Abe Vigoda
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
102
Gender
Male
Birthday
1921-02-24
Day of death
2016-01-26 (94 years old)
Place of Birth
New York City, New York, USA
Abe Vigoda
Biography
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.
Known For
Family Guy
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Law & Order
Saturday Night Live
Diagnosis: Murder
Murder, She Wrote
The Godfather
The Love Boat
MacGyver
Dark Shadows
Mannix
Love, American Style
Hawaii Five-O
The Bob Hope Show
The Rockford Files
The Rockford Files
Touched by an Angel
Mad About You
Studio One
Barney Miller
Barney Miller
Barney Miller
Wings
The Godfather Part II
Cannon
Tales from the Darkside
The Rookies
Kojak
Eight Is Enough
Suspense
The Bionic Woman
Vega$
Weird Science
Monsters
The Littlest Hobo
Promised Land
Jury Duty
B. J. and the Bear
The Norm Show
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
Cannonball Run II
North
Newman's Law
Mario Puzo's The Godfather: The Complete Novel for Television
The Cheap Detective
Superboy
Good Burger
$weepstake$
Just the Ticket
The Don Is Dead
Fish
Tony Orlando and Dawn
The Big Stuffed Dog
Three Rooms in Manhattan
Look Who's Talking
Deadline
Joe Versus the Volcano
The Stuff
Toma
The Captain and Tennille
The Story of Pretty Boy Floyd
B.L. Stryker
Lucky Luke
The Misery Brothers
The Adventures of the Black Stallion
Supertrain
Keaton's Cop
Night of 100 Stars III
The Godfather: The Complete Epic 1901–1959
Fist of Honor
Farce of the Penguins
Crime Spree
Gridlock
Having Babies
Death Car on the Freeway
Harper Valley
The Sandy Duncan Show
A Brooklyn State of Mind
Tattletales
Toma
Underworld
The Devil's Daughter
Prancer
Home of Angels
Joys
Sugar Hill
TV Land Awards: A Celebration of Classic TV
The Unknown Trilogy
The Comedy Company
Love Is All There Is
Witness to the Mob
Farticus
Plain Clothes
How to Pick Up Girls!
Tea Cakes or Cannoli
Late Night with Conan O'Brien: 10th Anniversary Special
Me and the Kid
Chump Change
Vasectomy: A Delicate Matter
Dean Martin's Red Hot Scandals of 1926
Cutaways
A Christmas Journey Home
