Kojak

I remember this show like the back of my hand going through the dimensions of time and space itself. "Kojak" was the brainchild of creator and executive producer Abby Mann that aired for 118 episodes from October 24,1973 until March 18, 1978 for CBS-TV where it was a ratings winner in prime-time for the five great seasons it was on the air. Telly Savalas was the undisputed king of detectives as N.Y. Lt. Theo Kojak who had a sense of style and grace,who had the lollipops,was a ladies man with a sense of family values and drove that great big gas- gussing Buick for a cop car around the slimy streets of Manhattan and all parts of the city. Kojak had a knack for solving crimes his own way and bringing in the baddies with his old Greek standards mixed in with the Noo Yawk(New York)attitude.

However,the stories that made that show were some of the best ever since some of the episodes dealt with racial issues,police corruption, women's rights,and the harrowing issue of alcoholism and drugs. However,several of the guest stars who appear on the show were just starting out but in turn had some grand performances including up and coming actors like Harvey Keitel and Paul Micheal Glaser(aka Starsky from Starsky and Hutch),to Christopher Walken, Janet DuBois, Sherman Hemsley, Esther Rolle, and Haywood Nelson(What's Happening!)to having special guest appearances by Danny Thomas and former NFL Great Rosey Grier. Other guest stars included Tina Louise, Dabney Coleman, John Ritter, former Bond-girl Maud Adams, Sylvester Stallone,Forrest Tucker,James Woods, Shelley Winters,and Sammy Davis, Jr. Great cop show while it lasted,and to this day I still have the original "Kojak" game from Milton Bradley for the heyday(circa,1975).

After the success of "Kojak's" five year-run on CBS from 1973-1978, and some 11 years after the series' finale, ABC picked it up for six made for television movies during the mid-1980's as part of the network's "Mystery Movie" line-up.

Theo Kojak was and IS the epitome of cool. He was a top cop, he kicked major criminal ass, he sucked on lollipops to kick his smoking habit, and best of all, he maintained a crome-dome so cool and fashionable, Vin Diesel doesn't even come close! The late, great Telly Savalas brought to life Det. Kojak, and thus this creation was the precursor to all those hip "supercop" TV shows to come, with NASH BRIDGES bearing in mind. Who loves ya, baby? Kojak does.

This series, a vehicle for star Telly Savalas, stands out in my mind as becoming more as it developed. The location filming in NY jogs memories of those who visited or lived in the city at that time. The plots frequently involved The Mob, which reflects the time. Some stories were patently unrealistic, but every time I'd complain about such, the camera would move into the street and that winter grating steam would wind around the sound of shoe leather, giving a pretty good suggestion of Dashielle Hammett (sp?). Interesting guest stars would occasionally show up, George Savalas proved a very natural actor and some of the humor appeared unforced and ad lib. A better show than much of the drivel in that decade.

Sure, Dragnet was in a category all its own and Naked City did pave the way for Kojak, but the grit was too shiny and fake. I grew up in NYC and later, after I moved away, when I watched Kojak in syndication I would get so homesick. What got to me the worst wasn't seeing landmarks like The Angry Squire or Washington Square, but by shooting on city streets, the NYC detritus was blowing down the sidewalk. Yes, that made me lonesome for home. Kojak was a show by, for, and about New Yorkers. Kojak's attitude was a New York cop's attitude, he was tough and glib and underneath that layer was the soft chewy center.

Law & Order owes a huge debt to Kojak. I knew I would have to watch L&O because of what I can only describe as Kojakisms, and it is a disservice to Kojak (& to Telly) that he is only remembered for "Who Loves Ya, Baby?". Kojakisms were as rich and varied as literature.

Here are some of my favorites:

"That's the way the baklava crumbles, baby"

"Whatever you do, don't you so much as double park anywhere near Manhattan South, 'cause you'll get a Hear Ye and a Hear Ye and a greeting you'll never forget."

"Light a candle, baby; a Get Well card won't do."

"...kiss off Goldilocks, your porridge is getting cold."

"You could package that with a wrap-around deodorant and still come out with a stink."

"...the Internal Affairs shoo-flies, they're gonna be all over us like a groom on a honeymoon. And lemme tell ya something, we all better be virgins or have a pretty good story."

"Gather ye rosebuds while ye may; there's a chill in the air.'

"The wine, it smells beautiful baby, but the company, strictly down the tubes."

"Ya know what a vendetta is? It's when a whole bunch of people kill a whole bunch of people for years and years and years and like that!"

" Yer no good! And that's the end of the story!"

Absolutely one of the best shows ever.

it is the role of Telly Savalas. this fact is so obvious than is very difficult to ignore it. because his Theo Kojak is always surprising and gives the right expected portrait of unconventional detective against the crime world. because it is the hero in his way, far by others recipes and formulas. the face, the gestures, the voice. Telly Savallas works each detail with huge and precise care and efficiency. and this is the basic virtue of a series who remains, decade by decade, spectacular.