Along with the list of Hallmark mainstays like Lacey Chabert, many have popped onto the Hallmark Channel around the holidays to make fun little cameos. Now, John Travolta’s sister is making her holiday dream come true by making her holiday movie debut in Chabert’s latest project among Hallmark’s upcoming movies, Haul Out the Holly.
To celebrate Ellen Travolta’s Hallmark movie, her brother posted an adorable photo on his Instagram story, prompting fans to go watch his sister live out her dream.
Also, to top off the experience, Haul Out the Holly’s star, and Hallmark regular Lacey Chabert – who has been posting about the movie with a sneak peek TikTok that included a Mean Girls reference and a holiday-inspired announcement earlier this year – reposted the story, explaining how much fun she had working with Ellen Travolta.
According to The Spokesman-Review, Ellen Travolta took to watching Hallmark movies after her husband, Jack Bannon passed away in 2017. She explained that she and her cat would watch the movies together, and it would help ease the loss. Then, she decided she really wanted to appear in one of the movies, so, she asked her brother for help.
She then recalled a trip she took with John Travolta, and said all she could talk about was the holiday movies and how much she loved them, explaining:
I was away with John in Austria and all I did was talk about being on Hallmark. So when we got back, he called his agent and asked, ‘What do we have to do to get Ellen in a Hallmark movie? All she wants is one line.’
So, her brother pulled a few strings, and as she said “lo and behold, they called.”
Travolta’s sister plays Mary Louise, a neighbor in the town Lacey Chabert’s character has just moved to who loves the holidays. She explained to the local newspaper that she had a lot of fun making the movie. It turns out, Maclain Nelson, the director of Haul Out the Holly was also a big fan of Ellen Travolta, and had watched her on Charles in Charge. She said lots of people on set seemed to know and love her work, telling the newspaper:
I was so thrilled to do it. When I got there, everybody included me. People were so kind and respectful, and they knew everything I’d ever done. They weren’t even born when I was doing television!
I love that to bring in the holidays, Ellen Travolta got to make her dream come true, and Chabert had a great time helping her fulfill that goal.
Along with the Travolta siblings, Chabert has been working with and posting about other nostalgic stars who will appear on the Hallmark schedule this holiday season. She and Jennifer Love Hewitt shared a sweet exchange about the movies, and she reunited with her Mean Girls co-star Jonathan Bennett at Christmas Con earlier this year.
These fun interactions have held us over for the year, but now that the Christmas season is upon us, we can finally watch all these stars on the screen in these wholesome holiday movies.
To watch Ellen Travolta live out her dreams, you can check out Haul Out the Holly on the Hallmark Channel tonight at 8 p.m. ET, and make sure to check our list of the nine Hallmark movies to prioritize this holiday season as the Christmas festivities begin.
