Telly Savalas

His silver screen career usually involved him being cast as the quintessential villain in such films as: Mad Dog Coll (1961), Cape Fear (1962), Birdman of Alcatraz (1962), The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), Battle of the Bulge (1965), Genghis Khan (1965), Beau Geste (1966), The Dirty Dozen (1967), The Assassination Bureau (1969), On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), Kelly's Heroes (1970), Escape to Athena (1979), and Beyond the Poseidon Adventure (1979). The Kinks song "Waterloo Sunset" was written as a tribute to both Stamp and Julie Christie who were a couple in the late 1960's. Telly's brother George played the recurring role of Detective Stavros. He played a transsexual in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994). Telly portrayed Kojak in the following shows;. More recently, he starred in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999) as Chancellor Finis Valorum and as Prince Lubovedsky in Meetings with Remarkable Men (1979). Theo Kojak was a bald New York detective who had a fondness for lollipops and whose trademark line was, "Who loves ya, baby?" Reportedly the lollipop gimmick was added in lieu of having the character smoke, a habit that fell out of vogue among TV series in the 1970s. However, he gained considerable popular fame as the Phantom Zone prisoner, General Zod, in the Superman feature film series starring Christopher Reeve.

Lt. He played the title role in Billy Budd, and starred in Far from the Madding Crowd with Julie Christie. Undoubtably Savalas' most famous role was that of the tough detective Kojak on television. He was born at Stepney, London, United Kingdom, and has appeared in more than fifty feature films, first making his name in the 1960s as one of the most famous faces in "swinging" London society. He was also the godfather of Friends star Jennifer Aniston, with whom he shared Greek roots. Terence Stamp (born July 22, 1939) is a British actor. In the early 1990s, Savalas contracted bladder cancer, ultimately succumbing to the disease in 1994, only a day after he turned 70, in Universal City, California.

Telly maintained that style for the rest of his life. He eventually decided to shave off the remaining hair when he began playing in movies. Up until the mid-1960s, he had what his family termed a halo - a ring of hair along the back and sides of his head. Telly was well known for being totally bald.

It was not until he was in his thirties that he decided to turn to acting. During the early 1950s, Savalas worked for ABC radio and eventually became the executive producer of his own popular talk show, "Telly's Coffee House". He was honourably discharged with a Purple Heart disability. He served in World War II after he dropped out of Columbia University, where he was studying psychology.

Savalas was born in Garden City, New York to Greek parents, Nicholas and Christina Savalas. He was best known for his work on the Kojak television series, and for playing Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Telly Savalas (born Aristotle Savalas) (January 21, 1924 - January 22, 1994) was a Greek-American actor. Kojak: Flowers for Matty (1990) (TV).

Kojak: It's Always Something (1990) (TV). Kojak: None So Blind (1990) (TV). Kojak: Fatal Flaw (1989) (TV). Kojak: Ariana (1989) (TV).

Kojak: The Price of Justice (1987) (TV). Kojak: The Belarus File (1985) (TV). "Kojak" (1973-78) TV Series. The Marcus-Nelson Murders (1973) (TV) The Pilot for the Kojak TV series.