Happy Birthday: Telly Savalas (1922–1994)

Telly Savalas (1922–1994)

Born: January 21, 1922 in Garden City, Long Island, New York, USA
Died: January 22, 1994 (age 72) in Universal City, California, USA

[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.

[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…