Abe Vigoda
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
107
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
Law & Order
Family Guy
The Mike Douglas Show
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Saturday Night Live
Murder, She Wrote
MacGyver
The Godfather
The Love Boat
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Diagnosis: Murder
Hawaii Five-O
Mannix
Mad About You
The Godfather Part II
Dark Shadows
The Rockford Files
The Rockford Files
Love, American Style
Touched by an Angel
Studio One
Cannon
The Bionic Woman
Wings
Barney Miller
Barney Miller
Barney Miller
The Bob Hope Show
Kojak
Tales from the Darkside
The Rookies
Vega$
Dinah!
Good Burger
Mario Puzo's The Godfather: The Complete Novel for Television
Prancer
Eight Is Enough
Toma
Underworld
Joys
North
Home of Angels
B. J. and the Bear
Suspense
Weird Science
Monsters
Sugar Hill
Gridlock
Superboy
Plain Clothes
Promised Land
Tea Cakes or Cannoli
Fist of Honor
Tony Orlando and Dawn
The Norm Show
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
The Captain and Tennille
Farticus
The Littlest Hobo
Toma
The Comedy Company
The Stuff
Cannonball Run II
Look Who's Talking
$weepstake$
Deadline
B.L. Stryker
The Adventures of the Black Stallion
Joe Versus the Volcano
Harper Valley
Fish
Lucky Luke
Supertrain
Having Babies
Crime Spree
Jury Duty
The Sandy Duncan Show
The Cheap Detective
Love Is All There Is
Just the Ticket
TV Land Awards: A Celebration of Classic TV
Farce of the Penguins
Cutaways
The Godfather: The Complete Epic 1901–1959
Tattletales
Night of 100 Stars III
The Don Is Dead
The Misery Brothers
Late Night with Conan O'Brien: 10th Anniversary Special
Witness to the Mob
The Devil's Daughter
Me and the Kid
The Big Stuffed Dog
Three Rooms in Manhattan
Newman's Law
Death Car on the Freeway
How to Pick Up Girls!
A Brooklyn State of Mind
The Unknown Trilogy
The Story of Pretty Boy Floyd
Chump Change
A Christmas Journey Home
Keaton's Cop
Dean Martin's Red Hot Scandals of 1926
Vasectomy: A Delicate Matter
