Biografía

When he worked as a lifeguard, he failed to save a man from drowning, and was troubled by the memory forever after.

Reason why he sucked on a lollipop during Kojak (1973): following Peter Cavnoudias's suggestion while filming La casa del exorcismo (1973) to help him to quit smoking.

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 '70s to his ancestral home, Yeraka, Greece.

At first, Telly was an executive director and then senior director of the news special events at ABC, Savalas then became an executive producer for the "Gillette Cavalcade of Sports," where he gave Howard Cosell his first job.

After portraying Pontius Pilate in La más grande historia jamás contada (1965), he chose to remain completely bald and this signature look, somewhere between the comic and the ominous, stood him in good stead in the years that followed.

We're all born bald, baby.

Who loves ya, baby?

[on Clint Eastwood] Off screen Clint is articulate and intelligent, not quiet or laconic like the cowboys and GIs he plays in films.

[When he was battling prostate cancer]: The challenge is to live long enough to raise my children.

[on being offered the role of Kojak (1973)]: I'll do The Marcus-Nelson Murders (1973), but I don't want to do a series. How can I do the one role? I mean, I have to verify my life. My life is a variety, I can't be stuck with one character. It won't sell.