Aristotelis “Telly” Savalas net worth is $5 Million. Also know about Aristotelis “Telly” Savalas bio, salary, height, age weight, relationship and more …

Aristotelis “Telly” Savalas Wiki Biography

Aristotelis Savalas was born on 21 January 1922, in Garden City, New York USA, to mother Christina, an artist, and father Nick Savalas, a restaurant owner, of Greek descent. He was a singer and actor, probably best known for his title role of detective Kojak in the ‘70s television series

A famous actor, how rich was Telly Savalas? Sources state that Savalas had acquired a net worth over $5 million, his wealth having been earned mostly during his acting career which spanned 1950-90.

Savalas attended Sewanhaka High School in Floral Park, New York. After his matriculation in 1940, he worked as a lifeguard, but the following year he joined the US Army during World War II, being later discharged with a Purple Heart medal. He enrolled in Columbia University School of General Studies, majoring in English, Radio and Psychology, and graduating in 1948..

In the early 50s, Savalas began working for ABC radio as the host of the “Voice of America” show. Not long after, he became the executive producer of his own radio talk show “Telly’s Coffee House”, which earned him a Peabody Award. He went on to become a senior director of news special events at ABC, and later an executive producer for the “Gillette Cavalcade of Sports” program.

Savalas didn’t make his acting debut until 1959, appearing in an episode of the CBS anthology series “Armstrong Circle Theatre”, which led to him landing numerous guest appearances in other TV shows such as in the series “Naked City”, “Empire”, “The Eleventh Hour”, “The Untouchables”, “Breaking Point”, “Bonanza” and “The F.B.I”. He had a recurring role as Brother Hendricksen in the “77 Sunset Strip” television series, also appearing in the series “Acapulco”. His net worth was rising steadily.

After making his film debut as Detective Gunderson in the 1961 “The Young Savages”, Savalas was cast in the role of a solitary row prisoner Feto Gomez in the 1962 “Birdman of Alcatraz”, which earned him critical acclaim as well as an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. His other notable film roles of the time were in “Cape Fear”, “The Greatest Story Ever Told”, “The Dirty Dozen”, “The Sculphunters” and “Kelly’s Heroes”, which earned him recognition and considerably contributed to his fame and to his net worth as well.

In 1973 Savalas was cast in the title role as New York Police Detective Theo, a role which would remain the most memorable one in the actor’s career. The series ran for five seasons until 1978, with Savalas reviving the character of Kojak in a few ‘80s television movies; his performance as the bald, tough-talking, lollipop-sucking cop with a famous catchphrase “Who loves ya, baby?” provided him with icon status, earning him the 18th place in the TV Guide’s list of “50 Greatest TV Characters of All Time”. It also earned him an Emmy and two Golden Globe awards, plus significantly adding to his wealth.

In the meantime, Savalas also appeared in a number of ‘70s films, including “Horror Express”, “Killer Force”, “Inside Out” and “Beyond the Poseidon Adventure”. He went on to appear in the films “Nevada Heat”, “Cannibal Run”, “Faceless”, and many othes in the following decade. In 1983 he was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His last film appearance was in the 1995 release “Backfire!”, which was filmed several months prior to his death.

Aside from his acting career, Savalas also pursued a singing career, releasing a number of albums. His spoken word version of Bread’s “If” was a #1 hit in Europe back in the ‘70s, and his ‘80s cover of Williams’ “Some Broken Hearts Never Mind” also topped European charts.

In his personal life, Savalas married three times, firstly in 1948 to Katherine Nicolaides, with whom he had one child – the couple divorced in 1957. From 1960 to 1974 he was married to Marilyn Gardner, with whom he had two children. During the couple’s separation, Savalas lived with actress Sally Adams, and although they never married, they had one child together. In 1984 he married Julie Hovland, with whom he had two children, and with whom he remained in marriage until his death. Savalas died in Universal City, California in 1994, from prostate and bladder cancer, at the age of 72.

IMDB Wikipedia “Armstrong Circle Theatre” (1958) “Birdman of Alcatraz” (1962) “Gillette Cavalcade of Sports” “Kojak” (1973–1978) “Naked City” (1958-1963) “Some Broken Hearts” (2013) “Telly Savalas” (2006) “Telly” (1974) “The Coffeehouse” (1950) “The Dirty Dozen: The Deadly Mission” (1987) “The Equalizer” “The Extraordinary” “This Is Telly Savalas…” “Your Voice of America” (1943-1946) $5 million 1922 1922-1-21 1976 1994-01-22 5′ 11″ (1.8 m) Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (1963) Actor Alcatraz: The Whole Shocking Story (1980) Aquarius Aristotelis Savalas Audio Fidelity Records Columbia University Columbia University School of General Studies Director Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (1974) Garden City Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama (1975 Jam January 21 Katherine Nicolaides Kelly’s Heroes (1970) Kojak (1973) Long Island MCA Records New York On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969) People’s Choice Award for Favorite Male TV Performer (1975-1977) Primetime Emmy Awards Purple Heart medal Sewanhaka High School in Floral Park Soundtrack Telly Savalas Net Worth The Dirty Dozen (1967) The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) TV Land Favorite Private Eye Award (2005) US Army during World War II USA

Aristotelis “Telly” Savalas Quick Info

Aristotelis “Telly” Savalas Trademarks

1. Bald head.
2. Deep, gravelly voice.
3. Several of his characters have a Greek personality.
4. Frequently plays dangerous, tough characters.
5. The catchphrase, “Who loves ya, baby?”

Aristotelis “Telly” Savalas Quotes

• [When he was relaxing, shooting exteriors along with some interior scenes for next season’s Kojak (1973)]: Everybody’s always telling me they have an Uncle Harry who looks just like me. That’s 90% of my appeal.
• [In 1976]: I’m just a kid from New York who looks like everybody else.
• [Who didn’t need to worry so much about the Titanic show, when he agreed to host it]: I didn’t need any assurance that there would be anything in the safe. The fact that these guys went down 2 1/2 miles and came up with anything was an achievement in itself. I’ve been making believe as a detective for so long, that it was very exciting to be involved in something very, very real.
• [In 1981]: It was in 1959 I got my first role. I was to play the Greek judge who decides to give a Greek boy to a visiting American journalist. It was a small role and paid only $200, but I haven’t stopped since.
• [on being a spelling winner]: I’m thrilled that’s what I called ‘the greatest frustration of my life,’ will finally be righted.
• On ‘Kojak,’ I improvise a lot of the dialogue. And I’ve directed five episodes of the series so I’ve had some experience at it…The talent was given me at an early age. What the hell, I’ve been directing things since I was a year old.
• [In 1977]: It will be a sad day when I begin thinking of all this as work. I enjoy every minute of it.
• [In 1975]: Kojak is no supercop. I’m just a neighborhood kid.
• [When he was visiting in New York City]: I’m hoping that you’re not caught in the layoffs.
• [When reflected the times he had with his father]: Our happiest times were at the bottom of the ladder. One day he dragged us out of private schools, and the next day we started peddling cakes out of the back of a truck.
• [After he graduated from college who then became disenchanted]: This bastard! This gangster Freud! It’s all crap-just a language for unemployed actors to amuse themselves with!
• [Who had been offered a series wasn’t getting used to all the police shows on TV that have been aired at the time]: Television doesn’t need another cop show, that’s for sure. But this is an interesting cop, a real cop from a New York City neighborhood. A basically honest character, tough but with feelings: the kind of guy who might kick a hooker in the tail if he had to, but they’d understand each other because maybe they grew up on the same kind of block.
• [on his popularity while playing the fifty-something Lt. Theo Kojak on Kojak]: There’s no question that experience is more important and rewarding to someone who is an actor. My approach to Kojak in any situation would be my own approach. How I would react and respond? That’s basically true whether I’m portraying a cop or a candlestick maker.
• Proof that diamonds are a girl’s best friend, would be displayed only in the most select museums in the world.
• [When he became a popular nightclub singer]: I had the No. 1 record in England, knocking Mick Jagger off the top of the pops. I to close the generation gap.
• I’m a romantic realist. I knew I would become a star, just as I know some day the bubble will burst.
• [In 1989]: Now, I let someone else do all the running.
• [Of his late father, Nick Savalas]: One day he was a millionaire. The next day, with the Depression, not a penny in his pocket. He packs his five kids in the back of a van and goes to New York and begins selling cakes. That’s what I call a Greek.
• I came from a tough neighborhood. I used to be a ‘Dirty Greek,’ But my father used to say to me, ‘When you grow up and realize what your heritage means, then they’ll need a permit to speak to you.’ He was right. I’m a proud Greek. I carry my Hellenism like a badge of merit.
• [In 1973]: The second show I did on TV, I was the lead. I made $900 and I was having fun saying some other guy’s words. This is a dangerous profession for the ego.
• [In 1987]: I made 60 movies before ‘Kojak’ with some of the biggest names in the business, and people would still say, ‘There goes what’s-his-name.’
• [Of his mother, Christina Savalas]: Mama says to me, ‘Being an actor is fine, but what are you going to do for a living?’ I took my mother to the premiere of The Dirty Dozen and she said, ‘It’s disgraceful!’ I asked her how she liked my role and she said, ‘You were ridiculous!’
• [on taking the risk of starring in Kojak (1973)]: If they had told me about the series, I never would have done the movie, I got aboard this thing by accident. I wasn’t emotionally ready for a series. I like to move around, but now at least 98 per cent of my personality is in abeyance. There is the applause; I love it!
• [In 1974]: Kojak is the kind of guy who couldn’t arrest a hooker, he’d send her home. He operates on instinct and decency, but if you give him any lip he’ll throw you out a window.
• I don’t play that far away from myself because then I think people would say I was acting.
• I was born with a romantic nature and I’ll carry it to my grave.
• Even with the crazies I’ve played I’ve tried to give some dimension to their insanity.
• [on being offered the role of Kojak (1973)]: I’ll do Kojak: The Marcus-Nelson Murders (1973), but I don’t want to do a series. How can I do the one role? I mean, I have to verify my life. My life is a variety, I can’t be stuck with one character. It won’t sell.
• [When he was battling prostate cancer]: The challenge is to live long enough to raise my children.
• [on Clint Eastwood] Off screen Clint is articulate and intelligent, not quiet or laconic like the cowboys and GIs he plays in films.
• Who loves ya, baby?
• We’re all born bald, baby.

Aristotelis “Telly” Savalas Important Facts

• He was most widely known to be a social butterfly.
• He was known to be a very busy actor.
• Daughter Ariana sings and tours with Scott Bradlee’s Post Modern Jukebox.
• On Kojak (1973), his character was of Greek American heritage, in real-life, Savalas was also of Greek American heritage.
• He had performed a voice over for a 70s nature series on Yosemite National Park.
• On Kojak (1973), he worked with George Savalas’s character at the police station, in real-life, Savalas was (of course) George’s second older brother.
• He and his The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) co-stars Donald Pleasence and Max von Sydow all later played the Bond villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld: Pleasence in You Only Live Twice (1967), Savalas in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969) and von Sydow in Never Say Never Again (1983).
• Singing ran in his family.
• [11 December 1993] When Savalas was hospitalized at Huntington Memorial Hospital for bladder cancer, it had already spread to his hip bones and pancreas and was terminal.
• His birthplace, Garden City, New York, is 24 miles, west of New York City, New York.
• At least nine actors named him as their favorite actor: Bruce Kirby, Catlin Adams, Sally Kirkland, Michael Constantine, Louise Sorel, Ken Kercheval, Tige Andrews, Danny Thomas and Alex Rocco, all nine worked with him on Kojak (1973).
• Was always close to his family.
• Survived by 5 children, 4 grandchildren, 2 brothers, 1 sister and his wife.
• His ex-Kojak (1973) co-star, Kevin Dobson, had said in an interview, he was his best and dearest friend.
• Ernest Borgnine and Angie Dickinson attended his funeral.
• His ex-girlfriend, Sally Sheridan, filed a $5 million palimony suit against Savalas, eventually settling for a reported $1 million.
• Before his death, he was worried about Nick, who had made tabloid headlines with his public spats with his ex-girlfriend Tori Spelling.
• Up until his mother’s death in 1988, his mother lived in a suite a few floors above his own at the Sheraton-Universal, with the actor paying all the expenses.
• Long before Carrie McDowell became a member of the Christian pop/dance duo, ‘Two Hearts,’ with her husband, Michael Hodge, she once opened a show with him, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
• Had attended an audition for the CBS anthology series Armstrong Circle Theatre (1950), intending to prompt an actor friend who was up for a role, in 1959. Instead, the casting director took Savalas’s sinister demeanor into account and cast him in a character part, which led to other TV assignments and movie roles.
• His ex-Kojak (1973) co-star, Kevin Dobson and Savalas’s best friend, John Aniston, worked together on Days of Our Lives (1965).
• Long lives ran in his family.
• Originated the phrase, “Who Loves Ya, Baby?”, for Kojak (1973).
• Before the Depression era of 1929, his father was a millionaire.
• He starred in 56 films, in 21 of them he was cast as a villain.
• Also owned a stone ranch house in Rancho Mirage, California and a luxurious four-bedroom apartment in London, England.
• Met Angie Dickinson in the movie Pretty Maids All in a Row (1971). They were friends until his death in 1994.
• His mother, Christina Kapsalis Savalas, met his father, Nicholas, who had emigrated from the Village of Gerakas, as a youth, in the United States. She was chosen for her beauty to represent Greek women at the 1939 World’s Fair.
• His mother, Christina Savalas, had left the village of Anogia, three miles from Sparta, as a child.
• Was a heavy smoker.
• Began his show Kojak (1973) at age 51.
• As a philanthropist and philhellene, Savalas supported many Hellenic causes and made friends in major cities around the world. In Chicago, Telly often met with Illinois State Senators Steven G. Nash and Samuel Maragos, also Greeks, as well as Greek millionaire Simeon Frangos, who owned the famous Athens North nightclub and the Flying Carpet Hotel near O’Hare Airport.
• His brother, Gus Savalas, was a retired Foreign Service Officer who once served four years at the U.S. Embassy in Athens, Greece.
• Resided at the Sheraton-Universal Sheraton Hotel in Universal City, California, from 1973 until his death in 1994, becoming such a fixture at the hotel bar that it was renamed Telly’s.
• His father, Nick Savalas, was a hard worker, first at odd jobs, then as a businessman in cigarettes, restaurant supplies and general contracting.
• Along with Bob Hope and Linda Evans, Savalas participated in the ‘World Premiere’ Television Ad introducing Diet Coke to Americans.
• Acting ran in his family.
• His paternal grandfather, Kostas the Painter, lived to age 100 and became one of the area’s most famous artists.
• His parents, Nick and Christina Savalas, met in the United States and immigrated from Greece in 1915.
• Telly Savalas passed away on January 21, 1994. His longtime friend and co-star, Burt Lancaster, passed away 9 months after him.
• A singer, Savalas had some chart success. His spoken word version of Bread’s “If” produced by Snuff Garrett was #1 in Europe for 10 weeks in 1975 and his sung version of Don Williams’s “Some Broken Hearts Never Mend” topped the charts in 1980.
• Longtime friend Danny Thomas guest-starred on the last episode of Kojak (1973).
• Before he was a successful actor, in the United States Army during World War II, Savalas was working for the US State Department as host of the show, ‘Your Voice of America.’.
• Appeared on the front cover of TV Guide 5 times.
• In Pretty Maids All in a Row (1971), he played a police captain, on Kojak (1973), he played a police lieutenant.
• Acting mentor and friend of Kevin Dobson.
• Was a spokesperson for the Ford Motor Company in the early 1980s.
• Most of his enlistment records were destroyed in a fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1973.
• Three of his six children followed in their father’s footsteps into acting.
• Savalas qualified for the 1992 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, Nevada, and he finished among the top 25 players in the tournament.
• His mother, Christina Kapsalis Savalas, was a New York City artist, and his father, Nick Savalas, was the owner of many Greek restaurants.
• Named his son Nick Savalas after his father.
• His final films, Mind Twister (1994) and Backfire! (1995), were dedicated to his memory.
• Never retired from acting.
• Attended the funeral of best friend, Danny Thomas, when the actor passed away in 1991.
• Was good friends with producer/director Irwin Allen, appearing in his Beyond the Poseidon Adventure (1979), and Alice in Wonderland (1985).
• Lived with Sally Sheridan from 1969 to 1978. Her daughter from a previous relationship is Nicollette Sheridan, who considered Savalas as her father.
• His eldest daughter, Christina, was named after his mother.
• Was raised nearby the same city as Brian Keith.
• Was a spokesperson for the Players’ Club Gold Card from 1981 to 1990.
• Remained good friends with Kevin Dobson during and after Kojak (1973).
• He was an active liberal Democrat.
• Worked at the Garden City Theatre Center where he met and fell in love with Marilyn Gardner.
• At first, Telly was an executive director and then senior director of the news special events at ABC, Savalas then became an executive producer for the “Gillette Cavalcade of Sports,” where he gave Howard Cosell his first job.
• He wasn’t the first choice to audition for Kojak (1973), when Marlon Brando had been offered the role.
• His father, Nick Savalas, died in 1948. His mother, Christina Savalas, died in 1988, at age 84.
• Was very good friends with: Julie London, Doug McClure, Dan Frazer, Diana Rigg, Gavin MacLeod, Bernie Kopell, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Bob Hope, Dean Martin, Johnny Carson, Robert Conrad, Larry Manetti, George Burns, Karl Malden, Ernest Borgnine, Irwin Allen, Robert Stack, Dinah Shore, Anthony Quinn, Lee Marvin, Burt Lancaster, Angie Dickinson, Danny Thomas, Robert Alda, Jamie Farr, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Elliott Gould, Ricardo Montalban, Charles Bronson, Roddy McDowall, Don Rickles, Gene Barry, Michael Constantine, Rock Hudson, Shelley Winters, Gregory Peck, Dom DeLuise, Barbara Eden, Omar Sharif, David Janssen, Mickey Rooney, Beverly Garland, Mark Russell and George Savalas.
• Best remembered by the public for his starring role as the title character in Kojak (1973).
• Did the narration on several tourist information films on British Cities during the 1970s. Apparently he recorded them all during one visit to the UK to promote his Kojak show.
• Underwent successful surgery for prostate cancer in 1989, but in 1991 was diagnosed with bladder cancer which spread to his bones and pancreas.
• Loved to read historical biographies and, somewhat surprisingly, romance novels.
• Enjoyed watching Jeopardy! (1984).
• Born on the same day as Benny Hill, who impersonated Savalas’s Kojak (1973) character on The Benny Hill Show (1969).
• Uncle of Australian-born actor Peter Cavnoudias.
• He was also a strong contributor to his Greek Orthodox roots through the Saint Sophia and Saint Nicholas cathedrals in Los Angeles, and was the sponsor of bringing electricity in the ’70s to his ancestral home, Yeraka, Greece.
• His mother, Christina, was a world recognized contemporary of Pablo Picasso, and Savalas himself released several records, the most remembered being his version of “If”, that was #1 in Europe for 10 weeks in 1975.
• In 1990 the city of New York declared Kojak: The Marcus-Nelson Murders (1973) as the official movie of New York City, and awarded Telly with the Key to the City. The film was the one that introduced Savalas’ most famous character, Lt. Theo Kojak, later made famous on its spin-off series Kojak (1973).
• After portraying Pontius Pilate in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), he chose to remain completely bald and this signature look, somewhere between the comic and the ominous, stood him in good stead in the years that followed.
• Loved gambling and was a very successful gambler, winning many Vegas poker tournaments and losing few.
• Owned a wide variety of automobiles, including Cadillacs, Lincolns, Fords, Pontiacs, Mercedes and DeLoreans.
• Was the first choice for the role of Harry Orwell in the TV series Harry O (1973). He declined due to filming commitments in Europe. David Janssen was eventually cast in the role.
• Has the distinction of playing two Alcatraz prison inmates; Feto Gomez in Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) and Cretzer in Alcatraz: The Whole Shocking Story (1980).
• Had a fear of flying. Ironically, he played a pilot in Capricorn One (1977).
• He didn’t appear in his first film until he was 37.
• Of Greek descent and spoke Greek fluently.
• Would always refuse to talk about his service during World War II.
• Met his last wife, Julie Hovland, on the set of Kojak (1973) in 1977. She was a travel agent from Minnesota.
• Graduated from Sewanhaka High School in Floral Park, New York, in 1940.
• Reason why he sucked on a lollipop during Kojak (1973): to help him to quit smoking.
• Left index finger was deformed.
• Hosted a popular radio program, “Telly’s Coffeehouse,” in the early 1950s.
• Met his first wife (Katherine) at a Greek dance while attending Columbia University.
• Was involved in a serious car accident in Virginia during his hitch in the army.
• When he worked as a lifeguard, he failed to save a man from drowning, and was troubled by the memory forever after.
• Attended Columbia University in New York, New York.
• Interred at the George Washington Section of Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles, California, USA.
• Purchased a house in the Southern California desert community of Palm Desert because he enjoyed playing golf so much.
• He had many hobbies including golfing, swimming, gambling, collecting luxury cars, spending time with his family, horse racing, motorcycle racing, watching football and reading romantic books.
• Was the second of 5 children.
• Was a member of Company C, 12th Medical Training Battalion, 4th Medical Training Regiment at Camp Pickett, Virginia.
• Before becoming an actor, he had many odd jobs, from newspaper vendor to lifeguard.
• His son Nick Savalas’s half-sister, Nicollette Sheridan, and his former Kojak (1973) co-star, Kevin Dobson, both starred in the popular 1980s soap opera, Knots Landing (1979).
• He was an accomplished poker player.
• Early in his career, he directed stage plays at a theater in Connecticut.
• Was originally slated to play Luke in Cool Hand Luke (1967), but the producers were unable to wait for him to complete his boat trip from Europe to the U.S. (Telly had a severe fear of flying). Therefore, Paul Newman played the role instead.
• Was friends with actor John Aniston and named godfather of Jennifer Aniston.
• Telly Savalas passed away on January 22, 1994. Just 1 day before his death, he celebrated his 72nd and last birthday with his family, friends and colleagues at the Universal Sheraton Inn in Universal City, California.
• Father of Christina Savalas (born 1950) (with Katherine Nicolaides); Candace Savalas (born 1963) and Penelope Savalas (born 1961) (with Marilyn Gardner); Nick Savalas (with Sally Sheridan); and Christian Savalas (born 1985) and Ariana Savalas (with Julie Hovland).
• His younger brother, George Savalas, starred in Kojak (1973) and in “Kelly’s Heroes” (1970) with him.
• He used off-script phrases and mottoes in Greek during filming.
• Early in his career he played mainly brutish criminals until he changed his image completely in the 1970s, when he was cast as a homicide detective in the acclaimed TV-movie Kojak: The Marcus-Nelson Murders (1973) and its spin-off series, Kojak (1973).

Aristotelis “Telly” Savalas Filmography

Aristotelis “Telly” Savalas Awards