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Kojak was a gritty US detective TV series which ran on CBS between October 24, 1973 and March 18, 1978. It was noted at the time for having bumped the long-running series Cannon into the timeslot immediately following it.^{[citation needed]} Kojak starred Telly Savalas as bald New York City policeman Lt. Theo Kojak who had a fondness for lollipops and the catchphrase, "Who loves ya, baby?" The character was also known for his dark wit and tendency to bend the rules in order to bring a criminal to justice. Kojak's Greek heritage, shared by actor Savalas, was prominently featured in the series. Kojak was one of the most popular television programs of the mid-1970s.^{[citation needed]}

The show was created by Abby Mann, an Academy Award-winning film writer best known for his work on drama anthologies such as Robert Montgomery Presents and Playhouse 90. Universal Television approached him to do a story based on the 1963 Wylie-Hoffert "Career Girl" murders. The crime involved the brutal rape and murder of two young Manhattan professional women. Due to poor police work and the prevailing casual attitude toward suspects' civil rights, the crime was pinned on a young African-American male who was being held at the time on an assault charge. After illegally obtaining a confession, the police had the suspect all but convicted until a second investigation by a different team of detectives exonerated the suspect and identified the real killer.

Mann wasn't pleased with Universal's offer, but he relented after extended negotiations.^{[citation needed]} He developed the project as a gritty police procedural but with a subtext focusing on institutionalized prejudice and the civil rights of suspects and witnesses. The 1973 telefilm was viewed by a large number of police officers when it premiered.^{[citation needed]} The Marcus-Nelson Murders (in which the character's last name was spelled "Kojack"), was popular enough that a weekly series was quickly commissioned.

The series, set in New York City's Thirteenth Precinct, revolved around the efforts of the incorruptible Kojak and his longtime supervisor, Capt. Frank McNeil (Dan Frazer), who had been working closely together for years and were crime solving partners. At the same time, Kojak was also accepting marching orders from his boss, while having a habit of just stretching the truth, rather than lying. Later in the run, McNeil was also promoted in becoming the Chief of Detectives in Manhattan. In addition to McNeil, Kojak was also aided by a young trusted partner, Det. Bobby Crocker (Kevin Dobson), who always stood on higher ground as Kojak would work close to him that a regular partner would ever had, as Kojak would honor him as one of his favorite employees. Others including Detective Stavros (played by Telly's real-life brother George Savalas, credited as "Demosthenes" for the first two seasons), Detective Saperstein (Mark Russell), and a rotating cast of other detectives and plainclothes officers.

Many familiar and/or unfamiliar actors who guest-starred on the show went on to greater fame: John Ritter, Bernie Kopell, Sharon Gless, Sylvester Stallone, Harvey Keitel,Joan Van Ark, John Pleshette, Yvonne Craig, Sally Kirkland, Richard Gere, Paul Benedict, Roger E. Mosley, Nicholas Colasanto, Paul Michael Glaser, Ken Kercheval,Irene Cara, William Katt, Jerry Orbach, Allan Miller, among many others. Future Falcon Crest stars, David Selby and Susan Sullivan also made cameo appearances, as well.

In 1976, writer Joe Gores received an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Episode in a TV Series Teleplay for the third-season episode "No Immunity for Murder" (first aired November 23, 1975).

The show ended in 1978 with low ratings, and Savalas was very disappointed about the show's cancellation. This show set the tone for three popular 1990s crime dramas, Law & Order, NYPD Blue and Homicide: Life on the Street.

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.

Music for the series and TV movies were written largely by John Cacavas (ASCAP).

Contents 1 2005 series remake 2 Original 1973 Cast 3 Trivia 4 External links

[edit] 2005 series remake

In March 2005, a new Kojak series debuted on the USA Network cable channel (and on ITV4 in the UK). In this "reimagined" version, Ving Rhames, an African-American actor, portrays the character. The bald head, lollipops, and "Who loves ya, baby?" catchphrase remained in intact, but little else remained from the Savalas original. The series lasted one season.

In the new series, the character is still called Lt. Theo Kojak, but a portrait from his early days in the police captions "Captain Theocrates Kojakias", suggesting that he shortened his (presumably Greek) family name.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Original 1973 Cast

• Telly Savalas - Lt. Theo Kojak
• Dan Frazer - Chief Capt. Frank McNeil - Kojak's boss
• Kevin Dobson - Det. Bobby Crocker - Kojak's partner
• George Savalas - Det. Stavros
• Mark Russell - Det. Saperstein (seasons 2-4)
• Vince Conti - Det. Rizzo (seasons 2-4)

[edit] Trivia

• 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, which became a trademark of the character.
• The series was a favorite of Archie in the comic Dinosaurs For Hire.
• A perfect parking spot in a crowded area is called a 'Kojak', because the detective was always able to find a spot in the middle of NYC.^{[citation needed]}
• 'Kojak' is the name of a dog who plays a prominent role in Stephen King's novel The Stand.
• Parts of the set built for the 1989-1990 Kojak mini-series are still in use to this day as the squadroom set for Law & Order.^{[citation needed]}
• Billy Howard performs an impression of Kojak (along with many other TV cops) in his December 1975 UK hit "King of The Cops", which peaked at Number 6.
• Mario Puzo's original script for the 1978 movie, Superman, had a scene where a flying Superman is using his super-vision to look for bald criminal Lex Luthor. Identifying a bald head, Superman drops from the sky and then realises that it's Telly Savalas, who greets the hero with Kojak's catchphrase, "Who loves ya, baby?" This scene was cut from the final script.^{[citation needed]}
• In 1980, a low-budget Hungarian movie was made titled Kojak Budapesten (Kojak in Budapest) about Kojak (played by Savalas' look-alike László Inke, who had also dubbed Savalas' voice for the Hungarian distribution of Kojak) visiting the country and solving a murder case there. The film posits that Kojak is in fact a Hungarian immigrant to the US, and not of Greek extraction. The movie was both a parody of Kojak and a satire of the socialist system of Hungary.
• On one episode, a little boy whose maid spoke Greek language, in real-life, actor Telly Savalas was of Greek descent.
• Kevin Dobson did not appear in any of the Kojak movies, because he was doing Knots Landing at the time. The one movie that Dobson appeared in was, Kojak: It's Always Something.
• This show marks the debut of Jackson Heights, Queens native, Kevin Dobson.

[edit] External links

• Kojak (1973) at the Internet Movie Database
• Kojak (2005) at the Internet Movie Databasede:Kojak – Einsatz in Manhattan

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