Telly Savalas

Telly Savalas
Telly Savalas, 1973
Born	Aristotelis Savalas (1922-01-21)January 21, 1922 Garden City, New York, U.S.
Died	January 22, 1994(1994-01-22) (aged 72) Universal City, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Prostate cancer Bladder cancer
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles, California
Alma mater	Columbia University
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1950–1994
Spouse(s)	Katherine Nicolaides (1948–57, divorced) Marilyn Gardner (1960–74; divorced) Julie Hovland (1984–94; his death)
Partner(s)	Sally Adams (1969–78)
Children	5 including Ariana Savalas

Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas (Greek: Αριστοτέλης "Τέλλυ" Σαβάλας; January 21, 1922 – January 22, 1994) was an American singer and film, television, and character actor whose career spanned four decades of television. He was noted for his deep, gravelly voice and his bald head. He also released the one-hit wonder song, "If?," which he introduced in the UK in 1975. He had also appeared as a guest on several talk and variety shows.

Savalas's career began in films in 1961. His movie credits include The Young Savages (1961), The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), Battle of the Bulge (1965), The Dirty Dozen (1967), The Scalphunters (1968), supervillain Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), Kelly's Heroes (1970), Pretty Maids All in a Row (1971), Inside Out (1975), and Escape to Athena (1979). He then continued achieving success in the television crime drama Kojak (1973–1978), co-starring his real-life brother George Savalas, in which Savalas played the title role. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Birdman of Alcatraz (1962).

The second of five children, Telly Savalas was born Aristotelis Savalas on January 21, 1922, in Garden City, New York, to Greek-American parents Christina (née Kapsalis), a New York City artist who was a native of Sparta, and Nick Savalas [Tsavalas], a Greek restaurant owner. One set of grandparents originated from Ierakas, Greece, in the Peloponnese. Savalas and his brother Gus sold newspapers and shined shoes to help support the family. He entered Sewanhaka High School in Floral Park, New York, and graduated in 1940. He initially spoke only Greek when he entered grade school, but learned English. He attended Cobbett Junior High School in Lynn, Massachusetts. He won a spelling bee there in 1934, though through an oversight he did not receive his prize until 1991, when the Boston Herald newspaper and local school principal decided to award it to him. After graduation from high school he worked as a lifeguard, but on one occasion was unsuccessful at rescuing a man from drowning, an event which would haunt Savalas for the remainder of his life. When he entered Columbia University School of General Studies Savalas took courses including English language, radio, and psychology, graduating in 1948. At that time he fell in love with radio and television, which led to his interest in acting.