John Trovolta Shares Throwback Photo Featuring Himself And Muhammad Ali

John Travolta has been a fixture in Hollywood for more than four decades. The actor had met his share of famous faces in that time, but recently, he shared a photo to his Instagram that featured one of his more legendary encounters. In the photo, Travolta is seen sitting in a flannel shirt while famous boxer Muhammad Ali sits next to him.

The shot appears to be a candid look at the two of them in conversation, and Travolta is also holding his nephew Jonathan on his lap. Travolta is rocking his signature parted hairstyle, which he kept through most of this period. The photo was apparently taken in 1979 when Ali was nearing the end of his boxing career. Travolta, meanwhile, was just beginning his career as a film star, having already been in Welcome Back, Kotter, and Saturday Night Fever. Last year, Travolta sat down for an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live in which he explained the relationship he had with the boxing legend.

“It was at a time where arguably we were the two most famous people in the world. And he loved to compete with it. And he used to test it all the time,” Travolta said, according to TooFab.

The actor added that Ali would actually take steps to prove he was more famous.

“We’d walk down the street, he’d say, ‘Let’s see who gets recognized first. One time a young person recognized us both and kind of freaked out,” Travolta said.

Travolta recalled what Ali told the girl and even put on his best Ali impersonation to give the story its full effect.

“He said, ‘You think you’re dreaming. You think you’re seeing John Travolta and Muhammad Ali together and you’ll go home and you’re gonna say, was that real or was I dreaming?,'” the Pulp Fiction actor said.

It’s unclear what spurred Travolta to share the photo to his Instagram page, but it reminded many about the friendship between the acting and boxing heavyweights. It may also have been an attempt to pay tribute to Ali, who died in 2016.

In 1979, Ali was preparing to retire from boxing for good. Just two years later, in 1981, he called it quits, finishing with a record of 56-5, with three of those losses coming in his final four matches. According to Biography, Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1984, but he remained active in spite of his illness. He was in attendance at Barack Obama’s first inauguration ceremony, and also raised funds for his Parkinson’s Center in Arizona.