Telly Savalas facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Telly Savalas
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Savalas in 1973
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| Born |
Aristotelis Savalas
January 21, 1922 Garden City, New York, U.S.
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| Died | January 22, 1994 (aged 72) |
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| Resting place | Forest Lawn Memorial Park, California, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Actor | ||||||||||||||||
| Years active | 1950–1994 | ||||||||||||||||
| Spouse(s) |
Katherine Nicolaides
(m. 1948; div. 1957)Marilyn Gardner
(m. 1960; div. 1974)Julie Hovland
(m. 1984) |
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| Children | 6; including Ariana Savalas | ||||||||||||||||
| Military career | |||||||||||||||||
| Service/ |
United States Army | ||||||||||||||||
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Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas (born January 21, 1922 – died January 22, 1994) was an American actor and singer. His career lasted for over 40 years! He was famous for his bald head and deep, strong voice.
Many people know him best as Lt. Theo Kojak from the TV crime show Kojak (1973–1978). He also played the bad guy Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the James Bond movie On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969). Telly Savalas also sang! His song "If" became a number one hit in the UK in 1975.
Contents
Early Life and School
Telly Savalas was born Aristotelis Savalas in Garden City, New York. This was on January 21, 1922. He was the second of five children. His parents, Christina and Nick Savalas, were from Greece. His dad owned a restaurant.
When Telly was young, he and his brother Gus sold newspapers. They also shined shoes to help their family. Telly first spoke only Greek. He learned English when he started school. In 1934, he won a spelling bee. He finally got his prize in 1991!
Telly finished Sewanhaka High School in 1940. He was a great swimmer. After high school, he worked as a lifeguard at the beach.
Military Service and College
In 1941, Telly Savalas joined the United States Army. He served from 1941 to 1943. He was a corporal in a medical training group. In 1943, he was badly hurt in a car accident. He spent over a year in the hospital.
After recovering, he studied radio and TV production. He then earned a degree in psychology from Columbia University in 1946. He even started studying for medical school!
Starting His Acting Career
After the war, Telly worked for the U.S. State Department. He hosted a radio show called Your Voice of America. He also worked for ABC News. He became a director for news and sports shows. He even gave famous sportscaster Howard Cosell his first TV job!
Telly didn't plan to be an actor. He was asked to suggest someone who could do a European accent. The friend couldn't go, so Telly went instead. He ended up getting a part in a TV show in 1958. After that, he quickly became a popular guest star on many TV shows.
He made his first movie in 1961 called Mad Dog Coll. Another actor, Burt Lancaster, was impressed by Telly. He helped Telly get a role in The Young Savages (1961).
Telly Savalas got a lot of praise for his role in Birdman of Alcatraz (1962). He was even nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award! He also appeared in movies like Cape Fear and The Interns.
Becoming a Star and Going Bald
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Telly Savalas was already losing his hair. But he shaved his head completely for a role in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965). He played Pontius Pilate in that movie. He liked the bald look so much that he kept his head shaved for the rest of his life!
He was in the famous movie The Dirty Dozen (1967). He played Archer Maggott, one of the "worst" soldiers. He also starred in the James Bond movie On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969). In this film, he played the villain, Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Telly said his success came from "his complete ability to be himself."
He continued to appear in many films in the 1970s. These included Kelly's Heroes (1970) with Clint Eastwood. He also starred in European movies like Horror Express (1972).
Kojak: His Most Famous Role
Telly Savalas first played Lieutenant Theodopolus "Theo" Kojak in a TV movie in 1973. This movie was called The Marcus–Nelson Murders. It was based on a real-life crime case.
Kojak was a bald detective in New York City. He loved lollipops! His famous saying was "Who loves ya, baby?" He also liked to say, "Everybody should have a little Greek in them." The lollipops were a way to help him stop smoking.
The TV show Kojak was very popular. It aired on CBS for five seasons, from 1973 to 1978. Telly Savalas won an Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards for playing Kojak! His younger brother, George Savalas, played Detective Stavros on the show. Kevin Dobson played Kojak's young partner, Detective Bobby Crocker.
Even after the show ended, Telly Savalas played Kojak again. He starred in several Kojak TV movies starting in 1985.
Other Talents and Later Years
Telly Savalas was also a singer. His spoken-word song "If" became a number one hit in the UK and Ireland in 1975. He also had another hit song, "Some Broken Hearts Never Mend", which topped the charts in Switzerland in 1981.
In the late 1970s, Telly Savalas narrated travel videos about cities in the UK. He also appeared in commercials for Diet Coke in 1982. In 1987, he hosted a TV special called Return to the Titanic Live.
Telly Savalas received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1983. In 1999, TV Guide magazine named him one of the 50 greatest TV stars ever!
He continued acting in films and TV shows in the 1980s and early 1990s. His last TV role was in The Commish (1992). His last movie was Backfire! (1995), released after he passed away.
Personal Life and Hobbies
Telly Savalas was married three times and had six children. He was very close friends with actor John Aniston. Telly was also the godfather to John's daughter, Jennifer Aniston, who is a famous actress today.
Telly had a degree in psychology. He was also a very good poker player. He even finished 21st in a big poker tournament in 1992! He enjoyed many hobbies like motorcycle racing, golfing, swimming, and reading. He loved horse racing and even owned a racehorse named Telly's Pop.
He was known as a kind and generous person. He helped many young actors get their start, just like Burt Lancaster had helped him. Telly was proud of his Greek heritage. He supported Greek churches and even helped bring electricity to his family's village in Greece.
Telly Savalas had a small physical difference: his left index finger was bent. You can sometimes see this in close-up shots in his movies and TV shows.
His Final Years
In the 1980s, Telly Savalas lost some close family members. His brother George, who played Stavros on Kojak, died in 1985. His mother, Christina, who was his best friend, passed away in 1988.
Telly Savalas died on January 22, 1994, the day after his 72nd birthday. He passed away from complications of prostate and bladder cancer. He was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles, California. Many friends and family attended his funeral, including his Kojak co-stars.
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See also
In Spanish: Telly Savalas para niños
