Abe Vigoda
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
103
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
Law & Order
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Saturday Night Live
Murder, She Wrote
The Godfather
Mannix
MacGyver
Diagnosis: Murder
The Love Boat
The Godfather Part II
The Rockford Files
The Rockford Files
Hawaii Five-O
Wings
Mad About You
Love, American Style
Touched by an Angel
Dark Shadows
Cannon
Barney Miller
Barney Miller
Barney Miller
Dinah!
Kojak
Studio One
The Bionic Woman
Eight Is Enough
Vega$
Tales from the Darkside
The Bob Hope Show
The Rookies
Weird Science
The Godfather: The Complete Epic 1901–1959
Suspense
Superboy
Lucky Luke
B. J. and the Bear
Mario Puzo's The Godfather: The Complete Novel for Television
The Littlest Hobo
Monsters
North
Promised Land
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
Good Burger
Look Who's Talking
Sugar Hill
Prancer
The Norm Show
Deadline
Joys
Gridlock
B.L. Stryker
Jury Duty
Tony Orlando and Dawn
Having Babies
Joe Versus the Volcano
Crime Spree
Cannonball Run II
Toma
Farticus
The Captain and Tennille
Underworld
Toma
Plain Clothes
$weepstake$
The Adventures of the Black Stallion
How to Pick Up Girls!
Cutaways
The Cheap Detective
Fish
The Stuff
Supertrain
Farce of the Penguins
The Misery Brothers
Just the Ticket
Night of 100 Stars III
Three Rooms in Manhattan
The Don Is Dead
The Sandy Duncan Show
Witness to the Mob
The Devil's Daughter
Keaton's Cop
Newman's Law
Harper Valley
Home of Angels
Death Car on the Freeway
The Unknown Trilogy
Tattletales
The Story of Pretty Boy Floyd
Late Night with Conan O'Brien: 10th Anniversary Special
The Big Stuffed Dog
TV Land Awards: A Celebration of Classic TV
A Brooklyn State of Mind
Me and the Kid
The Comedy Company
Love Is All There Is
Fist of Honor
Tea Cakes or Cannoli
A Christmas Journey Home
Dean Martin's Red Hot Scandals of 1926
Chump Change
Vasectomy: A Delicate Matter
