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"
James Bond in film the main antagonist, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, at Pinewood for $1 millon ($ in dollars); at the time it was the biggest film set in Europe. Gilbert, Broccoli, Saltzman, Ken Adam and director of photography Freddie Young then went to Japan, spending three weeks searching for locations. While in Tokyo, the crew crossed paths with Peter R. Hunt, who was on holiday. Hunt had edited the first four Bond films, and he was invited to direct the second unit. The total budget for the film was $10.3 million ($59.9 million in 2005 dollars). Initially the screenwriter was to be Harold Jack