Acting
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.
Filmography
Cutaways
Film · 2013
The Unknown Trilogy
Film · 2008
Farce of the Penguins
Film · 2006
Crime Spree
Film · 2003
Late Night with Conan O'Brien: 10th Anniversary Special
Film · 2003
TV Land Awards: A Celebration of Classic TV
Series · 2003
Tea Cakes or Cannoli
Film · 2000
Chump Change
Film · 2000
Deadline
Series · 2000
The Norm Show
Series · 1999
Family Guy
Series · 1999
Just the Ticket
Film · 1998
Witness to the Mob
Film · 1998
A Brooklyn State of Mind
Film · 1998
Good Burger
Film · 1997
Farticus
Film · 1997
Love Is All There Is
Film · 1996
Underworld
Film · 1996
A Christmas Journey Home
Film · 1996
Promised Land
Series · 1996
Jury Duty
Film · 1995
The Misery Brothers
Film · 1995
North
Film · 1994
Sugar Hill
Film · 1994
Home of Angels
Film · 1994
Weird Science
Series · 1994
Touched by an Angel
Series · 1994
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
Film · 1993
Me and the Kid
Film · 1993
Fist of Honor
Film · 1993
Diagnosis: Murder
Series · 1993
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Series · 1993
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Series · 1993
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Series · 1993
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Series · 1993
The Godfather Trilogy: 1901-1980
Film · 1992
Mad About You
Series · 1992
The Adventures of the Black Stallion
Series · 1992
Lucky Luke
Series · 1992
Keaton's Cop
Film · 1990
Night of 100 Stars III
Film · 1990
Joe Versus the Volcano
Film · 1990
Wings
Series · 1990
Law & Order
Series · 1990
Prancer
Film · 1989
Look Who's Talking
Film · 1989
B.L. Stryker
Series · 1989
Plain Clothes
Film · 1988
Superboy
Series · 1988
Monsters
Series · 1988
Vasectomy: A Delicate Matter
Film · 1986
The Stuff
Film · 1985
MacGyver
Series · 1985
Cannonball Run II
Film · 1984
Murder, She Wrote
Series · 1984
Tales from the Darkside
Series · 1984
The Big Stuffed Dog
Film · 1981
Harper Valley
Series · 1981
Gridlock
Film · 1980
Death Car on the Freeway
Film · 1979
B. J. and the Bear
Series · 1979
The Littlest Hobo
Series · 1979
$weepstake$
Series · 1979
Supertrain
Series · 1979
The Cheap Detective
Film · 1978
The Comedy Company
Film · 1978
How to Pick Up Girls!
Film · 1978
Vega$
Series · 1978
The Love Boat
Series · 1977
Eight Is Enough
Series · 1977
Fish
Series · 1977
Mario Puzo's The Godfather: The Complete Novel for Television
Series · 1977
Joys
Film · 1976
Dean Martin's Red Hot Scandals of 1926
Film · 1976
Having Babies
Film · 1976
The Bionic Woman
Series · 1976
The Captain and Tennille
Series · 1976
Barney Miller
Series · 1975
Barney Miller
Series · 1975
Barney Miller
Series · 1975
Saturday Night Live
Series · 1975
Newman's Law
Film · 1974
The Godfather Part II
Film · 1974
The Story of Pretty Boy Floyd
Film · 1974
Tattletales
Series · 1974
Tony Orlando and Dawn
Series · 1974
The Rockford Files
Series · 1974
The Rockford Files
Series · 1974
Dinah!
Series · 1974
The Don Is Dead
Film · 1973
The Devil's Daughter
Film · 1973
Toma
Film · 1973
Kojak
Series · 1973
Toma
Series · 1973
The Godfather
Film · 1972
The Rookies
Series · 1972
The Sandy Duncan Show
Series · 1972
Cannon
Series · 1971
Hawaii Five-O
Series · 1969
Love, American Style
Series · 1969
Mannix
Series · 1967
Dark Shadows
Series · 1966
Three Rooms in Manhattan
Film · 1965
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Series · 1962
The Mike Douglas Show
Series · 1961
The Bob Hope Show
Series · 1950
Buck Rogers
Series · 1950
Suspense
Series · 1949
Studio One
Series · 1948