Telly Savalas Telly Savalas Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas (January 21, 1924 – January 22, 1994) was an American actor and singer whose career spanned four decades of television, noted for his resonant voice and his bald head. He also released the one-hit wonder song, "If?," which he introduced in the UK in 1975. Savalas's career began in films in 1961. His 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"
Telly Savalas (1977) for Lew Grade. He wrote, directed, and appeared in a thriller "Beyond Reason (1977 film)" (1977, not released until 1985). In 1978, after five seasons and 118 episodes, CBS canceled the show because of low ratings. Savalas was unhappy about the show's demise, but he got the chance to reprise the Kojak persona in several television films. After the series' cancellation, Savalas did "Escape to Athena" (1978) and a cameo in "The Muppet Movie" (1979) for Grade. He had a support part in "Beyond the Poseidon Adventure" (1979) and "The French Atlantic Affair" (1980) and the lead in "Border