Kojak

Kojak was a US detective TV series which ran between 1973 and 1978 on CBS, starring Telly Savalas as bald New York City policeman Lt. Theo Kojak who had a fondness for lollipops and the catchphrase: "Who loves ya, baby?" Kojak's Greek heritage, shared by actor Savalas, was prominent in the series, which was one of the most popular television programs of the mid-1970s. At work, he had several working partners who always trusted and had supported him as their favorite boss: Cpt. Frank McNeil (Dan Frazer), Sgt. Bobby Crocker (Kevin Dobson), and Det. Stavros (George Savalas).

Related Topics:
US - 1973 - 1978 - CBS - Telly Savalas - New York City - Lollipop - Catchphrase - Greek - Dan Frazer - Kevin Dobson - George Savalas

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The character of Theo Kojak was introduced in a 1973 TV movie, The Marcus-Nelson Murders and was popular enough that a series was quickly commissioned. In the early episodes of the series, Kojak smoked heavily; in order to reflect the anti-smoking sentiment then gaining momentum on American TV, it was decided that Kojak had decided to quit smoking, sucking on lollipops as a substitute.

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Years after the series ended, Savalas reprised the role in a TV movie adaptation of the John Loftus novel The Belarus File (Kojak is not a character in the original book); this was followed by more TV movies and in 1989–1990 Kojak returned to television as part of a short-lived rotating series of TV movies that also featured fellow sleuth Columbo.

Related Topics:
John Loftus - The Belarus File - 1989 - 1990 - Sleuth - Columbo

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In March 2005, a new Kojak series debuted on the USA Network. In this "reimagined" version, Ving Rhames, an African-American actor, portrays the character. The bald head, lollipops, and "Who loves ya, baby?" catchphrase remain in intact, but little else remains from the Savalas original.

Related Topics:
USA Network - Ving Rhames - African-American

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Music for the series was written largely by John Cacavas (ASCAP).

Related Topics:
John Cacavas - ASCAP

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