Fabio and Rikki Lee Travolta Pose for Pictures at Sam's Club Event

Long compared in the media for their long golden hair, athletic builds, and porcelain features, models Fabio and Rikki Lee Travolta appeared for photographers together during promotional launch of clothing line in Chicago.

CHICAGO (November 1, 2003) Romance cover model and commercial spokesman Fabio posed for pictures with actor and model Rikki Lee Travolta during a personal appearance at retailer Sam's Club in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, IL on Saturday, November 1.

Fabio was in Chicago promoting the new woman's coat line baring his name, available exclusively in the United States through Sam's Club.

Travolta is in Chicago working on the screen adaptation of the novel "My Fractured Life" for Port Magee Pictures and simultaneously narrating an audio book version at Northbrook recording studio Backstage Audio.

"My Fractured Life" is in the Top 25 Entertainment Biographies, as ranked by Amazon.com, the world's largest e-commerce retailer.

When test marketed in Chicago and New Jersey in November of 2002, Fabio's clothing line broke Sam's Club sales records. Sales were up 500% at the test site locations, according to Fabio's manager Eric Ashenberg.

Since Travolta grew his hair shoulder length and bleached it blond for his role as Sir Lancelot in director Donna DeCarl's modern adaptation of the Camelot legend of King Arthur, he and Fabio have been repeated likened in the press for their physical similarity, as documented in a Chicago News Sun profile.

Both Travolta and Fabio are of Italian heritage. This was their first personal meeting.

Struck by the family-like face-to-face similarity with Fabio, Travolta was also asked by Fabio's representatives to pose for pictures with the romance cover model's cousin who was on hand for the promotional event.

"They could be brothers," reflected Travolta's manager Drake Miezel of the three men.

Fabio has been described as the "sexiest man in the world" by Cosmopolitan. Travolta has been called "tall, dark, and stunningly handsome" by Playbill Online's Critic's Circle.

Discovering fame as a model for over 250 romance novel covers since 1987, Fabio also markets the fragrance "Mediterranean" by Versace and appeared in the films "Zoolander" starring Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson and "Exorcist III," and the television series "Acapulco H.E.A.T." and "Roseanne."

The Fabio women's coat line features faux fur lining. The model is a longstanding member of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

"Fabio is a perfect gentleman. I take any comparisons with the utmost humility and as an extreme honor," says Travolta.

The "Camelot: Excalibur" DVD starring Travolta will be released in 2004 in cooperation with Abracadabra Productions.

Travolta defined the groom's role in "Tony n' Tina's Wedding" around the globe, making it the longest running stage comedy in history. He is a best selling recording artist and performs two songs on the "Camelot: Excalibur" soundtrack. He has worked in film and television with Ron Howard, Woody Harrelson, and Jenna Elfman.

Sam's Club is the warehouse store division of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is the world's largest retailer, with $244.5 billion in sales in the fiscal year ending Jan. 31, 2003. The company employs more than 1.3 million associates worldwide through more than 3,200 facilities in the United States. More than 100 million customers per week visit Wal-Mart stores worldwide.

Fabio will be making personal appearances at the Sam's Club location in Freehold, NJ (100 Trotters Way) on Nov. 14-16 and in Medford, Long Island (2950 Horse Block Road) Nov. 21-23.