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01
When he worked as a lifeguard, he failed to save a man from drowning and was troubled by the memory forever after.
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02
The reason he sucked on a lollipop during Kojak was to help quit smoking, following Peter Cavnoudias’s suggestion while filming Lisa and the Devil in 1973.
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03
He was a strong contributor to his Greek Orthodox roots through the Saint Sophia and Saint Nicholas cathedrals in Los Angeles and sponsored bringing electricity in the 1970s to his ancestral home, Yeraka, Greece.
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04
At first an executive director and then senior director of news special events at ABC, Savalas became an executive producer for the Gillette Cavalcade of Sports, where he gave Howard Cosell his first job.
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05
Until his mother’s death in 1988, she lived in a suite a few floors above his own at the Sheraton-Universal, with the actor paying all the expenses.
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06
After portraying Pontius Pilate in The Greatest Story Ever Told 1965, he chose to remain completely bald, and this signature look stood him in good stead.
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07
He resided at the Sheraton-Universal 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.
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08
He was friends with actor John Aniston and named godfather of Jennifer Aniston.
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09
His left index finger was shorter than his other fingers, ending right after the beginning of its second phalanx.
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10
He was originally slated to play Luke in Cool Hand Luke 1967, but producers could not wait for him to complete his boat trip from Europe he had a severe fear of flying, so Paul Newman played the role instead.
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11
Telly Savalas passed away on January 22, 1994, one day after his 72nd birthday, which he celebrated with his family, friends, and colleagues at the Universal Sheraton Inn.
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12
He was the first American actor to play the villain in a James Bond film.
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13
He lived with Sally Sheridan from 1969 to 1978; her daughter Nicollette Sheridan considered Savalas as her father.
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14
He was a member of Company C, 12th Medical Training Battalion, 4th Medical Training Regiment at Camp Pickett, Virginia.
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15
He had attended an audition for Armstrong Circle Theatre in 1959 intending to prompt an actor friend, but the casting director took his sinister demeanor and cast him, leading to other TV assignments and movie roles.
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16
Savalas qualified for the 1992 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas and finished among the top 25 players.
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17
His ex-Kojak co-star Kevin Dobson said in an interview that Savalas was his best and dearest friend.
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18
As he loved spending time with his family, his hobbies included golfing, swimming, gambling, collecting luxury cars, horse racing, motorcycle racing, watching football, and reading romantic books and historical biographies.
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19
In 1990, New York City declared The Marcus-Nelson Murders 1973 as the official movie of New York City and awarded Telly the Key to the City.
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20
He used off-script phrases and mottoes in Greek during filming.
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21
As a singer, his spoken-word version of Bread’s If, produced by Snuff Garrett, was number one in Europe for ten weeks in 1975, and his sung version of Don Williams’s Some Broken Hearts Never Mend topped the charts in 1980.
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22
His paternal grandfather, Kostas the Painter, lived to age 100 and became one of the area’s most famous artists.
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23
Before the Depression of 1929, his father was a millionaire.
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24
His father, Nick Savalas, died in 1948; his mother, Christina Savalas, died in 1988 at age 84.
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25
He did not appear in his first film until he was 37.
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26
He starred in 56 films, in 21 of which he was cast as a villain.
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27
He originated the phrase Who Loves Ya, Baby? for Kojak.
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28
He loved gambling and was a very successful gambler, winning many Vegas poker tournaments and losing few.
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29
Before his acting success, he directed stage plays at a theater in Connecticut.
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30
He had a fear of flying but ironically played a pilot in Capricorn One 1978.
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31
Longtime friend Danny Thomas guest-starred on the last episode of Kojak.
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32
Early in his career he played mainly brutish criminals until he changed his image completely in the 1970s when cast as a homicide detective in the acclaimed TV movie The Marcus-Nelson Murders and its spin-off series.
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33
He appeared on the front cover of TV Guide five times.
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34
His mother, Christina Kapsalis Savalas, was a New York City artist, and his father, Nick Savalas, a hard worker who first worked odd jobs then as a businessman in cigarettes, restaurant supplies, and general contracting before becoming a restaurateur owning a chain of Greek restaurants.
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35
Before acting success, he hosted a popular radio program, Telly’s Coffeehouse, in the early 1950s.
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36
He also owned a stone ranch house in Rancho Mirage, California and a luxurious four-bedroom apartment in London, England.
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37
He met screen actress Angie Dickinson in 1971 when they appeared in Pretty Maids All in a Row; they were lifelong friends until his death.
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38
His younger brother, George Savalas, starred in Kojak and in three films with him.
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39
He was involved in a serious car accident in Virginia during his army hitch.
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40
When hospitalized for bladder cancer at Huntington Memorial Hospital, it had already spread to hip bones and pancreas; he rejected the recommended radical cystectomy.
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41
Before acting, in the United States Army during WWII, he worked for the US State Department as host of the show Your Voice of America.
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42
He performed a voice-over for a 1970s nature series on Yosemite National Park.
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43
On Kojak, his character was of Greek American heritage, just like Savalas in real life.
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44
He purchased a house in Palm Desert, California because he enjoyed playing golf so much.
