Loser Takes All (22 Dec. 1974)

What a tangled web: a wife (Paula Thomas) who's having an affair with a classy crook (Michael Hagar), her husband Waverley who eavesdrops on them through a vent, a police informer (Benny) ... See full summary »

Director:

Allen Reisner

Writers:

Abby Mann (creator), Robert C. Dennis (teleplay),

Stars:

Telly Savalas, Leslie Nielsen, Ja'net DuBois

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Telly Savalas	...	Lt. Theo Kojak
Leslie Nielsen	...	Michael Hagar
Ja'net DuBois	...	Paula Thomas (as Ja'net Du Bois)
Roger Robinson	...	Gil Weaver
Dan Frazer	...	Capt. Frank McNeil
Kevin Dobson	...	Det. Bobby Crocker
George Savalas	...	Det. Stavros (as Demosthenes)
Antonio Fargas	...	Benny
Quinn K. Redeker	...	Neff (as Quinn Redeker)
Ed Cambridge	...	Waverly (as Edmund Cambridge)
Al Stevenson	...	Tanner
Jac Emel	...	Jojo
Mark Giardino	...	Medical Examiner
Mark Russell	...	Saperstein
Vince Conti	...	Sgt. Rizzo

Storyline

What a tangled web: a wife (Paula Thomas) who's having an affair with a classy crook (Michael Hagar), her husband Waverley who eavesdrops on them through a vent, a police informer (Benny) that the husband feeds info to, and a scheme to rip off a million dollar diamond shipment. The husband is killed; the shipment is stolen, Kojak gets shot, and the classy crook gets away. The bullet recovered from Kojak is from the gun that killed Waverley; Hagar is arrested but there's no evidence except Waverley's dying declaration to Benny. Knowing how Paula loved her husband in spite of the affair, Kojak tells her what he suspects, not realizing Paula's idea of justice does not involve police proceedings.

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

---

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 December 1974 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal TV

Technical Specs

Runtime:

48 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

User Reviews

Not The Leslie Nielsen Character You Might Know!

Like a number of actors (i.e. Raymond Burr, Abe Vigoda, Humphrey Bogart, etc.) who turned to play "good guys" or comedians, Leslie Nielsen played some rough characters, killers with no sense of humor.

He plays one in this episode, and is fascinating to watch. It's just kinda of strange to see Neilsen play this rough a character but his performance as "Michael Hagar" gives a real edge to this episode (as if "Theo Kojak" didn't produce an "edge" with every story!).

The story involves both a heist (of diamonds) and a murder plot with a nasty lady played by Ja'net DuBois.

As we see, the two crimes are connected and Kojak and his crew have to solve this.