50 Fun Facts About Urban Cowboy

Who directed Urban Cowboy?

He was a two-time Oscar nominee for writing The Paper Chase and The China Syndrome.

What is the full name of John Travolta's character?

He moves to Pasadena, Texas, hoping to earn enough to buy land back home in Spur.

Who plays Sissy?

The role earned her a BAFTA nomination and two Golden Globe nominations, including Best New Star.

In which Texas city is Gilley's, the honky-tonk at the heart of the film?

Just outside Houston; the club was the size of a football field.

Where does Bud get a job when he arrives in town?

His uncle Bob works there; Bob is later killed in an explosion at the plant.

What is the name of Bud's hometown, where he wants to buy land?

He never quite makes it back there over the course of the film.

What do Bud and Sissy buy after marrying?

They settle into working by day and dancing at Gilley's by night.

What does Bud forbid Sissy from doing early in the marriage?

She learns in secret from Wes and rides it better than he does.

Who is Wes Hightower?

Scott Glenn plays him with a menace that ends in a robbery attempt.

Which actor plays Wes Hightower?

He would go on to The Right Stuff and The Silence of the Lambs.

How does Bud break his arm?

He then cannot work, which is why the $5,000 bull-riding prize matters so much.

Who is Pam, the woman Bud takes up with after throwing Sissy out?

Madolyn Smith plays her; she eventually tells Bud to go back to Sissy.

What does Pam do with the note Sissy leaves for Bud at the trailer?

Bud assumes Pam did the cleaning and the reconciliation is delayed.

How much is the prize in Gilley's mechanical-bull riding contest?

Bud trains with his uncle, a former rodeo champion, despite his cast.

How does Bud's uncle Bob die?

Barry Corbin plays Bob; Aunt Corene insists Bud still compete in the contest.

What is Wes doing at the climax while Sissy waits in the car?

The stolen money spills from his jacket during the fight with Bud.

The film was adapted from an article in which magazine?

Aaron Latham wrote it about Gilley's regulars Dew Westbrook and Betty Helmer.

What were the names of the real Gilley's couple who inspired Bud and Sissy?

Texas Monthly checked in on Westbrook again in 2001.

Roughly how much did Urban Cowboy gross in the United States?

Far below Saturday Night Fever's $94 million and Grease's $188 million, but a recovery from Moment by Moment.

Which Travolta hit did critics call Urban Cowboy a country version of?

Both centre on a young man whose life revolves around a nightclub.

Whose mother choreographed Urban Cowboy, launching her film career?

Patsy Swayze ran a Houston dance studio.

Which Houston restaurant chain gave Travolta a private corner during filming?

He used the Westheimer Road location.

Which Johnny Lee song from the soundtrack hit No. 1 on the country chart and No. 5 on the Hot 100?

Wanda Mallette, Bob Morrison and Patti Ryan wrote it; Lee even cut a Spanish version.

Which soul standard did Mickey Gilley take to No. 1 on the country chart thanks to the film?

The film revived Gilley's career after years in cousin Jerry Lee Lewis's shadow.

Which Anne Murray ballad from the soundtrack became her fifth country No. 1?

She later re-recorded it as a duet with Amy Grant.

Which Charlie Daniels Band hit from an earlier year was on the soundtrack?

The Eagles' 'Lyin' Eyes' was another older hit included.

Which Boz Scaggs song from the film reached No. 3 on the adult contemporary chart?

Kenny Rogers' 'Love the World Away' reached No. 4 country.

What RIAA certification did the soundtrack reach in December 2018?

Three million copies, nearly forty years after release.

Which dance craze is credited to the film's grid-style choreography?

The formal grid was adapted from square dancing so audiences could see the choreography clearly.

Which music impresario co-produced the film with Robert Evans and wove the soundtrack together?

He managed the Eagles at the time.

What was the capacity of the real Gilley's Club, then the world's largest nightclub?

Sherwood Cryer built it on Spencer Highway in 1971 and hired Mickey Gilley to play piano six nights a week.

What happened to the original Gilley's Club in 1990?

A lawsuit between Gilley and partner Sherwood Cryer had closed it in the late 1980s.

Which two famous cousins was Mickey Gilley related to?

He was born in Natchez, Mississippi, in 1936.

Which blues-rock singer appears as herself in the film?

Mickey Gilley, Johnny Lee and Charlie Daniels also play themselves.

Which model, then Mick Jagger's partner, plays one of the 'Sexy Sisters'?

Andy Warhol was there too.

In which year did a Broadway musical version of Urban Cowboy open?

It closed at the Broadhurst after 60 performances despite songs by Jason Robert Brown, Clint Black and Charlie Daniels.

What did the term 'Urban Cowboy' come to describe in early-1980s music?

Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, Johnny Lee and Mickey Gilley typified the mellow sound.

What Rotten Tomatoes rating does the film hold?

Vincent Canby called it 'first-rate social criticism'.

What lands Sissy in the run-down trailer behind Gilley's?

She later catches Wes in bed with Marshalene, who works at the club.

Which streaming service announced a TV adaptation in development in 2022?

An earlier Fox pilot with Craig Brewer was cancelled in 2015.

Which earlier Eagles hit was included on the Urban Cowboy soundtrack?

The double LP mixed older hits with new recordings. Eagles manager Irving Azoff co-produced the film, which helps explain the band's presence.

Which Kenny Rogers song from the soundtrack reached No. 4 on the country chart?

Rogers was one of the singers whose mellow sound came to define the early-1980s 'Urban Cowboy' style of pop-leaning country.

Urban Cowboy was a comeback for Travolta after which poorly received 1978 film?

Even so, its $47 million US gross fell well short of Saturday Night Fever's $94 million and Grease's $188 million.

What did Gilley's co-owner drive around Pasadena collecting to pad the floor around the bull?

He worked from tips on where to find them. The owners braced for injury lawsuits that never came; a sign by the bull read 'Ride At Your Own Risk'.

Who co-owned Gilley's with Mickey Gilley and held the patent on its mechanical bull?

A former Shell welder, he first hired Gilley in 1971 to play piano six nights a week at his club Shelly's. A 1987 lawsuit between the two ended the partnership.

What was the title of Aaron Latham's 1978 magazine cover story that inspired the film?

Its subtitle was 'America's Search for True Grit'. Club owner Sherwood Cryer had asked Latham, a regular, to write about the place.

After the film, fans stole which fixtures from Gilley's because they bore the club's logo?

The club also launched its own beer, radio show and recording studio, and its red-and-white bumper stickers were everywhere around Houston.

Johnny Lee's soundtrack hit had reportedly been turned down by how many artists before he cut it?

Historian Bill Malone credits its selection as the film's featured song largely to John Travolta saying he liked it. It went to No. 1 country and No. 5 pop.

Which character earned Sally Mayes a Drama Desk nomination in the 2003 Broadway musical?

She was the veteran in a cast of newcomers led by Matt Cavenaugh and Jenn Colella. The show closed after 60 performances at the Broadhurst Theatre.

How many composers and lyricists were cited in the musical's Best Original Score Tony nod?

An unprecedented total, reflecting a score stitched from Jason Robert Brown, Jeff Blumenkrantz, Clint Black, Charlie Daniels and many more. No cast album was ever released.