Deaths of Relatives and His Own Last Days
After Savalas came back to reprise his role on Kojak in the 1980s, he began to lose close relatives.
George Savalas, his brother who played Detective Stavros on the original Kojak series, died in 1985 of leukemia at age 60. George Savalas recorded a popular series of Greek folk songs which have since become highly collectible and valuable. His mother Christina, who had always been his best friend, supporter, and devoted parent, died in 1989. Later that year, Savalas was diagnosed with transitional cell cancer of the bladder. He refused to see a doctor until 1993, but by then he did not have much time to live. While fighting for his life, he continued to star in many roles, including a recurring role on The Commish.
Read more about this topic: Telly Savalas
Famous quotes containing the words deaths of, deaths, relatives and/or days:
“Death is too much for men to bear, whereas women, who are practiced in bearing the deaths of men before their own and who are also practiced in bearing life, take death almost in stride. They go to meet death—that is, they attempt suicide—twice as often as men, though men are more “successful” because they use surer weapons, like guns.”
—Roger Rosenblatt (b. 1940)
“On almost the incendiary eve
Of deaths and entrances ...”
—Dylan Thomas (1914–1953)
“The most loving parents and relatives commit murder with smiles on their faces. They force us to destroy the person we really are: a subtle kind of murder.”
—Jim Morrison (1943–1971)
“The attraction and superiority of California are in its days. It has better days & more of them, than any other country.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)