Kojak
Who loves you baby?
Kojak 1973 series, starred Telly Savalas as the iconic New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theo Kojak.
It was broadcast from October 24, 1973 to March 18, 1978 on CBS. It took the time slot of the popular Cannon series, which was moved one hour earlier. Kojak's Greek heritage, shared by actor Savalas, was prominently featured in the series.
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.
The series is set in New York City's Thirteenth Precinct. It revolves around the efforts of the incorruptible Lt. Theo Kojak (Telly Savalas). A tough, New York City policeman who was fond of lollipops and for using the catchphrase, "Who loves ya, baby?" Lt. Kojak displayed a dark, cynical wit and a tendency to bend the rules in order to bring a criminal to justice. In the early episodes of the series, Kojak smoked heavily; in order to reflect the anti-smoking sentiment gaining momentum on American TV, the writers decided that Kojak had quit smoking. He began sucking on lollipops as a substitute, which became a trademark of the character.
His long time supervisor was Capt. Frank McNeil (Dan Frazer). The two weren't just crime-solving partners, but also had a lot in common. Later on, McNeil was promoted to Chief of Detectives in Manhattan. Kojak is the commander of the Manhattan South Precinct's detective squad. His squad included some of his favourite employees; young plainclothes officer, Det. Bobby Crocker (Kevin Dobson), and Det. Stavros (played by Telly's real-life brother George Savalas), Det. Saperstein (Mark Russell), and Det. Rizzo (Vince Conti), all gave Kojak support.
The show ended in 1978, after low ratings. Reruns of Kojak became extremely successful in syndication. Years after the series ended, Savalas reprised the role in two TV movies, The Belarus File (1985), an adaptation of the John Loftus's book The Belarus Secret, and The Price of Justice (1987), based on Dorothy Uhnak's novel, The Investigation. Kojak is not a character in either book.
In 1989–1990 Kojak returned to television as part of a short-lived rotating series of five two-hour episodes that aired on ABC as part of their ABC Mystery Movies. No longer a lieutenant commanding a precinct detective squad, Kojak had been promoted to inspector and put in charge of the NYPD's Major Crimes Squad.