Telly Savalas' Real Name: Aristotelis Savalas

Quick answer: Telly Savalas' real name was Aristotelis Savalas. He was born on January 21, 1922, in Garden City, New York, to Greek American parents, and died on January 22, 1994, one day after his 72nd birthday. "Telly" is a nickname drawn from his Greek first name.

Telly Savalas' real name

Savalas was born Aristotelis Savalas, and "Telly" comes from the end of that name (Britannica). He used Telly professionally for his entire screen career.

Early life, war service and broadcasting

Savalas grew up on Long Island in a Greek American family. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II and later studied at Columbia University. Before acting, he worked in broadcasting and news, including at ABC, where he was involved in news and public-affairs programming (Britannica; The New York Times).

Film career

He started acting in his late 30s. His role as convict Feto Gomez in Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) earned him an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor (The New York Times).

He became one of Hollywood's most recognizable character actors, with roles in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), in which he played Pontius Pilate and first shaved his head, The Dirty Dozen (1967) and Kelly's Heroes (1970). In the James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) he played the villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld opposite George Lazenby.

Kojak

Savalas' signature role was New York police lieutenant Theo Kojak on CBS's Kojak, which ran from 1973 to 1978. The lollipop-loving detective and his catchphrase "Who loves ya, baby?" made him a TV icon. In 1974 Savalas won the Emmy Award for outstanding lead actor in a drama series for the role (Television Academy). He returned for several Kojak TV movies in the 1980s and early 1990s.

He also had a music career: his spoken-word version of "If" reached No. 1 on the UK singles chart in 1975.

Death

Savalas died of complications of cancer on January 22, 1994, in Universal City, California (The New York Times). His younger brother George Savalas also appeared on Kojak.

Kojak: Season One DVD On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) Blu-ray