Ariana Savalas (born January 9, 1987) is an American theater host. She has toured worldwide, including as the emcee and singer for Dita Von Teese and the

Crazy Horse Crazy Horse ( , ; – September 5, 1877) was a Lakota people, Lakota war leader of the Oglala band. He took up arms against the United States federal government to fight against encroachment by White Americans, White American settlers on Nativ ...

cabaret in Paris. She was one of the original members of

Postmodern Jukebox Postmodern Jukebox (PMJ), also known as Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox, is a rotating musical collective founded by New York-based pianist Scott Bradlee in 2011. Postmodern Jukebox is known for reworking popular modern music into different vi ...

alongside

Haley Reinhart Haley Elizabeth Reinhart (born September 9, 1990) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress from Wheeling, Illinois. She first rose to prominence after placing third in the tenth season of ''American Idol''. In July 2011, Reinhart signed a ...

Casey Abrams Casey Abrams (born February 12, 1991) is an American musician from Idyllwild, California, who finished in sixth place in the tenth season of ''American Idol,'' five weeks after being saved from elimination by the judges. A self-titled debut a ...

Robyn Adele Anderson Robyn Adele Anderson (born February 19, 1989) is an American singer and stage actress based in New York City. She is a cast member and featured artist for Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox with over 250 million YouTube views on her music video ...

, and Morgan James, and the group's first female emcee. Savalas tours with the band and has appeared in a number of the group's

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

videos, two of her videos in the top five most popular videos in the group's history. She is the daughter of Greek-American actor

Telly Savalas Aristotelis "Telly" Savalas (; January 21, 1922 – January 22, 1994) was a Greek-American actor. Noted for his bald head and deep, resonant voice, he is perhaps best known for portraying Lt. Theo Kojak on the crime drama series '' Kojak'' (1973� ...

Early life

Savalas was born in Los Angeles, California, but was raised in

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

following the death of her father

in 1994. She attended an all-girls Catholic convent school in her teenage years before graduating early and moving to London to pursue a career in performance. She studied Shakespeare and acting at the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central London ...

in London and was a member of Playhouse West, a repertory theater directed by

Jeff Goldblum Jeffrey Lynn Goldblum ( ; born October 22, 1952) is an American actor and musician. He has starred in some of the highest-grossing films, such as ''Jurassic Park'' (1993) and ''Independence Day'' (1996), as well as their sequels. Goldblum ...

. She eventually graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

years later and has a masters degree from the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute in Italy. Before turning to theater, Savalas toured and recorded in Europe as a pop singer in her teens with European producer

Jack White John Anthony White (; born July 9, 1975) is an American musician who achieved international fame as the guitarist and lead singer of the rock duo the White Stripes. As the White Stripes disbanded, he sought success with his solo career, subse ...

. She made a guest appearance as Bobby Lainsford on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

hit drama ''

Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created by Jeff Davis that premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005. It follows a group of criminal profilers who work for the FBI as members of its Behavioral ...

'' in 2010. Savalas began her music career in Los Angeles as a singer/songwriter playing venues on the

Sunset Strip The Sunset Strip is the stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through the city of West Hollywood, California, United States. It extends from West Hollywood's eastern border with the city of Los Angeles near Marmont Lane to its western bord ...

, such as the

Whisky a Go Go The Whisky a Go Go (informally nicknamed The Whisky) is a historic nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip, corner North Clark Street, opposite North San Vicente Boulev ...

and

Hard Rock Cafe Hard Rock Cafe, Inc. is a chain of theme restaurant, theme bar-restaurants, memorabilia shops, casinos, hotels and museums founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton in London. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and roll ...

Career

Debut singles and EP

Savalas' first jazz EP, ''Sophisticated Lady'', was a combination of her original compositions as well as two standards from the

Great American Songbook The Great American Songbook is the loosely defined canon of significant 20th-century American jazz standards, popular songs, and show tunes. Definition According to the Great American Songbook Foundation: The "Great American Songbook" is th ...

, including the song "

Sophisticated Lady "Sophisticated Lady" is a jazz standard, composed as an instrumental in 1932 by Duke Ellington. Background Additional credit is given to publisher Irving Mills whose words were added to the song by Mitchell Parish. The words met with approval f ...

" by

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

Mitchell Parish Mitchell Parish (born Michael Hyman Pashelinsky; July 10, 1900 – March 31, 1993) was an American lyricist, notably as a writer of songs for stage and screen. Biography Parish was born to a Jewish family in Lithuania, Russian Empire in July 190 ...

, and

Irving Mills Irving Harold Mills (born Isadore Minsky; January 18, 1894 Odessa, Ukraine – April 21, 1985) was a music publisher, musician, lyricist, and jazz promoter. He often used the pseudonyms Goody Goodwin and Joe Primrose. Personal life Mills ...

which she named the record after. Savalas was widely known in the cabaret world headlining in venues such as the

New York Friars' Club The Friars Club was a private club in New York City, founded in 1904 and out of business by 2024. Famous for its risqué roasts, the club's membership was composed mostly of people who work in show business. The club was located at 57 East 5 ...

and

Michael Feinstein Michael Jay Feinstein (born September 7, 1956) is an American singer, pianist, and music Revivalist artist, revivalist. He is an archivist and interpreter for the repertoire known as the Great American Songbook. In 1988, he won a Drama Desk Spec ...

's late New York cabaret Feinstein's. She was the opening act for saxophone legend

Kenny G Kenneth Bruce Gorelick (born June 5, 1956) is an American smooth jazz saxophonist, composer, and record producer. His 1986 album ''Duotones'' brought him commercial success. Kenny G is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selli ...

and has toured the world with 14 time

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

nominee

Dave Koz David Stephen Koz (born March 27, 1963) is an American saxophonist, composer, record producer, and radio personality based in Los Angeles, California. Early life Dave Koz was born in Encino, California, to Jewish parents: Norman, a dermatologis ...

Postmodern Jukebox

Savalas was introduced to

Scott Bradlee Scott Bradlee (born September 19, 1981) is an American musician, pianist, and arranger. He is best known for his viral videos on YouTube, including his work under the moniker Postmodern Jukebox (PMJ) — an ever-evolving, revolving collective ...

in 2015 and began collaborating on online videos and touring with the band soon after. They have performed at venues such as

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall (also known as Radio City) is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York C ...

, The Greek Theater, and the O2 Academy in London. Savalas was their first female emcee, and hosted the first-ever PMJ

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

special "Postmodern Jukebox: The New Classics". Savalas has garnered praise for her singing and also for her skill at jazz

whistling Whistling, without the use of an artificial whistle, is achieved by creating a small opening with one's lips, usually after applying moisture (licking one's lips or placing water upon them) and then blowing or sucking air through the space. Th ...

Cabaret

Savalas began incorporating her own music into live shows, drawing influences from the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

era of German Cabaret and the

Moulin Rouge Moulin Rouge (, ; ) is a cabaret in Paris, on Boulevard de Clichy, at Place Blanche, the intersection of, and terminus of Rue Blanche. In 1889, the Moulin Rouge was co-founded by Charles Zidler and Joseph Oller, who also owned the Olympia (Par ...

. Her 2019 live album, "The Ménage a Tour! Live from Las Vegas" was a showcase of music, songwriting, dance, comedy, and cabaret. Savalas released a single and music video for her original song "Legendary Lover" in early 2020.

Discography

* ''Legendary Lover'' (single) * ''Sophisticated Lady'' * ''The Ménage a Tour! Live from Las Vegas''

Featured with Postmodern Jukebox

* ''The Essentials'' - "No Diggity" * ''Swipe Right for Vintage'' - "Criminal" * ''Top Hat on Fleek'' - "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)" * ''Selfies on Kodachrome'' - "Blank Space" * ''PBS presents Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox, The New Classics * ''Emoji Antique'' - "Bad Romance" * ''Historical Misappropriation'' - "No Diggity" * ''Swing the Vote'' - "Pony" * ''PMJ is for Lovers'' - "Blank Space" * ''Fake Blues'' - "Thong Song" * ''New Gramaphone, who dis?'' - "It Wasn't Me" * ''Jazz Age Thirst Trap'' - "Bad Guy" * ''The Essentials II'' - "All About the Bass" * ''33 Resolutions Per Minute'' - "Bye Bye Bye"

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Savalas, Ariana American film actresses American television actresses American people of Greek descent Living people 1987 births 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Los Angeles Actresses from Minnesota Singers from Los Angeles Singer-songwriters from Minnesota American jazz singers American women singer-songwriters 21st-century American singer-songwriters American neo-burlesque performers Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art Jazz musicians from California Jazz musicians from Minnesota 21st-century American women singers Singer-songwriters from California Harvard University alumni