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Just the facts, ma'am.

U.S.A. October 24 1973 - April 15 1978
U.K. August 24 1974 - ? 1978
118 x 60 Minutes
Produced by: Universal
Shown on: CBS (US) / BBC1 (UK)

Also:

U.S.A. November 1989 - June 1990
U.K. February 2000 - March 2000
5 x 90 Minutes
Shown on: ABC (US) / Channel 5 (UK)

Stars

Opinion    

In August 1963, two young career girls living in the most fashionable part on Manhattan were found brutally assaulted and murdered. Eight months later, a nineteen year old, George Whitemore Jnr, was arrested and subsequently confessed to the crimes.

A New York reporter named Selwyn Rabb became interested in the Whitmore case, and when his investigation showed that the confession had been forced, Whitmore was exonerated.

It was this case which inspired writer Abby Mann to pen a TV movie in 1973 called 'The Marcus Nelson Murders'. This time, however, instead of a reporter, the one person who believedin the wrongly convicted youth was a tough New York Police Lieuteneant. His name was Theo Kojak.

The TV movie, which aired on CBS on March 8th 1973, was a critical success, hailed as a new breakthrough in realism, and a series was born.

Kojak was a genuine ratings hit from the very beginning, and was nominated for six Emmys in its opening season, with star Telly Savalas winning as best Lead Actor in a Drama Series. Lieutenant Theo Kojak is a tough and dedicated police officer who works in the 13th precinct in Manhatten South. He is a veteran cop, and his twenty years experience on the force have earned him the respect of his men and enemies alike.

Kojak plays it by the book, but when the book gets in the way, he abandons convention and follows his own convictions instead. Because of his attitude, Kojak is often the subject of reprimand, which he tolerates. The police department tolerate him because his persistance often turns in satisfying results.

He is a tremendous disciplinarian but is never petty. He has no tolerance for sloppy police work, and is a firm advocate for detail and precision. He can think nimbly and efficiently, and will bend if the situation justifies it.

Kojak's immediate superior is Frank McNeil, captain of detectives. McNeil and Kojak have known each other for a long time. They started out in the police force together and were actually partners for a few years. McNeil is aware that even though he has progressed further, it is Kojak who is the superior detective.

The other cops Kojak works with on a regular basis are Bobby Crocker, a plainclothes cop with the common touch, and Detective Stavros, played by Telly's brother George.

The lollipop sucking cop had a profound affect on his viewers. People started saying 'Who loves ya, baby?', men shaved their heads in homage, and sales figures of lollipop companies around the world were boosted. Ray Harrison, of Parkes Classic Lollipops, reported that sales had increased by 500%.

When the phenomenon finished in 1978, it wasn't the end for Theo. CBS made two further movies in 1985 and 1987, and it was resurrected by rival station ABC as part of the rotating ABC Saturday Mystery Movie slot, along with Columbo.

Telly died on January 24th 1994, three days after his seventieth birthday. Thanks to excellent acting, believable characters, and storylines with unparallelled realism, his place is assured in the Hall of Fame on television crime fighters.

Trivia

1. Telly received a Purple Heart for service in WWII
2. George Savalas was credited as George Demosthenes for the first two seasons. Demosthenes is his middle name.
3. Theo is short for Theodopolous.
4. Each of the four main actors was born in New York.
5. Telly, a huge racing fan, had a racehorse called Telly's Pop. Because of the lollipops. See?

Episode Guide

Pilot
The Marcus Nelson Murders

Season One
Siege of Terror
Web of Death
One for the Morgue
Knockover
The Girl in the River
Requiem for a Cop
The Corrupter
Dark Sunday
Conspiracy of Fear
Cop in a Cage
Marker for a Dead Bookie
Last Rites for a Dead Priest
Death is not a Passing Grade
Die Before they Wake
Deliver us Some Evil
Eighteen Hours of Fear
Before the Devil Knows
Dead on His Feet
Down a Long And Lonely River
Mojo
Therapy in Dynamite
The Only Way Out

Season Two
The Chinatown Murders, Part I
The Chinatown Murders, Part II
Hush Now or You Die
A Very Deadly Game
Wall Street Gunslinger
Slay Ride
Nursemaid
You Can't Tell a Hurt Man How to Holler
The Best Judge Money Can Buy
A Souvenir From Atlantic City
A Killing in the Second House
The Best War in Town
Cross Your Heart a Hope to Die
The Betrayal
Loser Takes All
Close Cover Before Killing
Acts of Desperate Men
The Trade-Off
Queen of the Gypsies
Night of the Piraeus
Elegy in an Asphalt Graveyard
The Good Luck Bomber
Unwanted Partners
Two - Four - Six for Two hundred
I Want to Report a Dream

Season Three
A Question of Answers, Part I
A Question of Answers, Part II
My Brother, My Enemy
Sweeter than Life
Be Careful What you Pray For
Silent Snow, Deadly Snow
Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Death
Out of the Frying Pan
Over the Water
The Nicest Guys on the Block
No Immunity for Murder
A Long Way from Times Square
Money Back Guarantee
How Cruel the Frost, How Bright the Stars
A House of Prayer, a Den of Thieves
The Forgotten Room
On the Edge
A Wind From Corsica
Bad Dude
The Frame
Deadly Innocence
Justice Deferred
Both Sides of the Law
A Grave Too Soon

Season Four
Birthday Party
A Summer Madness
Law Dance
Out of the Shadows
A Need to Know
An Unfair Trade
A Hair-Trigger Away
By Silence Betrayed
A Shield For Murder, Part I
A Shield For Murder, Part II
The Pride and the Princess
Black Thorn.
Where Do You Go When You Have No Place To Go?
Dead Again
The Godson
The Condemned
When You Hear the Beep, Drop Dead
I Was Happy Where I Was
Kojak's Day, Part I
Kojak's Day, Part II
Monkey On a String
Kiss It All Goodbye
Lady in the Squad Room
Sister Maria
Another Gypsy Queen

Season Five
The Queen of Hearts is Wild
A Strange Kind of Love
Laid Off
Once More From Birdland
Cry for the Kids
Caper on a Quiet Street
Letters of Death
Tears for All Who Loved Her
The Summer of '69, Part I
The Summer of '69, Part II
Case Without a File
I Could Kill My Wife's Lawyer
Justice for All
Mouse
Chain of Custody
The Captain's Brother's Wife
No Licence to Kill
The Halls of Terror
May the Horse Be With You
Photo Must Credit Joe Paxton
Sixty Miles to Hell
In Full Command

CBS movies
Kojak: The Belarus File
Kojak: The Price of Justice

ABC Mystery Movies
Kojak: Ariana
Kojak: Fatal Flaw
Kojak: Flowers for Matty
Kojak: It's Always Something
Kojak: None so Blind

Media

Articles:

TV and Satellite Week, Sept 02

DVD:

  Buy Kojak Vol. 1 on DVD

  Buy Kojak Vol. 2 on DVD

Links

TV Land's Kojak Site

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