Savalas, Telly (Aristotle) (1926–1994)

US actor. Playing the title role in the TV police series Kojak 1973–78, he made the hard-bitten but socially conscious Lieutenant Kojak one of television's most distinctive cop heroes. He had previously played many villains in films, including Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) and The Dirty Dozen (1967). His trademark was a shaven head.

Savalas was born in Garden City, New York. He began his working life in the State Department's Information Service and as a director for ABC News. His first significant film role was as a convict in Birdman of Alcatraz, which gained him an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor. He shaved his head to play Pontius Pilate in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), and decided to keep it bald thereafter. He became identified with screen villainy through such roles as the sadistic sergeant in the 1966 remake of Beau Geste. These performances revealed him as an actor of some intensity, which re-emerged in more sympathetic terms in Kojak. Unable to shake off the Kojak persona, he was subsequently restricted to cameo roles in films and TV, yet an attempt to revive the series 1989 lasted only four episodes.