Dan Frazer

In the second of Law & Order's three "crossovers" with the Baltimore-based NBC crime series Homicide: Life on the Street, a teenaged model dies on the streets of New York, apparently the victim of toxic-shock syndrome. An autopsy reveals that the girl had been raped, a crime that would have to have been committed while she was in Baltimore. Thus, detective Lennie Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) calls in his Baltimore counterpart, John Munch (Richard Belzer), to assist in the investigation. Meanwhile, New York assistant DA McCoy (Sam Waterston) finds himself locked in a jurisdictional battle with the Baltimore DA -- a battle complicated by the actions of the dead girl's parents. In addition to Richard Belzer, Homicide regulars Jon Seda (Falsone) and Yaphet Kotto (Giardello) also appear. The first episode of the two-part "Baby, It's You" aired as the November 11, 1997, installment of Law & Order; the conclusion was seen November 14 on Homicide: Life on the Street. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Seven years after the cancellation of the CBS TV series Kojak, the network attempted to revive the property with this adaptation of John Loftus' novel The Bellarus Secret. Telly Savalas returns to the role of lollipop-sucking New York police detective Lt. Theo Kojak, with George Savalas, Vince Conti, and Mark B. Russell likewise reprising their Kojak characters of Stavros, Rizzo, and Saperstein (conspicuous by his absence was Kevin Dobson as Bobby Crocker, who had by this time signed on as a regular on Knot's Landing). This time around, Kojak tried to solve the murders of three elderly Russians, who may or may not have been Nazi war criminals. The answer to the mystery lay in "The Belarus File," a top-secret document in the possession of the State Department. At first stymied by the government's lack of cooperation, Kojak receives unexpected assistance from compassionate bureaucrat Dana Sutton (Suzanne Pleshette). Originally telecast February 16, 1985, Kojak: The Belarus File (aka The Return of Kojak) did not immediately spark a wholesale Kojak revival, though the property did return to TV on an irregular basis as a component of the ABC "Mystery Movie" in 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Advertised as a "return" to the spirit of the old Spencer Tracy/Katharine Hepburn films (not all of which were that spirited--try watching Keeper of the Flame sometime), the made-for-TV Good Sport is essentially a reworking of 1941's Woman of the Year. Ralph Waite plays a gritty sports columnist who enters reluctantly into the world of "haute courte" fashions to do a story on an ex-athlete turned clothes designer. He meets Lee Remick, an elegant fashion designer, and it's oil-and-water time for the next twenty minutes or so. Waite and Remick become friends, vowing to keep things strictly platonic. It doesn't take a PhD to ascertain what will happen next. For another slant on the premise of A Good Sport, catch the superior 1957 Gregory Peck/Lauren Bacall vehicle Designing Woman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The fifth and final season of Kojak (the original version, that is) begins with a typically brutal entry, "The Queen of Hearts Is Wild," in which smooth, cynical New York police detective Lt. Theo Kojak (Telly Savalas) tries convince the girlfriend of one of his old enemies to provide eyewitness testimony concerning a cop killing. In subsequent episodes, Kojak goes after a psycho who believes himself to be under the influence of a bombastic talk show host (yes, they had those back in 1977 too!); Theo's loyal assistant Lt. Crocker (Kevin Dobson) falls in love with the daughter of a murdered mobster, and in a later episode is taken hostage by a prisoner he is escorting back to New York; Kojak impersonates a murdered private eye to solve the dead man's murder; the sister of Kojak's boss, Captain McNeill (Dan Frazer), is victimized by gamblers; and in the two-part "The Summer of '69," Kojak unearths evidence that the serial killer whom he thought he eliminated eight years earlier is still at large -- and that he might have shot down the wrong man. Appearing as guest stars in Kojak's terminal CBS season are such well-known performers as Armand Assante, Antoinette Bower, Danny Thomas, Priscilla Barnes, Sam Jaffe, and former ABC news anchorman Alex Dreier. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Question: "Who loves ya, baby?" Answer: "The whole world." By the time the gritty detective drama Kojak entered its third season in the fall of 1975, the series had been exported to dozens of countries outside the U.S., and star Telly Savalas had become an international celebrity. Savalas' portrayal of cynical, hard-boiled, lollipop-loving Lt. Theo Kojak was no longer just another TV job: he had become an icon. Likewise beloved the world over were the series' supporting characters, including Chief of Detectives Frank McNeil (Dan Frazer), Lt. Crocker (Kevin Dobson), and Detective Stavros (played by Telly Savalas' brother George Savalas, who beginning in season three is billed under his own name rather than his nom de screen, "Demosthenes"). Like the previous season, season three opens with a two-part drama, "A Question of Answers." And as in years past, a number of fascinating guest stars appear this season, beginning with a pre-Rocky Sylvester Stallone as a guilt-ridden cop who accidentally shoots a young boy in the line of duty. In later episodes, future Soap star Robert Mandan plays a vicious drug dealer; Eileen Brennan is seen in the story of a highly suspect religious-revival organization; John Larroquette shows up in the season's Christmas episode, "How Cruel the Frost, How Bright the Stars"; former football star Rosey Grier appears in the later installment "Bad Dude"; and the season finale features the brilliant actress Diana Hyland, two years removed from her tragic early death. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Bald, cynical, lollipop-sucking New York police detective Lt. Theo Kojak returns in the person of Telly Savalas for a second season of thrill-packed episodes. Likewise returning to the fold are supporting characters Chief Frank McNeil (Dan Frazer), Lt. Crocker (Kevin Dobson), and Detective Stavros (played by "Demosthenes," aka Telly Savalas' brother George Savalas). New recipients of Kojak's trademarks jibes and insults include Detective Rizzo (Vince Conti) and Detective Saperstein (Mark Russell). Season two of Kojak opens with the two-part "The Chinatown Murders," which has since been syndicated as a separate TV movie. In later episodes, Kojak butts heads with the feds while trying to solve a cop killing; matches wits with a deadly stock manipulator; protects a terrified bookkeeper from an insane criminal; endeavors to prove that a judge's suicide was murder (and, incidentally, contemplates allowing a killer to walk in order to crack the case); crosses swords with a clever woman who uses her husband's "accidental" death to cover up a diamond heist; and ducks and dodges a "curse" placed upon him by a vengeful gypsy woman. Season two's lineup of Kojak guest stars includes Ray Sharkey, Martin Balsam, Paul Anka, Leslie Nielsen, Erik Estrada, Robert Loggia, and Ruth Gordon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The character of tough, sarcastic, lollipop-sucking New York City police detective Theo Kojak was introduced in The Marcus-Nelson Murders, a 1973 TV movie based on the novel by Selwyn Raab, which in turn was inspired by the real-life Wylie-Hoffert murder case of 1963 that ultimately led to the Supreme Court's Miranda decision in 1966. Telly Savalas, a busy, baldheaded character actor who had only occasionally received above-the-title billing in his long career, became an international superstar in the role of Kojak, which he carried over into a long-running CBS cop show. Debuting October 24, 1973, Kojak was set in Manhattan (though not filmed there until its fourth season), where hard-boiled, thoroughly incorruptible Lt. Theo Kojak took his marching orders from his former partner and longtime friend, 13th precinct Captain Frank McNeill (Dan Frazer). Although Kojak had a habit of bending the rules to suit his needs, he was much valued by McNeill and the force because he invariably got results. Kojak's associates and assistants included plainclothes detective Lt. Bobby Crocker (Kevin Dobson), Detective Stavros (played by the star's brother George Savalas, who during the series' first two seasons billed himself as "Demosthenes"), and detectives Rizzo and Saperstein (Vince Conti, Mark Russell).

Extremely popular with both civilians and law enforcement personnel -- and a veritable cornucopia of such quotable lines as "Who loves ya, baby?" -- Kojak lasted five seasons and 118 hour-long episodes before it was canceled by CBS and ended its run on April 15, 1978. Seven years later, Telly Savalas revived the character for the TV movie Kojak: The Belarus File, which was followed two years later by another feature-length endeavor, Kojak: The Price of Justice. And from November 4, 1989, through June 30, 1990, five two-hour Kojak episodes -- in which the title character had been promoted to inspector -- were telecast as part of the crime-anthology series The ABC Mystery Movie. This time around, Telly Savalas' co-stars included Andre Braugher as Detective Winston Blake, Charles Cioffi as Chief George "Fitz" Morris, Kario Salem as Detective Paco Montana, and the star's daughter Candace Savalas as Kojak's secretary Pamela. Kojak was revived for a third weekly series run in 2005, with Ving Rhames starring in the title role created by the late Telly Savalas. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Having scored big with the public when he was introduced in the 1973 TV movie The Marcus-Nelson Murders, crafty, cynical, lollipop-sucking New York city police detective Theo Kojak is given his own weekly, one-hour series as Kojak launches its first season. As before, Telly Savalas essays the title role, though none of the Marcus-Nelson Murders supporting actors appear in the series proper. Reporting for duty, Kojak is pleased that his new boss is his former partner Frank McNeil (Dan Frazer), now chief of detectives. Friendship notwithstanding, McNeil intends to run a tight ship, and to see to it that Kojak plays by the rules -- just as Kojak is fully prepared to do things his way no matter what McNeil says! Also introduced in season one are Kojak's subordinates, plainclothes detective Lt. Bobby Crocker (Kevin Dobson) and Detective Stavros (played by Telly Savalas' brother George Savalas, here billed under his middle name "Demosthenes") In the opener, Kojak must defuse a tense hostage situation after a botched armored-car robbery (the chief heavy is played by none other than Harvey Keitel). Subsequently, Kojak reluctantly builds a case against a fellow cop who has murdered his wife's lover; tracks down a serial killer who seems to have returned to New York after a lengthy absence; races against time to clear the name of a deceased comrade-in-arms; holds up an urban development project in order to collar a perp; attempts to save his niece from being murdered on her wedding day by one of his old enemies; goes to elaborate lengths to convince others that he's "on the take" in order to flush out a dope dealer; matches wits with a brilliant criminal-justice student who believes he can commit the perfect crime; and grimly follows a trail of corpses to break up a smuggling ring. In addition to the aforementioned Harvey Keitel, the first-season guest-star lineup on Kojak includes such luminaries as Hector Elizondo, Yvonne Craig, Jackie Cooper, Tina Louise, Paul Michael Glaser, and John Ritter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Fuzz treads the line between raucous comedy and gut-churning melodrama. Based on an "87th Precinct" novel by Ed McBain (aka Evan Hunter), the film stars Burt Reynolds and Jack Weston as, respectively, detectives Steve Carella and Meyer Meyer. Their current assignment is to bring in Deaf Man (Yul Brynner), a mad bomber who has been targeting politicians. A subplot concerning a couple of punks who get their kicks by setting fire to sleeping winos is dramatically justified by the main storyline, but it was this element that caused a lot of trouble for the producers of Fuzz when a pair of real-life teenagers decided to imitate the film. On a lighter note, Raquel Welch co-stars as Detective Eileen McHenry, who is obliged to go undercover -- and under covers -- with fellow officer Bert Kling (Tom Skerritt). And as a bonus, viewers are treated to Burt Reynolds' first "drag" scene. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When Jimmy Price (Jim Brown) wins an upset victory for sheriff, he becomes the first black man ever to hold the job (or any elective office) in anyone's memory in his rural southern county. He also sets off an ominous rumblings as the entire county seems split apart by his presence -- Mayor Parks (Fredric March) offers him the support of his office, but many whites aren't prepared to accept a black man as sheriff, while most of the whites that can accept him aren't saying so too loudly; a lot of older black residents, remembering decades of Jim Crow laws that only lately disappeared, are more confused than encouraged by Price's victory, while younger, more radical black citizens like George Harvey (Bernie Casey) have little use for Price's straight-arrow personality; they expect him to show them favoritism, and when he doesn't, they suspect him of being an nothing but a white man in black skin. Even Price's own wife (Janet MacLachlan) wonders if the cost of his being sheriff is too high. He finds himself alone, walking a tightrope between all of the forces pulling at him, and then the whole situation threatens to explode when he arrests the good-for-nothing son (Bob Random) of a wealthy man from the next county, who has killed a child while driving drunk. Soon the local klavern of the Ku Klux Klan is planning a meeting, and a lynch mob seems to be gathering across the county line to break the prisoner loose and take care of the sheriff. Price finally gets some unexpected help from his embittered predecessor, John Little (George Kennedy) -- Little would like nothing more than to sulk over losing his longtime job, but with his wife's coaxing he realizes that he can't let Price fail without the risk of destroying everything he worked for years to build. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

The beauty of classical music confronts the ugliness and treachery of war in this unusual drama. Lionel Evans (Charlton Heston) is the director of a well-respected symphony orchestra touring European concert halls in 1944. In the midst of one concert, the city where they are playing is attacked by German troops, and as Evans and his musicians try to escape, they are captured by Nazi soldiers led by Col. Arndt (Anton Diffring). Evans and the orchestra are taken to a castle where they are to bide their time before being executed; but it turns out that Arndt's superior, Gen. Schiller (Maximilian Schell), is a classical music buff. Schiller commands Evans and his symphony to prepare a special concert for the Nazis, but Evans realizes that the moment the concert is over, he and his musicians will be killed. The orchestra's performances, which include works by Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Brahms, Wagner, and Schubert, were performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Using the alias Stephen Fitzgerald, con artist Andrew Cook (James Daly) has married the widow of a bank owner, embezzled the bank funds, and murdered his wife--a pattern he has followed for years in several other cities. Now the homicidal Cook has targeted wealthy Amy Hunter (Margaret Leighton) as his next victim, with both Amy's life and a million-dollar "prize" at stake. Inspector Erskine (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) must figure out the reason behind Fitzgerald's modus operandi in order to stop him before he can steal--and kill--again. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

John "The Cropper" Cropsey (Don Gordon) is fed up with doing the dirty work for bootlegger Jules Flack (Harold J. Stone), so he cooks up a plan to go into business for himself. Stealing 50,000 gallons of industrial alcohol, Cropsey sells it to Flack for a cool million bucks. What "The Cropper" doesn't know is that every move he makes is being closely monitored by Elliot Ness (Robert Stack). And there's another small detail: Cropsey is now in business with Belle Alpine (Jeanne Cooper), who hasn't forgotten that Cropsey and Flack were the men who orchestrated the murder of her husband. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide