- 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 Lisa and the Devil (1973) to help him to quit smoking.
- Was originally slated to play Luke in Cool Hand Luke (1967), but the producers were unable to wait for him to complete his boat trip from Europe to the U.S. (Telly had a severe fear of flying). Therefore, Paul Newman played the role instead.
- 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 The Greatest Story Ever Told (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.
- Lived with Sally Sheridan from 1969 to 1978. Her daughter from a previous relationship is Nicollette Sheridan, who considered Savalas as her father.
- Was friends with actor John Aniston and named godfather of Jennifer Aniston.
- Resided at the Sheraton-Universal Sheraton 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.
- 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 in Universal City, California.
- Before the Depression era of 1929, his father was a millionaire.
- Left index finger was shorter than his other fingers ending right after the beginning of its second phalanx.
- 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.
- His ex-Kojak (1973) co-star, Kevin Dobson, had said in an interview, he was his best and dearest friend.
- His mother, Christina Kapsalis Savalas, was a New York City artist, and his father, Nick Savalas, a hard worker, 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.
- As he loved spending time with his family, also had many hobbies including golfing, swimming, gambling, collecting luxury cars, horse racing, motorcycle racing, watching football and reading romantic books as well as historical biographies.
- Also owned a stone ranch house in Rancho Mirage, California and a luxurious four-bedroom apartment in London, England.
- His father, Nick Savalas, died in 1948. His mother, Christina Savalas, died in 1988, at age 84.
- He used off-script phrases and mottoes in Greek during filming.
- Savalas qualified for the 1992 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, Nevada, and he finished among the top 25 players in the tournament.
- His paternal grandfather, Kostas the Painter, lived to age 100 and became one of the area's most famous artists.
- Longtime friend Danny Thomas guest-starred on the last episode of Kojak (1973).
- In 1990 the city of New York declared The Marcus-Nelson Murders (1973) as the official movie of New York City, and awarded Telly with the Key to the City. The film was the one that introduced Savalas' most famous character, Lt. Theo Kojak, later made famous on its spin-off series Kojak (1973).
- Was a member of Company C, 12th Medical Training Battalion, 4th Medical Training Regiment at Camp Pickett, Virginia.
- Originated the phrase, "Who Loves Ya, Baby?", for Kojak (1973).
- Was involved in a serious car accident in Virginia during his hitch in the army.
- Loved gambling and was a very successful gambler, winning many Vegas poker tournaments and losing few.
- Met screen actress, Angie Dickinson, in 1971, when the two appeared in the movie Pretty Maids All in a Row (1971).18 years later, Dickinson worked with Savalas on Kojak: Fatal Flaw (1989).They were lifelong friends until Savalas' passing in 1994.
- His final films, Mind Twister (1993) and Backfire! (1995), were dedicated to his memory.
- Had attended an audition for the CBS anthology series Armstrong Circle Theatre (1950), intending to prompt an actor friend who was up for a role, in 1959. Instead, the casting director took Savalas' sinister demeanor into account and cast him in a character part, which led to other TV assignments and movie roles.
- Before he was a successful actor, in the United States Army during World War II, Savalas was working for the US State Department as host of the show, 'Your Voice of America.'.
- On Kojak (1973), he worked with George Savalas's character at the police station, in real-life, Savalas was (of course) George's second older brother.
- Most of his enlistment records were destroyed in a fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1973.
- As a singer, Savalas had some chart success. His spoken word version of Bread's "If" produced by Snuff Garrett was #1 in Europe for 10 weeks in 1975 and his sung version of Don Williams's "Some Broken Hearts Never Mend" topped the charts in 1980.
- Had a fear of flying. Ironically, he played a pilot in Capricorn One (1977).
- He starred in 56 films, in 21 of them he was cast as a villain.
- He didn't appear in his first film until he was 37.
- Early in his career he played mainly brutish criminals until he changed his image completely in the 1970s, when he was cast as a homicide detective in the acclaimed TV-movie The Marcus-Nelson Murders (1973) and its spin-off series, Kojak (1973).
- Three of his six children followed in their father's footsteps into acting.
- Before he was a successful actor, early in his career, he directed stage plays at a theater in Connecticut.
- He wasn't the first choice to audition for Kojak (1973), when Marlon Brando had been offered the role.
- Has the distinction of playing two Alcatraz prison inmates; Feto Gomez in Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) and Cretzer in Alcatraz: The Whole Shocking Story (1980).
- When Savalas was hospitalized at Huntington Memorial Hospital for bladder cancer, it had already spread to his hip bones and pancreas. The treatment of choice is a procedure called a radical cystectomy, in which a surgeon removes the bladder and nearby organs that may harbor cancer cells, such as the prostate. But Savalas rejected that option.
- Singing ran in his family.
- On Kojak (1973), his character was of Greek American heritage just like Savalas in real-life too.
- Appeared on the front cover of TV Guide 5 times.
- He was the first American actor to play the villain in a James Bond film.
- His younger brother, George Savalas, starred in Kojak (1973) and in three films - "Genghis Khan" (1965), "The Slender Thread" (1965) and "Kelly's Heroes" (1970) - with him.
- His son Nick Savalas's half-sister, Nicollette Sheridan, and his former Kojak (1973) co-star, Kevin Dobson, both starred in the popular 1980s soap opera, Knots Landing (1979).
- Was very good friends with: Julie London, Doug McClure, Dan Frazer, Diana Rigg, Gavin MacLeod, Bernie Kopell, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Bob Hope, Dean Martin, Johnny Carson, Robert Conrad, Larry Manetti, George Burns, Karl Malden, Ernest Borgnine, Irwin Allen, Robert Stack, Dinah Shore, Anthony Quinn, Lee Marvin, Burt Lancaster, Angie Dickinson, Danny Thomas, Robert Alda, Jamie Farr, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Elliott Gould, Ricardo Montalban, Charles Bronson, Roddy McDowall, Don Rickles, Gene Barry, Michael Constantine, Rock Hudson, Shelley Winters, Gregory Peck, Dom DeLuise, Barbara Eden, Omar Sharif, David Janssen, Mickey Rooney, Beverly Garland, Mark Russell and George Savalas.
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