Close-knit beginnings
Aristotle "Telly" Savalas was born on January
21, 1922 in Garden City, New York. He was the second of
five children born to Nicholas and Christina Savalas.
Both Nicholas and Christina had immigrated to the United
States from Greece. Nicholas owned restaurants in New
York and was quite successful until the Great Depression.
Like millions of other Americans, the Savalas' took
an enormous financial hit. Struggling to put food on
the table, they resorted to creative solutions to save
money, including using cardboard to mend the hole-worn
soles of their shoes.
Despite hard times, however, the close-knit Savalas' remained
strong, happy and hopeful. Eight-year-old Telly and nine-year-old
Gus, virtually inseparable throughout their lives, began
working to help support the family. They sold newspapers
and constructed a shoeshine stand out of wooden orange
crates, which they set up at Pennsylvania Station on 33rd
Street. In later years, the two recounted how they idolized
one man who paid them a quarter for their work.
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