About Telly Savalas
Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas ( sə-VA(H)L-əs; Greek: Αριστοτέλης Σαβάλας; January 21, 1922 – January 22, 1994) was an American actor. Noted for his bald head and deep, resonant voice, he is perhaps best known for portraying Lt. Theo Kojak on the crime drama series Kojak (1973–1978) and James Bond archvillain Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the film On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969). Savalas's other films include Birdman of Alcatraz (1962), The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), Genghis Khan (1965), Battle of the Bulge (1965), The Dirty Dozen (1967), Kelly's Heroes (1970), Horror Express (1972), Lisa and the Devil (1974), Escape to Athena (1979), Border Cop (1980) and Mind Twister (1993). For Birdman of Alcatraz, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor. Savalas released a cover of the Bread song "If", which became a UK number-one single in 1975. Before his acting career took off, Savalas directed Scott Vincent and Cosell in Report to New York, WABC-TV's first regularly scheduled news program in fall 1959. He won a spelling bee there in 1934; due to an oversight, he did not receive his prize until 1991, when the school principal and the Boston Herald awarded it to him. He then became an executive producer for the Gillette Cavalcade of Sports, where he gave Howard Cosell his first job in television.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.