Kojak

Kojak is an American action crime drama television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theo Kojak. Taking the time slot of the popular Cannon series, it aired on CBS from 1973 to 1978.

For other uses, see Kojak (disambiguation).
Kojak
Title logo, 1973-1974
GenreCrime drama
Created byAbby Mann
(suggested by the book Justice in the Back Room, written by Selwyn Raab)
Starring
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons5
No. of episodes118 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersAbby Mann
James Duff McAdams
Matthew Rapf
Running time60 minutes
Production companyUniversal Television
DistributorNBCUniversal Television Distribution
(2004-2011)
Release
Original networkCBS
Picture format4:3
Audio formatMono
Original releaseOctober 24, 1973 (1973-10-24) –
March 18, 1978 (1978-03-18)

In 1999 TV Guide ranked Theo Kojak number 18 on its 50 Greatest TV Characters of All Time list.[1]

Production

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. Universal Television approached him to do a story based on the 1963 Wylie-Hoffert murders, the brutal rape and murder of two young professional women in Manhattan.

Owing to poor and corrupt police work and the prevailing casual attitude toward suspects' civil rights, the crimes in the Wylie-Hoffert case were pinned on a young African-American man, George Whitmore, Jr., who had been arrested on a separate assault charge. After illegally obtaining a confession, the police had the suspect all but convicted until a second investigation by a different team of detectives exonerated the suspect and identified the real killer, Richard Robles, who was convicted in 1965 and sentenced to life in prison.

Mann developed the project as a gritty police procedural, but with a subtext focusing on institutionalized prejudice and the civil rights of suspects and witnesses. The result was a 1973 made-for-TV movie, The Marcus-Nelson Murders. The opening and closing titles of the film emphasized the point that it was a fictional account of the events that led to the creation of Miranda rights by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1966. Selwyn Raab's book Justice in the Back Room provided Mann with some of his inspiration for the story of The Marcus-Nelson Murders, and the series subsequently included a credits reference to having been "suggested by a book by Selwyn Raab".[2]

Savalas starred in The Marcus-Nelson Murders as a police detective whose last name was spelled "Kojack". The film served as a pilot for the Kojak television series. Kojak himself was a composite character, based on a number of detectives, lawyers, and reporters who were involved in the Wylie-Hoffert murder case.[3]

Plot

The series is set in the New York City Police Department's Eleventh Precinct (the building shown was actually Ninth Precinct),[4] Manhattan South Patrol Borough.[5]

The show revolved around the efforts of the tough and incorruptible Lieutenant Theodopolus ("Theo") Kojak (Telly Savalas), a bald, dapper, New York City policeman, who was fond of Tootsie Roll Pops and of using the catchphrases, "Who loves ya, baby?" and "Cootchie-coo!" Kojak was stubborn and tenacious in his investigation of crimes—and also displayed a dark, cynical wit, along with a tendency to bend the rules if it brought a criminal to justice.

In the context of the script, Kojak's was seen as typical squad room humor, which was picked up later in the TV drama Hill Street Blues. Savalas described Kojak as a "basically honest character, tough but with feelings—the kind of guy who might kick a hooker in the tail if he had to, but they'd understand each other because maybe they grew up on the same kind of block."[6] Kojak's Greek American heritage, shared by actor Savalas, was featured prominently in the series.

In the early episodes of the series, he is often seen smoking cigarettes. Following the 1964 Surgeon General's Report on smoking, cigarette commercials were banned from American television in 1971, and public awareness of the dangers of cigarette smoking increased dramatically during the 1970s. To cut down on his own habit, Kojak began using lollipops as a substitute. The lollipop made its debut in the Season 1 episode "Dark Sunday", broadcast on December 12, 1973; Kojak lights a cigarette as he begins questioning a witness, but thinks better of it and sticks a lollipop (specifically, a Tootsie Pop) in his mouth instead. Later in the episode, Kevin Dobson's character Crocker asks about the lollipop and Kojak replies, "I'm looking to close the generation gap." Although Kojak continued to smoke, as he was frequently seen lighting a cigarillo, the lollipop eventually became his identifying characteristic; in fact, when the series debuted a new opening montage in season five, Kojak is seen both lighting a cigarillo and popping a lollipop into his mouth.

Telly Savalas as Lt. Theo Kojak with ubiquitous lollipop

His longtime supervisor was Capt. Frank McNeil (Dan Frazer), a man who never seemed to know what was going on. Later in the series, McNeil was promoted to Chief of Detectives in Manhattan. Kojak is the commander of the Manhattan South Precinct's detective squad. His squad includes one of his favorite employees, young plainclothes officer, Det. Bobby Crocker (Kevin Dobson). Detective Stavros, played by Telly's real-life brother George Savalas, used the name "Demosthenes" as his screen credit during the first two seasons. George Savalas, under his real name, also received a Production Associate credit during the first season and a Production Assistant credit for the second season. Detective Saperstein (Mark Russell), and Detective Rizzo (Vince Conti), all gave Kojak support. Roger Robinson appeared in 12 episodes as Detective Gil Weaver.

Although the show primarily focused on Kojak's police work, it occasionally veered into other areas of the character's lives, such as the first-season episode "Knockover" which included a subplot involving Kojak romancing a (much younger) female police officer. In 1976, crime writer Joe Gores received an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Episode in a TV Series Teleplay for the third-season episode "No Immunity for Murder" (first aired November 23, 1975).

The show was canceled after five seasons in 1978, due to falling ratings. Reruns of Kojak became successful in syndication and on TV Land. Years after the series ended, Savalas reprised the role in two CBS TV movies, Kojak: The Belarus File (1985) (an adaptation of the John Loftus book The Belarus Secret) and Kojak: The Price of Justice (1987) (based on Dorothy Uhnak's novel The Investigation). Kojak is not a character in either book.

In 1989, ABC revived the series again with five additional TV movies. These films saw now-Inspector Kojak lead the NYPD's Major Crimes Squad. Andre Braugher was cast as a young detective assigned to Kojak's command.

Telly Savalas and Dan Frazer are the only cast members to appear in every episode of the original series. Kevin Dobson appeared in all but two episodes. George Savalas appeared in all but three episodes and Frazer, Dobson, and G. Savalas appeared in one Kojak TV movie each.

Characters
  • Telly Savalas as Lieutenant Theodopolus "Theo" Kojak
  • Dan Frazer as Captain Francis "Frank" McNeil, Kojak's boss
  • Kevin Dobson as Detective Robert "Bobby" Crocker
  • George Savalas (early credited as Demosthenes) as Detective Demosthenes "Curly" Stavros
  • Mark Russell as Detective Percy Saperstein
  • Vince Conti as Detective Lionel Rizzo

Music

Two main title themes were used for the show. The somewhat better-known first Kojak theme, in two distinct arrangements, is the work of Billy Goldenberg, who scored the first two episodes of the series (Goldenberg also scored the series' pilot movie). The first of these two arrangements was used for episodes 1-27. The second of these two arrangements was used for episodes 28–96. Kim Richmond scored the series' third episode. John Cacavas composed the second main title theme used for the show's fifth and final season. In addition, Cacavas composed the music score beginning with the series' fourth episode and continued throughout the remainder of the series.

Goldenberg's first Kojak theme had lyrics, written by Bill Dyer. The song, entitled We'll Make It This Time (Theme From Kojak) was performed by Sammy Davis Jr. on his 1976 album The Song And Dance Man.

Episodes
Main article: List of Kojak episodes

Kojak aired for five seasons on CBS, from 1973 to 1978 for a total of 118 episodes. In the United Kingdom, the series premiered on 24 August 1974 on BBC1. In 1985, seven years after the series ended, Telly Savalas returned to play Kojak in seven TV movies beginning with Kojak: The Belarus File. The first two were aired by CBS and the latter five were aired on ABC as part of their ABC Saturday Mystery Movie theme block. His character was promoted to the rank of Captain, and later Inspector. Andre Braugher co-starred as Det. Winston Blake, and for one TV movie, Kojak: It's Always Something, Kevin Dobson returned as Bobby Crocker, now an assistant district attorney. Guest stars in these TV movies included Angie Dickinson, Marcia Gay Harden, Max von Sydow, Jerry Orbach and Suzanne Pleshette.

Esquire TV aired the series in multi-hour blocks Wednesdays from September to mid-October 2015. MeTV picked Kojak up for its late night lineup shortly thereafter. Today, Cozi TV airs Kojak approximately six months during a calendar year.

Broadcast history and Nielsen ratings
SeasonTime slot (ET)RankRating[7]
1973–74Wednesday at 10:00 p.m.723.3 (Tied with The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour)
1974–75Sunday at 8:30 p.m.1423.3
1975–76Sunday at 9:00 p.m.2021.8
1976–77Sunday at 9:00 p.m. (1976)
Tuesday at 10:00 p.m. (1977)		63 [8]17.1 [9]
1977–78Sunday at 10:00 p.m. (October 2 – December 4, 1977)
Saturday at 10:00 p.m. (December 10, 1977 – March 18, 1978)		87 [10]14.3 [11]

Remake
Main article: Kojak (2005 TV series)

In March 2005, a new Kojak series debuted on the USA Network cable channel and on ITV4 in the UK. In this re-imagined version, African-American actor Ving Rhames portrays the character. The series only lasted one season.

Film

Universal Pictures is planning to make a film version of Kojak, with Neal Purvis and Robert Wade to write the script for the film. Vin Diesel[12] will star as Kojak and produced the film with Samantha Vincent.[13] Philip Gawthorne was hired to construct a new draft for the film.[14]

On June 19, 2015 it was reported in media outlets that playwright Philip Gawthorne is on board for the new Kojak movie being written for Universal. Kojak is being produced by Diesel's Universal-based One Race Films with Scott Stuber and Dylan Clark. Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, the writing team behind James Bond films including The World Is Not Enough and Skyfall, joined the project in 2012 to write a previous draft.[15]

Spin-off media

Despite the show being ostensibly produced for an adult audience, Peter Pan Records produced an album of audio dramas based upon the series, aimed at children.[16]

Home media

Universal Studios released season 1 of Kojak on DVD in Regions 1, 2 and 4 in 2005–2006. Due to poor sales, no further seasons were released.

On February 14, 2017, Universal Studios re-released season 1 on DVD in Region 1.[17]

On May 25, 2011, it was announced that Shout! Factory had acquired the Region 1 DVD rights to the series.[18] They have subsequently released the remaining 4 seasons on DVD as well as a complete movie collection.[19]

In Region 2, Mediumrare Entertainment has released seasons 2–5 on DVD in the UK.

In Region 4, Shock Entertainment has released seasons 2–5 on DVD in Australia.[20]

Product Episodes DVD release date Blu-ray
release date
United States (R1) United Kingdom (R2) Australia (R4)
Season 122March 22, 200518 July 200513 July 2005—
Season 225September 27, 201126 April 2010——
Season 324March 20, 201226 April 2010——
Season 425May 1, 201229 August 2011——
Season 522September 11, 2012[21]29 August 2011——
The Complete Movie Collection8January 24, 2012———
The Complete Series125—17 November 2014——

References
  1. TV Guide Guide to TV. Barnes and Noble. 2004. p. 651. ISBN 0-7607-5634-1.
  2. Kojak Closing. October 2, 2010 – via YouTube.
  3. Van Gelder, Lawrence (August 4, 1996). "Thomas J. Cavanagh Jr., 82, Who Inspired 'Kojak', Dies", The New York Times, August 4, 1996.
  4. Reuss, Edward D. "The Fighting 9th Rises Again". Edward D. Reuss. NYCop.com. Retrieved May 27, 2012.
  5. Tim Brooks, Earl Marsh (2007). "Kojak (Police Drama)". The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows (9th ed.). Random House. p. 748. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4.
  6. Hernandez, Raymond (January 23, 1994). "Telly Savalas, Actor, Dies at 70; Played 'Kojak' in 1970s TV Series". The New York Times.
  7. Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present (Ninth ed.). Ballantine Books. p. 1687. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4.
  8. https://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/77-OCR/BC-1977-04-25-OCR-Page-0040.pdf
  9. https://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/77-OCR/BC-1977-04-25-OCR-Page-0040.pdf
  10. https://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/78-OCR/1978-05-01-BC-OCR-Page-0036.pdf
  11. https://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/78-OCR/1978-05-01-BC-OCR-Page-0036.pdf
  12. Vin Diesel Interview on The Jonathan Ross Show. May 11, 2013 – via YouTube.
  13. Mike Fleming Jr (December 2012). "Universal Sets 'Skyfall' Scribes Purvis & Wade To Script 'Kojak' For Vin Diesel". Deadline. Retrieved December 31, 2017.
  14. "Philip Gawthorne Tapped To Write 'Kojak' For Vin Diesel And Universal; Scott Stuber And Dylan Clark Board As Producers". June 2015. Retrieved December 31, 2017.
  15. "Vin Diesel 'Kojak' Movie Moves Ahead with Screenwriter Philip Gawthorne". Variety. Retrieved December 31, 2017.
  16. "Kojak (Peter Pan 8188)". Discogs.com. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  17. Universal to Re-Release 'Season 1' DVDs...Who Loves Ya', Baby? Archived 2016-12-25 at the Wayback Machine
  18. Lacey, Gord (25 May 2011). "Kojak - Shout! Factory to Continue Kojak?". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on 19 October 2012. Retrieved May 27, 2012.
  19. Lambert, David (October 10, 2011). "Kojak DVD news: Box Art and Details for Kojak - The Complete Movie Collection | TVShowsOnDVD.com". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on January 14, 2012. Retrieved May 27, 2012.
  20. "New Release DVDs and Boxsets - ScreenPop - ScreenPop Australia". screenpop.com. Retrieved December 31, 2017.
  21. Lambert, David (July 27, 2012). "Kojak - Shout! Factory's Formal Fact Sheet for the Final Season 5 DVD Set". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on July 30, 2012. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
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