Telly Savalas, the gruff, bald-headed actor who became a television favorite as the lollipop-loving New York detective in the 1970s series "Kojak," died Saturday of prostate cancer. He was 70.
Savalas, surrounded by his family, died in his sleep one day after his birthday at his suite in the Sheraton-Universal Hotel in Universal City, said Mike Mamakos, his spokesman and longtime friend.Savalas left Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena almost three weeks ago to live out his last days at the hotel, where he had kept a suite since the 1970s, Mamakos said.
"Last night he moved his hands toward me to embrace. He didn't say a word, but he tried to rise to me," Mamakos said. "He knew."
He called Savalas "the most giving and courageous man I ever met."
"Who loves ya, baby?" which Kojak muttered to fellow cops and assorted hoodlums, grew into the detective's signature and a national catch-phrase.
The series grew out of an acclaimed TV movie, "The Marcus-Nelson Murders," based on the real-life brutal murders of two young career women in New York City.
"Kojak" broke into the top 10 rated shows in its first season, 1973-74, and Savalas won an Emmy as best actor in a dramatic series that season. The series lasted until 1978, setting the standard for gritty, realistic police shows such as "Hill Street Blues" and "NYPD Blue."
Savalas and his bullet-shaped head became indelibly identified as Lt. Theo Kojak, and he remained grateful for the recognition.
"I made 60 movies before `Kojak' with some of the biggest names in the business, and people would still say, `There goes what's-his-name,' " he once said.
In addition to his wife, ex-wives and six children, Savalas is survived by two brothers, a sister and four grandchildren. Funeral arrangements were pending.