What Was Telly Savalas' Net Worth?
Telly Savalas was a Greek-American actor and singer who had a net worth of $5 million at the time of his death in 1994. Telly Savalas was best known for portraying the bald-headed, lollipop-licking, detective Kojak on the television show of that name. The character's catchphrase, "Who loves ya, baby?" became a cultural phenomenon.
Telly had over 120 acting credits to his name across a career that spanned four decades. Savalas starred in movies such as "The Young Savages" (1961), "Birdman of Alcatraz" (1962), "The Greatest Story Ever Told" and "Battle of the Bulge" (1965), "Dirty Dozen" (1967), "The Scalphunters" (1968), "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). He won a Golden Globe Award in 1975 for Best TV Actor – Drama for "Kojak." In 1963, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for "Birdman of Alcatraz." Savalas was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1983 at 6801 Hollywood Blvd. Telly Savalas passed away on January 22, 1994, at 72 years old, from prostate cancer and bladder cancer.
Early Years
Aristotelis Savalas was born on January 21, 1922, in Garden City, New York. Of Greek heritage, he was the second oldest of five children born to Nick Savalas and his wife Christina (Kapsalis). His father owned a restaurant, and his mother was an artist.
Savalas, who spoke Greek as a child, learned the English language in elementary school and later attended Cobbett Junior High School in Lynn, Massachusetts.
In 1940, Telly graduated from Sewanhaka High School, a public high school in Floral Park, New York. After graduation, he worked as a lifeguard at the beach until he was drafted into the United States Army in 1941. For the next two years, he served in Company C of the 12th Medical Training Battalion, 4th Medical Training Regiment in Camp Pickett, Virginia. He was discharged from the military with the rank of corporal after he was severely injured in a motor vehicle accident. Savalas later went on to attend the United States Armed Forces Institute, where he studied television and radio production. He also attended the School of General Studies at Columbia University in New York, which he graduated from in 1946 with a bachelor's degree in psychology.
Radio
Immediately following his military service, Savalas hosted the US State Department's radio series "Your Voice of America." In 1950, he began hosting the radio show "The Coffeehouse in New York City."
Telly later served as executive director and senior director of special events on the news at ABC.
Television
Savalas served as executive producer for the American television program "Gillette Cavalcade of Sports," which ran from 1942 to 1960. In 1959, he directed WABC-TV's first regularly scheduled news show, "Report to New York," and appeared on "The NBC Sunday Showcase" and six episodes of "Armstrong Circle Theatre," an American dramatic television anthology that ran from 1950 to 1963.
Throughout the 1960s, Telly appeared in numerous hit television shows such as "Ben Casey," "The Twilight Zone" and "The Untouchables."
From 1973 to 1978, Savalas starred in the American television series crime drama "Kojak" as New York City Police Department detective Lieutenant Theophilus Kojak. The American action crime series ran for 118 episodes and earned Telly a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Drama Television Series in 1975 and a Primetime Emmy Award for Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 1974. It also netted him two nominations for Emmy Awards in 1975 and a Golden Globe Award nomination in 1977.
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Film
Savalas starred in numerous motion pictures during the 1960s, including "Battle of the Bulge," for which he was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture Golden Globe Award, and "Birdman of Alcatraz," for which he was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award and a Best Supporting Actor in Motion Picture Golden Globe Award. During the 1970s, Telly starred in films such as "Kelly's Heroes" and "Pancho Villa." During the 1980s, Savalas starred in the highly successful "Cannonball Run II," in which he played the character of Hymie Kaplan. Telly starred in two films during the 1990s, the last being "Backfire!" which was released after his death.
Music
Savalas released five musical albums between 1972 and 1980, including "This is Telly Savalas" and "Sweet Surprise." He released twelve singles between 1972 and 1982, including cover versions of Johnny Cash's "I Walk the Line" and the Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'."
In 1975, Telly released a cover of American soft rock band Bread's song "If," which reached #12 on music charts in Australia and #40 on Canada's pop charts.
Accolades
Telly was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award on four occasions and took one home in 1974. He was nominated for six Golden Globe Awards, taking one home in 1974 and another in 1975. He was nominated for an Academy Award in 1962.
In 1983, Savalas was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1999, he was ranked by "TV Guide" as #18 on its list of "The 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time."
A professional poker player, Telly finished in 21st place at the 1992 World Series of Poker main event.
Personal Life
In 1948, Telly married Katherine Nicolaides, who he had been dating since college. The couple divorced in 1957. He then married theatre teacher Marilyn Gardner in 1960. That marriage ended in divorce in 1974. In 1984, Savalas married travel agent Julie Hovland.
Telly was the father of six children: Christina, Penelope, Candace, Nicholas, Christian, and Ariana.
In 1989, Savalas was diagnosed with transitional-cell bladder cancer. He died at his home at the Sheraton-Universal Hotel in California, where he had lived for twenty years, on January 22, 1994, of complications of bladder and prostate cancer. He was laid to rest at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills. All of his wives and children attended the funeral along with numerous celebrities.
