Abe Vigoda
Tall, dour-faced and slouch-shouldered character actor Abraham Charles Vigoda (February 24, 1921 – January 26, 2016) proved himself in both gritty dramatic roles, and as an actor with wonderful comedic timing. Vigoda was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Lena (Moses) and Samuel Vigoda, both Russian Jewish immigrants. His father was a tailor on the Lower East Side. He made his first stage appearance at the age of 17 and plodded away in small theater shows for over 20 years. For the majority of film-goers, Vigoda first came to prominence in The Godfather (1972) as the double-crossing Tessio, pleading with Robert Duvall to get him off the hook "for old times' sake." He also appeared in its sequel. Vigoda had roles in a few nondescript TV films before landing the plum part of Sgt. Phil Fish on the brilliant sitcom Barney Miller (1974). Perhaps his best known role, Sgt. Fish proved popular enough to be spun off to his own (short-lived) series Fish (1977). With his long face and unusual looks, Vigoda remained in high demand in mafioso-type roles, and for a while in the mid-1980s, he was mistakenly believed to have been dead, leading producers to remark, "I need an Abe Vigoda type actor," not realizing Vigoda was still alive and well. The 1990s and beyond became busy again for him, with appearances in North (1994), The Misery Brothers (1995), A Brooklyn State of Mind (1998), and Crime Spree (2003). He continued acting into his 90s, surprising audiences with his entertaining style. Abe Vigoda died in his sleep on January 26, 2016 in Woodland Park, New Jersey.
103 acting credits
Acting · 103
Law & Order
1990
Family Guy
1999
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962
Saturday Night Live
1975
Murder, She Wrote
1984
Mannix
1967
The Mike Douglas Show
1961
The Love Boat
1977
Diagnosis: Murder
1993
MacGyver
1985
The Godfather
1972
Dark Shadows
1966
Love, American Style
1969
Hawaii Five-O
1968
Wings
1990
Mad About You
1992
The Rockford Files
1974
Barney Miller
1975
Touched by an Angel
1994
Cannon
1971
The Godfather Part II
1974
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
1993
Studio One
1948
Tales from the Darkside
1984
Kojak
1973
The Rookies
1972
Vega$
1978
Dinah!
1974
Weird Science
1994
Monsters
1988
The Bionic Woman
1976
Eight Is Enough
1977
The Bob Hope Show
1950
Suspense
1949
Promised Land
1996
B. J. and the Bear
1979
The Norm Show
1999
The Littlest Hobo
1979
Mario Puzo's The Godfather: The Complete Novel for Television
1977
The Adventures of the Black Stallion
1992
Superboy
1988
Deadline
2000
Fish
1977
Toma
1973
$weepstake$
1979
Supertrain
1979
Tony Orlando and Dawn
1974
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
1993
The Captain and Tennille
1976
B.L. Stryker
1989
Lucky Luke
1992
Cannonball Run II
1984
Good Burger
1997
Late Night with Conan O'Brien: 10th Anniversary Special
2003
Harper Valley
1981
North
1994
The Stuff
1985
The Sandy Duncan Show
1972
Look Who's Talking
1989
The Godfather: The Complete Epic 1901–1959
2016
Joe Versus the Volcano
1990
Sugar Hill
1994
The Cheap Detective
1978
Farce of the Penguins
2006
Jury Duty
1995
Crime Spree
2003
Love Is All There Is
1996
Prancer
1989
TV Land Awards: A Celebration of Classic TV
2003
Night of 100 Stars III
1990
Joys
1976
Tattletales
1974
The Devil's Daughter
1973
Underworld
1996
Death Car on the Freeway
1979
The Don Is Dead
1973
Just the Ticket
1998
The Misery Brothers
1995
Gridlock
1980
Plain Clothes
1988
How to Pick Up Girls!
1978
Witness to the Mob
1998
Three Rooms in Manhattan
1965
Chump Change
2000
A Brooklyn State of Mind
1998
Me and the Kid
1993
Newman's Law
1974
Toma
1973
The Story of Pretty Boy Floyd
1974
Vasectomy: A Delicate Matter
1986
Having Babies
1976
Dean Martin's Red Hot Scandals of 1926
1976
The Big Stuffed Dog
1981
Keaton's Cop
1990
Fist of Honor
1993
The Unknown Trilogy
2008
Farticus
1997
The Comedy Company
1978
Tea Cakes or Cannoli
2000
Buck Rogers
1950
Home of Angels
1994
A Christmas Journey Home
1996
Cutaways
2013