Telly Savalas Height, Weight, Age, Net Worth, Spouse

Telly Savalas Height, Weight, Age, Net Worth, Spouse

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Telly Savalas Quick Info
Height 5 ft 10 in
Weight 85 kg
Date of Birth January 21, 1922
Zodiac Sign Aquarius
Date of Death January 22, 1994

Telly Savalas was an American actor, voice artist, singer, musician, director, and writer who is best known for appearing as Lt. Theo Kojak in the crime drama series Kojak (1973-1978) and as Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969).

Born Name

Aristotelis Savalas

Nick Name

Golden Greek

Telly Savalas as seen on the set of 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' (1969) at Piz Gloria, SwitzerlandTelly Savalas as seen on the set of ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ (1969) at Piz Gloria, Switzerland (Comet Photo AG (Zürich) / ETH-Bibliothek / CC BY-SA 4.0)

Age

He was born on January 21, 1922.

Died

On January 22, 1994, Telly Savalas died of complications of prostate and bladder cancer at the age of 72 at the Sheraton-Universal Hotel in Universal City, California, United States.

Resting Place

Forest Lawn Memorial Park, California, United States

Sun Sign

Aquarius

Born Place

Garden City, Long Island, Nassau County, New York, United States

Nationality

American

 

Education

Telly Savalas studied at Cobbett Junior High School in Lynn, Massachusetts. He then got enrolled at Sewanhaka High School and graduated in 1940.

He also attended the Armed Forces Institute and studied radio and television production. In 1946, he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Columbia University‘s School of General Studies.

Occupation

Actor, Voice Artist, Singer, Musician, Director, Writer

Family

  • Father – Nick Savalas (Restaurant Owner)
  • Mother – Christina (née Kapsalis) (Artist) (Died in 1988)
  • Siblings – Gus (Brother). Telly had 3 more siblings.
  • Others – Costantine/Constantinos Tsavalas (Paternal Grandfather), Katerina/Catherine Papageorgiou/Popugruge (Paternal Grandmother), Kestar Kapsalis (Maternal Grandfather), Gioncule Koivelier (Maternal Grandmother)

Genre

Soundtrack

Instruments

Vocals

Net Worth

According to CelebrityNetWorth.com, his net worth was $5 Million.

Build

Average

Telly Savalas and Sally Field in 'Mongo's Back in Town' (1971)Telly Savalas and Sally Field in ‘Mongo’s Back in Town’ (1971) (CBS / eBay / Public Domain)

Height

5 ft 10 in or 178 cm

Weight

85 kg or 187.5 lbs

Girlfriend / Spouse

Telly Savalas had dated –

  • Jeanne Carmen
  • Katherine Nicolaides (1948-1957)​ – He married Katherine Nicolaides in 1948 and their daughter Christina was born in 1950. Katherine filed for divorce in 1957.
  • Marilyn Gardner (1960-1974) – In 1960, Telly Savalas married theatre teacher Marilyn Gardner. They had 2 daughters – Penelope (b. 1961) and Candace (b. 1963). The couple divorced in 1974.
  • Sally Sheridan (1969-1977) – They had a son named Nicholas Savalas (b. February 24, 1973).
  • Morgan Fairchild (1976-1977)
  • Julie Hovland – Telly Savalas met Julie Hovland during the last season of Kojak in 1977 and they married in 1984. They had 2 children – son Christian (b.1985) and daughter Ariana Savalas. Julie and Savalas remained together until his death in 1994.

    • Race / Ethnicity

    White

    Savalas was of Greek descent.

    Hair Color

    Dark Brown

    Eye Color

    Dark Brown

    Sexual Orientation

    Straight

    Distinctive Features

    • Baldhead
    • His catchphrase, “Who loves ya, baby?”
    • A deep, resonant, gravelly voice

    Brand Endorsements

    Telly Savalas was cast in TV commercials for –

    • Players Club International (1980s)
    • Master Blend Coffee (Japan) (1980)
    • Grumann Corp. (1981)
    • Ford Motor Company (the United States) (1982)
    • Biancosarti drink (1990)

    He also did print ads for –

    • Gillette Twinjector Shaver and Blades (1976-1977)
    • Black Velvet Canadian Whiskey (1978)
    • Bacardi Rum (the United Kingdom) (1984-1985)

    Telly Savalas as seen in 1973Telly Savalas as seen in 1973 (CBS Television / eBay / Public Domain)

    Telly Savalas Favorite Things

    • One Of His Favorite Roles – Playing Walter Braddock in Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell (1968)

    Source – Wikipedia

    Telly Savalas Facts

  • In order to support his family, he used to sell newspapers and polish shoes alongside his brother Gus.
  • In 1934, he won a spelling bee while at Cobbett Junior High School but did not receive his prize due to an oversight. He was awarded the prize several years later in 1991.
  • Telly Savalas was an excellent swimmer and started working as a beach lifeguard when he was in high school. Once, he was unable to save a father from drowning and as he attempted resuscitation, the man’s children stood nearby crying for their father to wake up. This incident had a major impact on the actor who then spent the rest of his life constantly promoting water safety. He also made all of his 6 children take swimming lessons.
  • He was drafted into the United States Army in 1941 and served in Company C, 12th Medical Training Battalion, 4th Medical Training Regiment at Camp Pickett, Virginia from 1941 to 1943.
  • After he got severely injured in a car accident, he was discharged from the Army with the rank of corporal in 1943.
  • Telly Savalas was diagnosed with transitional cell cancer of the bladder in late 1989.

    • Featured Image by Comet Photo AG (Zürich) / ETH-Bibliothek / CC BY-SA 4.0

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