Kojak is an American television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, bald New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theo Kojak. It aired from October 24, 1973, to March 18, 1978, on CBS. Kojak’s Greek heritage, shared by actor Savalas, was prominently featured in the series.
The series was set in the New York City Police Department’s Thirteenth Precinct, Manhattan South Patrol Borough. The show revolved around the efforts of the tough and incorruptible Lieutenant Theocrates (“Theo”) Kojak (Telly Savalas), a bald, dapper, New York City policeman who was fond of lollipops and using the catchphrase, “Who loves ya, baby?” 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 early episodes of the series, Kojak smoked heavily; in order to reflect the anti-smoking sentiment gaining momentum on American TV, the writers decided that Kojak had quit smoking. He began sucking on lollipops as a substitute, which became a trademark of the character. 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.
Sylvester Stallone appeared Detective Rick Daly in the Season Three episode ‘My Brother, My Enemy’ (1975).
Summary via Wikipedia.