Abe Vigoda, ‘Barney Miller’ actor, dies

Actor Abe Vigoda, little-known internationally – despite a supporting role in The Godfather – but popular in the U.S.as a result of the 1970s television series Barney Miller and of an erroneous 1982 People magazine obit, died in his sleep at his daughter’s home in Woodland Park, New Jersey, on Tuesday, Jan. 26, ’15. The cause of the 94-year-old character actor’s death was old age, according to The Associated Press.

His death brought to an end years of questions on whether he was still alive – sparked by a false report of his death more than three decades ago. There’s a website called abevigoda.com, and for years, all it had was a picture of him and the line, Abe Vigoda is alive.

“I got the role because the producer thought I looked exhausted”, Vigoda said.

In 1982 People magazine wrongly reported that Vigoda had died when in fact he was working in a stage play in Canada. The actor who played Tessio in “The Godfather” and Sgt. Fish on TV, Abe Vigoda, was 94. “I found this to be a myth”, said Vigoda.

Sidekick Andy Richter remembered shooting a sketch with Vigoda, and simply marveled, “It was pouring rain and I got to spend the day with Abe Vigoda at Coney Island”. He told Vanity Fair that he “practically lived in Little Italy during the shoot”.

He also appeared in films such as Cannonball Run II, Look Who’s Talking and North.

Vigoda was once greeted by David Letterman on his show with the words, “so Abe, you’re anything but dead”.

After his successes in “The Godfather” and “Barney Miller”, Mr. Vigoda was seen on the prime-time sitcom “Soap” in 1978 and later on daytime soap operas like “As the World Turns” in 1985 and “Santa Barbara” in 1989. The university said Professor Minsky died in Boston of a cerebral hemorrhage.

Ross says that a part of him thinks that Vigoda could be getting the last laugh once more.

“Abe was essentially responsible for a whole genre of Abe Vigoda jokes because he took it so well”, said Ross. Mr. Vigoda also left three grandchildren and a great-grandson.

Born February 24, 1921, Vigoda grew up on New York’s Lower East Side, the son of a tailor who studied acting at the American Theatre Wing and played character parts for much of his early career.

Abe Vigoda attends the Friars Club Roast of Betty White on May 16, 2012.

Vigoda was married twice in his life, though his most recent wife, Beatrice Schy passed away in 1992. Reruns of “Barney Miller” and repeated screenings of the two “Godfather” epics kept Vigoda in the public eye, and unlike some celebrities, he enjoyed being recognized.

He continued to make occasional television and film appearances well into the 21st century, but it was the first film that mattered the most to him.