Tom Cruise has 'horrific' moment over Travolta death

Tom Cruise has broken down on live TV as he was asked to comment on the death of the son of his close Scientology friend John Travolta.

The actor was lost for words on The View programme as host Barbara Walters quizzed him on his thoughts on the 'horrific' death of Jett and the controversy sounding the 16-year-old's demise last Friday.

Stammering, Cruise finally mustered his thoughts to defend his and Travolta's religion hitting back at speculation that Jett may have been deprived prescription drugs to combat his tendency to suffer regular seizures - believed to have caused his death.

Walters asked: 'Tom, I do want to ask you something that's very sensitive. We'd been talking earlier and a lot of people are about John Travolta and the terrible tragedy with his son, Jett. You're very close to John - and John and Kelly. What are your thoughts?'

Speechless, Cruise welled up before responding: 'I just don't have the words for it.'

After gathering himself, The Valkyrie star started: 'It's just horrific.'

He then broke again, as he told: 'Here you have a man, both of them doting parents, they're wonderful people and…'

The star then tried to eradicate speculation the Travolta's had been anything other than doting parents, telling:

'I remember Jett when he was born,' said Cruise, 46.

'I saw him when he was just a few months old and John just adored him, and both of his children, and Kelly.'

The actor then used the opportunity to defend the practices of his and Travolta's religion, saying a boycott on medical attention was a myth.

'That's just not true,' Cruise said.

'They say, “Get your physical, get your medication, get your physical illnesses handled.”'

Cruise's appearance comes after the Travoltas held a private memorial service for their son at their £5million Florida home Thursday.

Via metro.co.uk

Private memorial set for Travolta's son in Fla.

John Travolta and family were expected to host a private memorial service Thursday for their son, 16-year-old Jett Travolta, at their gated-community home in central Florida.

The actor and his wife, Kelly Preston, live in a sprawling $8 million home in a luxury subdivision with its own airstrip near this small town. Jett died at the family vacation home in Grand Bahama last week.

More than a dozen reporters and photographers gathered outside the Jumbolair Aviation Estates subdivision hours before the afternoon event. They were not allowed past the main gate but caterers and companies delivering party tents and tables drove through.

A sign outside the Saddle Rock cafe in town, where Travolta often stops for a western omelet, read: "Condolences to John and Kelly."

The service for Jett is expected to adhere to the tenets of the actor's faith, Scientology, and will celebrate the teen's life.

It was unclear whether any celebrities would fly in for the funeral. Travolta, an avid pilot, bought the house because of the community airstrip and visitors can fly in and out without being seen by the paparazzi, which have staked out the area for days.

Jett Travolta had a history of seizures and was found unconscious Friday in a bathroom.

Doctors in the Bahamas performed an autopsy Monday but did not release results. A Bahamas undertaker said the teen's death certificate listed "seizure" as the cause of death. The body was cremated Monday and flown to the U.S. the same night.

The Travoltas have spoken publicly only once since their son's passing. "We are heartbroken that our time with him was so brief. We will cherish the time we had with him for the rest of our lives," Travolta and Preston said in a statement Sunday.

Tommy Davis, a spokesman for the Church of Scientology International in Los Angeles, said on CBS' "Early Show" on Thursday that he's spoken to the family and "they're doing great."

"This is a time for them and their family and their friends, and like anyone we would wish them well and hope they can be brave," Davis said.

Via associatedpress

Private Memorial for Jett Travolta Thursday

A memorial service for Jett will be held Thursday for family and close friends in Ocala, John Travolta's publicist said. The location has not been disclosed.

Meanwhile, the media coverage of this family tragedy continues.

"There is so much to this story -- it's a family tragedy about one of our most loved celebrities," said Alisandra Puliti of US Magazine, who was in Florida this week to cover the story.

But the reporters were not always welcome. "It's hard to talk to reporters at a time like this," Cheryl Hime, a local whose 19-year-old stepson died last January, said. "You don't want to talk to anyone. You can't express the grief of losing a child. It's such a private thing, I just hope people will remember that John and Kelly are human beings."

Kerry Sanders of NBC-TV, who had initially planned to be in Ocala all week covering the story for the "Today" show and MSNBC, left Florida yesterday. One reason was that there was no hint of foul play or negligence in this case. "The story is just about over," said Sanders.

"This was about the death of a child, and there weren't a lot of questions about his death," said Al Tompkins, of the Poynter Institute for journalists in St. Petersburg. "It's an open-and-shut case. What else is there to learn by [media] intruding?"

"You're not L.A.," Tompkins said. "I guarantee you, if this was happening in L.A. it's a different story with different coverage."

The Marion County Sheriff's Office sent patrol cars in and around the grounds of Jumbolair on Tuesday. One car helped chase two photographers off the grounds on the private property near Travolta's house.

Mayor Randy Ewers said the city sent the Travolta family condolences and would give them space and privacy. "They're fantastic people, really family oriented," Ewers said. "We want to respect their privacy as much as possible."

Our thoughts are with the Travolta family in this difficult time.

Via momlogic.com

Travolta's final words to dying son revealed

John Travolta's final words to his dying son were 'I'm sorry,' paramedics have claimed.

The Hollywood legend gave his 16-year-old son a final hug goodbye at the Bahamian hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The farewell came moments after frantic Travolta reportedly tried to resuscitate his son at the family's private condo.

Travolta allegedly pleaded with his unconscious son, 'Jett, come on, come around!'

Meanwhile Preston clung on to her son's hand, weeping 'Come on, baby, come on, Jett!', reports the New York Post.

After attempting CPR himself, Travolta was reportedly heard yelling: 'God please help me!'

The claims were mades by Tarino Lightbourn, an Emergency Medical Technician, who was one of the first to arrive at the scene.

He told Inside Edition: 'I think he meant, “I'm sorry, Jett, I did all I could do.”'

The paramedics also told of the harrowing moments before Travolta and weeping wife Kelly Preston climbed into the ambulance with their son.

Jett, who had a history of seizures, was found unconscious on the bathroom floor last Friday.

Police officials said he had hit his head on the bathtub before he died.

An autopsy completed on Monday reportedly showed he died from a seizure, although the official findings have not been released by the Pulp Fiction star, 54 or his wife, 46.

Jett's body has reportedly been cremated already with his remains set to be flown back to the family's Florida home in their private jet.

A funeral service is expected to be held in Ocala Florida this week.

Via metro.co.uk

Travolta family returns to US with son's remains

Actor John Travolta and his wife, Kelly Preston, have returned to Florida with the remains of their 16-year-old son, Jett, who died at the family vacation home in Grand Bahama.

The couple received an urn with his ashes and left the island chain on Monday night, according to Obie Wilchcombe, a member of the Bahamas parliament and a family friend.

"Everything was in place, the cremation was completed, and they decided to leave," Wilchcombe said Tuesday. He said the family is back in Ocala, Fla., where they have a home.

Doctors in the Bahamas performed an autopsy on Jett on Monday but did not release results. However, a Bahamas undertaker said the teen's death certificate had "seizure" as the cause of death.

Jett Travolta had a history of seizures and was found unconscious Friday in a bathroom.

The body was in "great condition," said Glen Campbell, assistant director of the Bahamas funeral home that handled Jett's remains, though police officials had said the teen hit his head on a bathtub.

Funeral plans have not been announced.

In Ocala, Mayor Randy Ewers said the city sent the Travolta family condolences and will give them space and privacy.

"They're fantastic people, really family oriented," Ewers said. "We want to respect their privacy as much as possible."

In a public statement Sunday, Travolta, 54, and Preston, 46, said they were "heartbroken that our time with him was so brief."

Travolta tried CPR to revive his son, who may have died in his arms before an emergency medical technician took over, Usmagazine.com reported, citing Travolta attorneys Michael McDermott and Michael Ossi. They did not respond to calls from the AP on Monday.

Travolta and Preston have said Jett became very sick when he was 2 years old and was diagnosed with Kawasaki Syndrome, an illness that leads to inflamed blood vessels. Preston blamed household cleaners and fertilizers and said a detoxification program based on teachings from the Church of Scientology helped improve his health, according to People magazine.

Police said in a statement that Jett had not been seen since Thursday when a caretaker, Jeff Kathrain, found him unconscious late Friday morning. But McDermott said that wrongly left the impression that Jett was unsupervised. He said two caretakers were with Jett throughout the evening, and he does not believe the teen was in the bathroom for very long.

The couple also has an 8-year-old daughter, Ella Bleu.

Via associatedpress

Jett Travolta Autopsy Started Today in Bahamas

An autopsy is currently underway in the Bahamas, which will hopefully give the family of 16-year-old Jett Travolta, son of John Travolta and Kelly Preston, some concrete reasons for the young man's death.

E! News reports that a local coroner, along with a U.S.-certified specialist, are going to try and determine what the exact cause of death was after Jett was found unconscious on Friday morning by a caretaker. An official report could be released by the end of the day.

It appears that Jett suffered from a seizure and hit his head on the bathub in his room at the Old Bay Bahama resort, according to Travolta family lawyer Michael Ossi and Bahamian authorities.

Ossi and another family lawyer, Michael McDermott, tell TMZ that the grand mal seizures Jett suffered, which the family believes could be attributed to Kawasaki disease, were "frequent and extremely serious, and that "each seizure was like a death."

While some reports suggested that Jett wasn't given medication to prevent his seizures because of the family's belief in Scientology, Ossi and McDermott attest that Jett had been on anti-seizure medication Depakote, which originally reduced his seizures from every four days to once every three weeks. However, the drug had recently lost its efficiency and he was back to one seizure a week. Fearing Jett would suffer phsyical damage, the Travoltas stopped administering the medication after consulting neurosurgeons.

A viewing of Jett's body may take place tomorrow in Freeport, and will then most likely be flown to Ocala, Fla., for burial.

Via okmagazine.com