The eldest daughter of the late actor Telly Savalas, Christina Savalas Koussakis, her husband, John Peter Koussakis, and their children were awarded Greek citizenship at the Consulate of Greece in Los Angeles, USA.
The Consulate General, in a Facebook post, referred to a moment of which the Greek-born actor would have been proud:
“Another successful case of awarding Greek citizenship to Ms Christina Savalas Kousakis, daughter of the renowned Greek-American actor Telly Savalas, her husband, the acclaimed producer and director Mr John Peter Kousakis, and their children. We warmly welcome you all to the extended Greek family! Kojak would be very proud!”
Telly Savalas’s best-known role was that of Kojak in the TV series of the same name from 1973 to 1978. His trademark is his lollipop and bald head.
He was born Aristotle Tsavalas (later Savalas) in New York in 1922 and passed away in Los Angeles in 1994 after a battle with cancer. He was the second of the five children of Nikos and Christina Tsavalas, Greek immigrants from Laconia. His father owned a restaurant in New York.
Savalas started working as a newsboy and glazier when he was eight years old.
He began working for the US State Department during World War II, broadcasting the series Voice of America and then for the ABC News channel.
His acting career started later, after the age of 35. He married three times and had six children: Christina, Penelope, Candice, Nicola, Christian and Ariana.
Many fellow Greek Australians may remember that the late actor visited Melbourne in the early 1990s, where he stayed for a month as part of the filming of Rose Against the Odds, a series about Lionel Edmund Rose, the first Aboriginal boxer to win the world title.
His wife at the time, Julie Howland, said at a press conference, “would like to settle permanently in Melbourne with their two children”.
“Tellis, now 66, said he too would like to live permanently in Australia if he were to receive interesting offers”, Neos Kosmos reported on February 5, 1990.
A few days later, Savalas gave an exclusive interview to Neos Kosmos. He attended an event held in his honour by the Laconians in Brunswick with his family and brother Kostas.
Both Telly and Kosta delivered speeches, receiving enthusiastic applause from the attendees, mainly when they spoke about their Greekness and their childhood memories.
“When I was young, my father always insisted that we speak Greek at home and told us not to forget our culture, religion and language.”I remember him saying, ‘If you want to talk to a Frenchman, you talk to him in French. If you wish to speak to an Englishman, you talk to him in English; if you want to speak to an Italian, you speak to him in Italian. But if you want to talk to God, speak to him in Greek!” Savalas said.
