Telly Savalas’s Good Samaritan

Telly Savalas

Telly Savalas was an American actor who was known for his tough guy character movie roles. He is remembered however for starring in the 1970s television series Kojack where he played a New York City detective.

He won an Emmy and two Golden Globes for this role. His character Kojack made the catchphrase, “Who loves ya, baby?” popular.

Years before his acting success he experienced what could only be classified as a paranormal encounter. Late one night in 1959, he was driving home to Long Island from a date when his car ran out of gas.

He looked around but everything was closed and deserted. His only option was to walk toward the freeway. From behind him, he heard an odd squeaky high-pitched voice call out—offering him a ride.

He had not heard a car drive up but as he turned, he saw a man in a white suit sitting in a Cadillac. This Good Samaritan then drove him to a gas station. As they returned to his car, Savalas took down the man’s number and address so he could pay him back.

The man told him if he could not reach him he should call a friend of his, a Red Sox baseball player. He gave Savalas this number as well. He then helped fill the car and he even pushed it to help Savalas get it started.

The next day, Savalas read a newspaper report that mentioned the baseball player the man had used as an extra contact, it stated he was dead. Things became eerier when Savalas called the Good Samaritan’s number.

A woman answered. As Savalas told her the reason, he was calling the woman stopped him. She was confused as she told him that her husband had died two years before.

Savalas described the man who had helped him and told her he had given him this number. As he described the man—the white suit he wore—she broke down and mentioned her husband had been buried in his favorite white suit.

Savalas then mentioned the man’s strange high-pitched voice. The wife still crying told him that this made sense for her husband had shot himself in the throat. He had taken his own life.

It appears Telly Savalas encountered a guardian spirit right when he needed one.

I first read this story in a book entitled, True Ghost Stories, by Jason Keeler. It is a quick read and mentions many famous ghost tales. It can be found here.