Telly Savalas

Acting

January 21, 1922

Died at age 72

January 22, 1994

Date of Death

Garden City, Long Island, New York, USA

159 Credits

Biography

Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas (January 21, 1922 – January 22, 1994) was an 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).