of the 1970s movie.
Travolta is missing his dance partner, but eagle-eyed fans may see she's actually in the ad. Blink, and you'll miss it, but Donna Pescow plays the shopkeeper at the shoe store. Back in the '70s, Travolta traded moves with Pescow on the dance floor when she played his wannabe partner, Annette, in "Saturday Night Fever." In the Capital One ad, he gives her a wink and a smile after she asks him, "Where have you been?" (Answer: "The North Pole.")
Christmas came early for Donna Pescow when she landed the role in Saturday Night Fever
"Saturday Night Fever" was just the tip of the iceberg for John Travolta. On the heels of the success of the 1977 disco film, he became a major movie star with leading roles in "Grease," "Urban Cowboy," and "Pulp Fiction." For Pescow, "Saturday Night Fever" was simply a dream come true. In 2017, she told Parade she auditioned for the movie four times and never saw the entire script until after she was cast. "I really had no clue that the role was as big as it was, which was probably good. I might have tanked if I had known that," she admitted. Pescow also revealed that when she got the part, she quit working at Bloomingdale's, where she typically engraved Christmas ornaments over the holidays.
While she went on to score herself some sitcoms — she played the title character in the short-lived ABC comedy "Angie" and later starred in the Disney Channel series "Even Stevens" as the mom to young Shia LeBeouf — Pescow said "Saturday Night Fever" was an "extraordinary" time in her career. "Working with John was a pleasure," she said in a 2017 interview with Scene Creek. "I think it's almost like a magical thing when you have a group of actors who are doing something for the first time. Most people had never done film before ... So our approach to all of this was that we would do the best acting we could do and be like a rep company; constantly in character."