“Godfather” actor Abe Vigoda dies

Character performer Abe Vigoda, whose rough, tragic peered toward face made him ideal for playing the over-the-slope criminologist Phil Fish in the 1970s television arrangement “Barney Miller” and the bound Mafia trooper in “The Godfather”, kicked the bucket Tuesday at age 94.

Veteran actor Abe Vigoda has enjoyed a career more vast and varied than many of his fellow performers, with a resumé that spans 65 years and includes everything from masterpieces like The Godfather to classic television like Barney Miller.

His daughter Carol Vigoda Fuchs, told The Associated Press that Mr. Vigoda had died in his sleep at her home.

About her father, Fuchs added, “He believed in all nationalities, all religions, all people”.

Vigoda played the role of Sal Tessio in the Oscar-winning film, a longtime friend of Vito Corleone’s (played by Marlin Brando), who plans on killing Vito’s son Michael Corleone (played by Al Pacino) after Vito’s death.

After his success on “Barney Miller”, Vigoda had small roles in films including “The Cheap Detective” (1978), “Look Who’s Talking” (1989), “Joe Versus the Volcano” (1990) and “Sugar Hill” (1993). He also lent his voice to The Godfather video game.

It was 1982 and Vigoda, fresh off his stint in the TV show Barney Miller, was performing in The Fifth Season, a comedy about a couple of fashion designers, at Stage West. He was not, therefore, at the wrap party for the Miller TV series. His alive-or-dead status became an often-revisited joke in his appearances on Conan O’Brien’s late-night show and in a skit on David Letterman’s show, he abruptly told the host, “I’m not dead yet, you pinhead!”

“While living in Los Angeles, I’d jog three to five miles a day”. Vigoda was famous for his role in “The Godfather”.

Vigoda appeared via flashback sequences in “The Godfather, Part II”. He left the cast in 1977, five years before the show ended its run, to star in an ABC spinoff, “Fish”, that focused on the character’s domestic life. This was my first big thing: “I felt lucky and grateful I was with these people”, Abe said.

In any case, it was his comic turn in “Barney Miller”, which featured Hal Linden and kept running from 1975 to 1982, that brought Vigoda’s most prominent acknowledgment.

In addition to appearing on screen, he worked in theatre for 30 years. His last new media appearance that I’m aware of came in a Super Bowl commercial for Snickers along with another long-lived Hollywood star, Betty White.

Vigoda was married twice in his life, though his most recent wife, Beatrice Schy passed away in 1992.

He is survived by his daughter, grandchildren Jamie, Paul and Steven and a great-grandson. On Tuesday, that was changed to “Abe Vigoda is dead”.