94
Age
50
Movies
54
TV Shows
7.4
Rating
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.
94
Died at
50
Movies
54
TV Shows
7.4
Avg Rating
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.
1962
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.
Gender
Male
Birthday
February 24, 1921
Died
January 26, 2016
Birthplace
New York City, New York, USA
Also Known As
The Godfather
1972
The Godfather Part II
1974
North
1994
Good Burger
1997
The Misery Brothers
1995
Farce of the Penguins
2006
Keaton's Cop
1990
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
1993
Sugar Hill
1994
Jury Duty
1995
Love Is All There Is
1996
Having Babies
1976
The Cheap Detective
1978
Fist of Honor
1993
Prancer
1989
The Comedy Company
1978
Cannonball Run II
1984
The Stuff
1985
Look Who's Talking
1989
Gridlock
1980
+ 30 more movies
Law & Order
1990
Family Guy
1999
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962
Murder, She Wrote
1984
The Mike Douglas Show
1961
Saturday Night Live
1975
The Love Boat
1977
MacGyver
1985
Dark Shadows
1966
Mannix
1967
Diagnosis: Murder
1993
Mad About You
1992
The Rockford Files
1974
The Rockford Files
1974
Hawaii Five-O
1968
Cannon
1971
Studio One
1948
Barney Miller
1975
Barney Miller
1975
Barney Miller
1975
+ 34 more TV shows