The Godfather star Abe Vigoda dies aged 94

In the wake of his success in The Godfather, Vigoda was cast as Detective Phil Fish opposite Hal Linden on what would become the hit sitcom Barney Miller, which ran on ABC from 1974-1982.

Vigoda passed away at the New Jersey home of his daughter, Carol.

Abe Vigoda – a character actor best known for his role in “The Godfather” – died in his sleep Tuesday morning.

Abe’s first credited movie role was for playing mobster traitor Salvatore Tessio in the Francis Ford Coppola film, alongside the likes of Al Pacino, Marlon Brando and James Caan.

Vigoda was nominated for three Emmy awards for his performance as Fish.

Flash-forward to 2004, when Vigoda appeared with a smorgasbord of other celebs-Randy Johnson, Penn & Teller, Rachel Hunter, The Flaming Lips and more-in this Hewlett-Packard ad.

The success of the Godfather films brought Vigoda’s face and voice to fame and led to numerous roles.

Overall, Abe Vigoda was featured in more than 30 movies, nearly invariably in small supporting roles.

In a famous scene, Vigoda’s Tessio explains his betrayal as “only business” and pleads with Robert Duvall’s character, Tom Hagen, to “get me off the hook for old times’ sake”. Mr. Vigoda continued making occasional guest appearances on “Barney Miller”, quitting over billing and salary differences.

Vigoda’s inevitable demise, which has been incorrectly reported several times, had become something of a pop culture joke, even inspiring the long-running website IsAbeVigodaDead.com, which consisted of a blank page with the word “No” on it. It now reads “Yes”.

“He took it in good humour and so on, and so I went and met him and chatted with him and took a picture of him jogging down the street denying he was dead”, said Geddes, now senior digital producer at CBC Edmonton.

Then the obsession with Vigoda’s death, or non-death, really took off on the Internet. “I don’t think Abe was ever sick”, Craig added.

Vigoda starred alongside Florence Stanley and Todd Bridges in a brief spinoff of Barney Miller that centered on his character, called FISH.

Vigoda, who through handball and jogging was actually in terrific physical condition well into his senior years, said he identified with Fish because of his own struggle as an actor.

Vigoda was born in New York City to Russian Jewish immigrant parents.

He also appeared in films including “Cannonball Run II”, “Look Who’s Talking”, “Joe Versus the Volcano” and “North”. I am very much moved.

He was married twice, most recently to Beatrice Schy, who died in 1992.