Telly Savalas (January 21, 1922 – January 22, 1994) was an American actor and singer. He is best known from playing the character Kojak in a television series and many television movies. He was born in Garden City, New York; his parents were Greek Americans.
Career
Early in his career, he played different characters like the detective in Cape Fear (1962), with Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum, and the role of Feto Gomez in Birdman of Alcatraz (1962), he would win the Academy Award as supporting actor.
One of his best roles in his career was that of Pontius Pilate, in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965). For his role, he shaved his head.
Then co-star in war movies Battle of the Bulge (1965), The Dirty Dozen (1967), with Lee Marvin, Telly played the role of a religious fanatic convict, who is elected by Lee Marvin for a suicidal mission., and Kelly's Heroes (1970), with Clint Eastwood and directed by Brian G. Hutton.
He was then personified as the villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld, in the James Bond saga, On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969).
In the 1970s Savalas worked in Europe with some success in movies as Città violenta (1970), with Charles Bronson, A Town Called Bastard (1971), with Jack Palance, La banda J.S.: Cronaca criminale del Far West (1972), Horror Express (1972) with Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, Senza ragione (1973). and the movie by Mario Bava, Lisa e il diavolo (1974).
In the late 70s and early 1980s, Savalas worked on movies including Beyond the Poseidon Adventure (1979), Cannonball Run II (1984).
Television
In 1963 he was on an episode of The Twilight Zone. In 1973 CBS hired him to play the role of a Lieutenant, member of the police detective in New York, in production for CBS television: The Marcus-Nelson Murders. Has a success out of the ordinary and the producers decided to turn it into a television series.
Seven TV movies were made in the series Kojak: Kojak: The Belarus File (1985), Kojak: The Price of Justice (1987), Kojak: Ariana (1989), Kojak: Fatal Flaw (1991), Kojak: Flowers for Matty (1990), Kojak: It's Always Something (1990) and Kojak: None So Blind (1990).
He won an Emmy Award for Kojak.
He also starred in TV movie productions Mongo's Back in Town (1972), She Cried Murder (1973), Alcatraz: The Whole Shocking Story (1980), Dirty Dozen: The Deadly Mission (1987), The Dirty Dozen: The Fatal Mission (1988), The Hollywood Detective (1989).
Filmography
References
Other websites
Official site
Savalas.TV - Who loves ya, baby? TellySavalas.de - German Infoside TellySavalas.com
