Abe Vigoda Dead: ‘Godfather’ And ‘Barney Miller’ Star Was 94

The actor’s daughter, Carol Vigoda Fuchs, confirmed the passing to The Associated Press, saying that Vigoda died on Tuesday morning at home in New Jersey.

“I feel like every roast I’d have three or four Abe Vigoda jokes and I knew if I didn’t get to them, I could do them next year”, Ross said.

How and why did Abe Vigoda’s death get falsely reported for over 30 years?

Following a long stint on the stage – on Broadway (The Man in the Glass Booth, Marat/Sade) and elsewhere – Vigoda landed the role of Don Corleone (Marlon Brando) ally-turned-traitor Salvatore Tessio in Francis Ford Coppola’s multiple Oscar-winning 1972 adaptation of Mario Puzo’s bestseller The Godfather. “And he saw something in me that fit Tessio as one would look at the classics in Rome”. He told Vanity Fair he “practically lived in Little Italy during the shoot”. He earned three Emmy nominations as part of the “Barney Miller” cast for best supporting actor.

When a published report erroneously declared Vigoda dead in 1982, he responded by taking out an ad in Variety showing him sitting in a coffin reading his obituary. The actor was 94 years old.

Actors like Abe Vigoda are always alive, on screen and in our shared cultural memory, even when a website delivers that bummer news that the man himself has passed away.

Vigoda returned to his role of Sal Tessio for the sequel to The Godfather.

Robert Duvall, 85, who played alongside Vigoda in the iconic film, said in a statement Tuesday, “It was “great working with Abe in The Godfather and wonderful to have him among us”. “I couldn’t believe how many times Abe would come on the show and do hilarious things for us”.

“Yeah, yeah, tell me, you look like you have hemorrhoids”.

“Alan King, Abe Vigoda, there was one other person (in the audience), Abe Beame maybe, the former mayor… and I said something to the effect of ‘holy mackerel, I’ve seen younger faces on cash!” he laughed.

(The murderous character in the black comedy is famously said by other characters to resemble Boris Karloff, a great joke back when the real Karloff was playing him.) Born in New York City in 1921, Vigoda attended the Theater School of Dramatic Arts at Carnegie Hall. One of his last performances was in a Snickers commercial, first shown during the 2010 Super Bowl, which also featured his fellow octogenarian Betty White.

He then played the worn out Detective Fish alongside Hal Linden in the lead as “Barney Miller”.

Vigoda was married to his wife Beatrice for 24 years until her death in 1992.

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).