Telly Savalas Movies and Career Information

Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas (January 21, 1922 – January 22, 1994) was a Greek American film and television actor and singer, whose career spanned four decades. Best known for playing the title role in the 1970s crime drama Kojak, Savalas was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Birdman of Alcatraz (1962). His other 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). Savalas, the second of five children, was born as Aristotelis Savalas (Greek: Αριστοτέλης Σαβάλας) 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, a Greek restaurant owner. When he entered Sewanhaka High School in Floral Park, New York, he initially only spoke Greek, yet learned English and graduated in 1940. After graduation, he worked as a lifeguard, but on one occasion,