CAVANAGH, INSPIRATION FOR `KOJAK'.Byline: Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. Thomas J. Cavanagh Jr., the New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of detective who inspired the TV series ``Kojak,'' died Friday at 82. Cavanagh, who suffered from chronic lung disease lung disease Pulmonary disease Pulmonology Any condition causing or indicating impaired lung function Types of LD Obstructive lung disease–↓ in air flow caused by a narrowing or blockage of airways–eg, asthma, emphysema, chronic bronchitis; , earned the nickname ``The Velvet Whip'' for his ability to extract a confession A Confession is a short work on questions of religion by Leo Tolstoy. It was first distributed in Russia in 1882. Consisting of autobiographical notes on the development of the author's belief, A Confession . Like the fictional Kojak, Cavanagh was a powerfully built but gentle man and a natty dresser who sometimes bucked his bosses. His office in Manhattan's 23rd Precinct was used for the filming of the TV series starring Telly Savalas. Unlike Savalas, Cavanagh was not bald. The 1973 TV movie, ``The Marcus-Nelson Murders,'' in which Savalas first played Kojak, was based on the sensational 1963 murders of two young women on Manhattan's Upper East side, a case solved by Cavanagh's detective team. Police had arrested a 19-year-old man who was carrying a crumpled crum·ple v. crum·pled, crum·pling, crum·ples v.tr. 1. To crush together or press into wrinkles; rumple. 2. To cause to collapse. v.intr. 1. picture of a young woman who resembled one of the victims. The man claimed he had found the picture in the trash in New Jersey - but later confessed to both murders. Cavanagh didn't buy the confession. His detectives found experts who said foliage in the photo was in fact from New Jersey, and eventually tracked down the woman, still living, who said she had thrown the picture out. The detective team's efforts exonerated the first suspect, whose confession was found to have been coerced. Another man was arrested, and after Cavanagh obtained his confession, he was convicted. The possibility that the wrong man could have been executed led New York state to abandon the death penalty in 1965. It also provided fodder for the Supreme Court's 1966 Miranda decision, requiring police to warn people of their rights when arrested. Cavanagh retired in 1976 after 36 years as a police officer. He is survived by two sons, three daughters, a brother, two sisters and seven grandchildren GRANDCHILDREN, domestic relations. The children of one's children. Sometimes these may claim bequests given in a will to children, though in general they can make no such claim. 6 Co. 16. . |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion