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- For at least one night this week, the streets of New York will be safe again. Kojak is back. Saturday night, CBS returns Telly Savalas to television as Theo Kojak, the nail-tough police lieutenant who for five seasons of network prime time made staples of Tootsie Pops, the line "Who loves yuh, baby?"
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Savalas and Sally Field in Mongo's Back in Town (1971) Kojak (1973–1978; 1985–1990) Savalas first played Lt. Theophilus "Theo" Kojak in the TV movie The Marcus–Nelson Murders (CBS, 1973), which was based on the real-life Career Girls murder case.
- It started with a TV movie based on real-life murders. TV writer Abby Mann introduced Savalas’ Kojak — spelled “Kojack” at the time — in the 1973 CBS movie The Marcus-Nelson Murders.
- The show was a family affair — though that wasn’t evident for two seasons. Telly Savalas’ brother George Savalas starred as Detective Stavros on Kojak.
- Savalas used lollipops to curb his smoking habit. Viewers often saw Telly Savalas’ detective character sucking on a lollipop while working a case — a quirk first seen in Kojak’s eighth episode, “Dark Sunday,” per MeTV.
- The show won Emmys, Golden Globes, and even an Edgar. Savalas won the Lead Actor in a Drama Series Emmy Award for his Kojak work in 1974. The following year, guest star Zohra Lampert won an Emmy for her performance in Season 2’s “Queen of the Gypsies.”
Kojak: Created by Abby Mann. With Telly Savalas, Dan Frazer, Kevin Dobson, George Savalas. A bald, lollipop sucking police detective with a fiery righteous attitude battles crime in his city.
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In 1985, seven years after the series ended, Telly Savalas returned to play Kojak in seven TV movies beginning with Kojak: The Belarus File. The first two were aired by CBS and the latter five were aired on ABC as part of their ABC Saturday Mystery Movie theme block.
- 5
- 118 (list of episodes)
- October 24, 1973 –, March 18, 1978
- CBS
Mar 25, 2005 · “Kojak” is back, 11 years after the death of Telly Savalas, in a limited series from the USA Network, and let us all admit from the start that, lollipops and “New York setting” aside -- Toronto...
- Robert Lloyd
- Television Critic
- robert.lloyd@latimes.com
Oct 24, 2023 · Telly Savalas first appeared as his lollipop-loving character Lt. Kojak in the TV movie "The Marcus-Nelson Murders." Credit: Getty Images/Universal Television Enterprises, Inc. By Verne Gay...
Nov 30, 2018 · Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas (January 21, 1922–January 22, 1994) was an actor best known for his title role in the 1970s Kojak TV series. He earned an Emmy Award for his part in the show. He also had a successful movie career earning an Academy Award nomination for Birdman of Alcatraz in 1962. Fast Facts: Telly Savalas. Occupation: Actor.
