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Telly Savalas is a Actor, Director, Writer and Songs American born on 21 january 1922 at Garden City (USA)

Telly Savalas

Telly Savalas
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Birth name Aristotelis Savalas
Nationality USA
Birth 21 january 1922 at Garden City (USA)
Death 22 january 1994 (at 72 years) at Universal City (USA)

Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas (Greek: Αριστοτέλης "Τέλλυ" Σαβάλας; January 21, 1922 – January 22, 1994) was an American film and television actor and singer, whose career spanned four decades. Perhaps 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).

Biography

Savalas was married three times. In 1948 after his father's death from bladder cancer, Savalas married his college sweetheart, Katherine Nicolaides. Daughter Christina, named after his mother, was born in 1950. In 1957, Katherine filed for divorce after she found out from Telly that he was running away to flee his creditors. She urged him to move back to his mother's house during that same year. While Savalas was going broke, he founded the Garden City Theater Center in his native Garden City. While working there, he met Marilyn Gardner, a theater teacher. They married in 1960. Marilyn gave birth to daughter Penelope in 1961. A second daughter, Candace, was born in 1963.

In 1969, while working on the movie On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Savalas met Sally Adams. Sally gave birth to their son Nicholas Savalas on February 24, 1973. Gardner filed for divorce from Savalas in 1974, but Savalas and Sally Adams never legally married. In 1977 during the last season of Kojak, he met Julie Hovland, a travel agent from Minnesota. They were married in 1984 and had two children together, Christian and Ariana. Julie and Telly remained married until his death. Christian Savalas is an actor, singer and songwriter. Ariana Savalas is an actress and singer/songwriter. Julie Savalas is an inventor and artist.

Telly Savalas held a degree in psychology and was a world-class poker player who finished 21st at the main event in the 1992 World Series of Poker, as well as a motorcycle racer and lifeguard. His other hobbies and interests included golfing, swimming, reading romantic books, watching football, traveling, collecting luxury cars and gambling. He loved horse racing and bought a racehorse with movie director and producer Howard W. Koch. Naming the horse Telly's Pop, it won several races in 1975 including the Norfolk Stakes and Del Mar Futurity.

In his capacity as producer for Kojak, he gave many stars their first break, as Burt Lancaster did for him. He was considered by those who knew him to be a generous, graceful, compassionate man. 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 1970s to his ancestral home, Yeraka, Greece. Telly was also Jennifer Aniston's godfather.

Savalas had a minor physical handicap in that his left index finger was deformed. This deformed digit was often indicated on screen; Kojak episode "Conspiracy of Fear" in which a close-up of Savalas holding his chin in his hand clearly shows the permanently bent finger. As a philanthropist and philhellene, Telly 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 Athens North nightclub and the Flying Carpet Hotel near O'Hare airport.

Best films

Usually with

Paul Picerni
Paul Picerni
(9 films)
Mario Bava
Mario Bava
(2 films)
Moss Mabry
Moss Mabry
(3 films)
Source : Wikidata

Filmography of Telly Savalas (62 films)

Display filmography as list

Actor

Sons of Norway, 1h27
Directed by Jens Lien
Genres Drama
Actors Sonja Richter, John Lydon, Trond Nilssen, Telly Savalas, Minken Fosheim
Rating63% 3.1999853.1999853.1999853.1999853.199985
En 1979, la vie de Nikolaj, 14 ans, est parfaitement heureuse à Rykkinn, en Norvège, entre son frère et ses parents hippies, Magnus et Lone. Mais tout est bouleversé quand Lone meurt brutalement dans un accident de voiture. La famille est totalement bouleversée. Le père et le fils réagissent chacun à sa façon. Tandis que Magnus fait une dépression, Nikolaj découvre, grâce à son meilleur ami, l'album «Never Mind the Bollocks» des Sex Pistols. Nikolaj pense alors faire de cette musique l'instrument de sa rébellion. Malheureusement, Magnus partage les mêmes goûts musicaux que lui. La relation entre le père et le fils évolue progressivement.
Rose Against the Odds, 1h46
Genres Biography, Action
Themes Seafaring films, Sports films, Transport films, Boxing films, Documentary films about law
Actors Telly Savalas, Paul Williams, Tony Barry, Steve Jacobs, Frankie J. Holden, Jacinta Stapleton
Roles George Parnassus
Rating66% 3.305123.305123.305123.305123.30512
Ce film est une biographie du boxeur aborigène Lionel Rose : de son enfance dans un village aborigène pauvre d'Australie, son départ à Melbourne pour rejoindre l'équipe de boxe de Jack Rennie, jusqu'au soir où un coup de téléphone surprise lui donne la chance de sa vie : défier le champion du monde en titre, le grand Fighting Harada.
Faceless
Faceless (1988)
, 1h38
Directed by Jesús Franco
Origin France
Genres Horror, Slasher
Themes Films about sexuality, LGBT-related films, LGBT-related film, Lesbian-related films
Actors Helmut Berger, Brigitte Lahaie, Telly Savalas, Christopher Mitchum, Stéphane Audran, Florence Guérin
Roles Terry Hallen
Rating58% 2.900182.900182.900182.900182.90018
A former patient of Dr. Frank Flamand (Helmut Berger), a disfigured Mrs. Francoisis (Tilda Thamar) seeks revenge for a botched operation by throwing acid at him but she misses and catches his sister, Ingrid (Christiane Jean), full in the face, resulting in severe burns.
The Dirty Dozen: The Fatal Mission, 1h40
Directed by Lee H. Katzin
Origin USA
Genres Drama, War, Thriller, Action, Adventure
Themes Political films
Actors Telly Savalas, Ernest Borgnine, Hunt Block, Jeff Conaway, Alex Cord, Heather Thomas
Roles Maj. Wright
Rating50% 2.5068452.5068452.5068452.5068452.506845
Twelve top Nazis are ordered to the Middle East, where they are to organize a Fourth Reich, and only Major Wright and his convict commando squad can stop them.
The Dirty Dozen: The Deadly Mission, 1h30
Directed by Lee H. Katzin
Origin USA
Genres War, Action, Adventure
Themes Political films
Actors Telly Savalas, Ernest Borgnine, Bo Svenson, Vince Edwards, Wolf Kähler, Vincent Van Patten
Roles Maj. Wright
Rating52% 2.60282.60282.60282.60282.6028
The film opens with Major Wright fighting alongside Italian partisans in a town near Turin. While the partisans battle the occupying German soldiers in the streets, Major Wright enters a bordello in search of Benito Mussolini. However, after shooting up a closet only to find a dead German officer, Wright is informed by one of the women that 'Il Duce' had already left town. Disappointed, Major Wright opens the window to the sound of the victorious partisans and lifts a glass of brandy to "Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Winston Spencer Churchill."
Kojak: The Price of Justice, 1h35
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Crime
Actors Telly Savalas, Stanley Tucci, Kate Nelligan, Pat Hingle, Earl Hindman, Jack Thompson
Roles Inspector Theo Kojak
Rating64% 3.231683.231683.231683.231683.23168
Kojak is on new case, bodies of two young boys are found in Harlem river, their mother (Kate Nelligan) is the main suspect. Soon boys' father (Pat Hingle) kills himself. Kojak and his new assistant (John Bedford Lloyd) have to sort things out and solve the case which isn't going to be straightforward task as it seems.
GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords, 1h11
Directed by Ray Patterson, Don Lusk, Alan Zaslove, Don Lusk
Origin USA
Genres Animation
Themes Films set in the future, Films about extraterrestrial life, Space opera, Children's films, Films about extraterrestrial life, Alien invasions in films, Robot films, Disaster films
Actors Margot Kidder, Telly Savalas, Roddy McDowall, Michael Nouri, Bernard Erhard, Frank Welker
Roles Magmar (voice)
Rating54% 2.7085652.7085652.7085652.7085652.708565
The Guardian Gobots are continuing their work on rebuilding their home planet of Gobotron when a mysterious ship crashes on the planet. Leader-1, Turbo and Scooter investigate, and find it to be occupied by a pair of transforming rocks - Solitaire and her valet Nugget. They have come seeking the Guardians' help to save their planet from the evil Rock Lord Magmar, who is killing the other Rock Lords in order to take their power sceptres. He places these in a machine designed to channel all their power into his own sceptre. The Guardians agree to help, but the conversation is spied upon by the Renegade Fitor. Gobotron is soon attacked by the Renegade fleet, and Cy-Kill and a team of Renegades capture Solitaire, Small Foot, Nick and A.J. With Nugget as their guide, Leader-1, Turbo and Matt set off on a rescue mission. Back on Quartex, the only obstacle facing Magmar is Boulder's group of Rock Lords, who set off to draw Magmar into battle.
Alice in Wonderland, 3h7
Directed by Harry Harris
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Fantastic, Fantasy
Themes Films based on Alice in Wonderland, Children's films
Actors Natalie Gregory, Red Buttons, Anthony Newley, Sheila Mathews Allen, Jayne Meadows, Carol Channing
Roles The Cheshire Cat
Rating72% 3.626273.626273.626273.626273.62627
The first part opens with Alice (Natalie Gregory) helping Mother (Sheilla Allen) set the table for tea time. Although thankful for her daughter's help, Mother tells Alice that she is still not grown-up enough to join the adults at tea. Alice goes outside to see her sister (played by Gregory's real-life older sister Sharee Gregory), but gets bored of reading a book with no pictures. Her sister tells her that she will understand when she grows up, but Alice thinks she is already grown up (after all, she's seven and a half).
Cannonball Run II, 1h48
Directed by Hal Needham
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Action, Adventure
Themes Sports films, Transport films, Films about automobiles, Martial arts films, Auto racing films, Road movies
Actors Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Jamie Farr, Telly Savalas
Roles Hymie
Rating51% 2.553052.553052.553052.553052.55305
Having lost the first Cannonball Run race, Sheik Abdul ben Falafel (Jamie Farr) is ordered by his father (Ricardo Montalban) to go back to America and win another Cannonball Run in order to "emblazon the Falafel name as the fastest in the world." When Sheik Abdul points out that there is no Cannonball Run that year, his father simply tells him to "buy one."
The Cartier Affair, 1h36
Directed by Rod Holcomb
Genres Comedy, Crime, Romance
Actors David Hasselhoff, Joan Collins, Telly Savalas, Ed Lauter, Charles Napier, Jordan Charney
Roles Phil Drexler
Rating48% 2.426792.426792.426792.426792.42679
Curt Taylor (David Hasselhoff) is released from California State Prison and to settle a debt he becomes a secretary for Cartier Rand (Joan Collins) as a form of amusing punishment, so that he can steal her jewels. During the course of his employment for Cartier, He falls in love with her, which complicates his primary mission to steal from her, Cartier reciprocates his feelings and the two begin an affair.
The Border
The Border (1980)
, 1h30
Directed by Christopher Leitch
Genres Action
Themes Films about immigration
Actors Telly Savalas, Michael Vincenzo Gazzo, Eddie Albert, Noé Murayama
Roles Frank Cooper
Rating46% 2.3301552.3301552.3301552.3301552.330155
Frank Cooper, la police d'immigration supérieur, reste un combat quotidien contre les mafias opérant entre le Mexique et les États-Unis. Bien qu'il ait une bonne règle avec les plus pauvres des villes mexicaines près de la frontière. Deux sont Leina et Benny, deux jeunes garçons qui ont décidé de se marier et ont choisi Frank comme meilleur homme. Les problèmes ne tardent pas à apparaître lorsque Suarez, une des forces locales de gangster Benny à travailler pour lui dans leur sale besogne. Maintenant, pour Frank, le travail devient personnel.
Alcatraz: The Whole Shocking Story, 3h15
Directed by Paul Krasny
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Action, Crime, Politic
Actors Michael Beck, Art Carney, Alex Karras, Telly Savalas, Will Sampson, Ronny Cox
Roles Cretzer
Rating70% 3.5292253.5292253.5292253.5292253.529225
L'Île d'Alcatraz est une prison à sécurité maximum construite à l'épreuve des évasions. Clarence Carnes est le détenu qui a passé le plus grand nombre d'années à l'Île d'Alcatraz. Au cours de 18 ans en prison Clarence a fait partie de deux tentatives d'évasions audacieuses: une fusillade sanglante en 1946 et une évasion en 1953 qui a causé la fermeture de la prison. Mis en liberté conditionnelle en 1973, Carnes a raconté la véritable histoire de sa vie en prison, dans un livre puis, il a servi de conseiller technique pour ce film choc.