Aristotelis 'Telly' Savalas was an actor, a singer and a gambler who chewed a lollipop in lieu of smoking and whose favorite expression as a hard-boiled television detective with a shaved head was, 'Who loves ya, Baby?'
Make no mistake about it. Savalas followed the Greek tradition of becoming a serious gambler. He placed 21st in the 1992 World Series of Poker. As a spokesman and part owner of Players Club International, he helped buy several gambling casinos on land and water and sponsored poker tournaments around the world.
Savalas was born in Garden City, N.Y. on Jan 22, 1922. He and his brother, George, were very close and both became actors. George co-starred with him on the long-running TV series, 'Kojak,' which ran from 1973-78.
Telly was a personable guy who made a lot of friends in Hollywood. One was Burt Lancaster who was so impressed with him that he insisted Savalas appear with him in four movies. He also became friends with Angie Dickinson, Frank Sinatra and Don Rickles who partied with him in Las Vegas and other cities that rarely sleep.
As a film actor, he appeared in 'The Young Savages,' 'The Greatest Story Ever Told,' 'The Dirty Dozen,' 'Battle of the Bulge', 'Bird Man of Alcatraz', 'Cape Fear' with Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum, and several James Bond movies.
Savalas served three years in the U.S. Army during World War 11. After his honorable discharge, he worked as a special news director for ABC News before returning to acting.
He made more than 50 appearances on television shows like 'Naked City,' 'The Untouchables,' 'Bonanza,' 'Man From U.N.C.L.E,' 'The FBI,' and 'The Twilight Zone.' And he played gangster Lucky Liciano in the TV series 'The Witness.'
I met Savalas in the late 1980s when he was working with Players Club International. The company was sponsoring a poker tournament on Paradise Island in the Bahamas and my publisher friend John Carroll and I flew down to compete in the tourney.
Telly was a gracious host, making sure we were given comfortable suites near the beach. He posed with a lollipop, ruffled Carroll's hair, and wished us luck in the tournament. My publisher was quickly knocked out of action but I ended up finishing third and won nearly $4,000. John made up for his poor poker performance by winning several thousand dollars shooting dice.
Savalas was a big time gambler who played poker, bet on the horses, and shot dice. He even bought a thoroughbred race horse and stayed with Players Club International until Harrah's bought it out for $825 million.
He started gambling as a kid on the streets of New York and became proficient at blackjack. When a producer approached him about playing Nick the Greek in a movie, Savalas traveled to Las Vegas with him to research the famous gambler.
He stayed at Binion's Horseshoe and allowed Benny and Jack Binion to talk him into entering the World Series of Poker. Telly played well during the four-day event but was knocked out in 21st place. That didn't bother him. He entered a second tournament of 7-card stud high-low and won $14,900.
He died from cancer on Jan. 22, 1994 at the age of 72 and is buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery.
Author: Geno Lawrenzi Jr.
(Geno Lawrenzi Jr. is an international journalist, magazine author and ghostwriter and poker player who lives in Phoenx, AZ. He has published 2,000 articles in 50 magazines and 125 newspapers. If you want to share a gambling story or book idea with him, send an email to glawrenzi@gmail.com ).
