Abe Vigoda
Acting
Born: February 24, 1921 · New York City, New York, USA
Died: January 26, 2016 (aged 94)
Highest Rated
Biography
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.
Known for
The Godfather
1972
The Godfather Part II
1974
Family Guy
1999
Look Who's Talking
1989
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
1993
MacGyver
1985
Law & Order
1990
Joe Versus the Volcano
1990
Good Burger
1997
The Stuff
1985
Murder, She Wrote
1984
Cannonball Run II
1984
Photos (2)
Movies (45)
The Godfather
Sal Tessio
The Godfather Part II
Salvatore 'Sal' Tessio
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
Salvatore Valestra (voice)
Look Who's Talking
Grandpa
Good Burger
Otis
Cannonball Run II
Caesar
Joe Versus the Volcano
Chief of the Waponis
The Stuff
Stuff Commercial Spokesman
The Cheap Detective
Sergeant Rizzuto
Sugar Hill
Gus Molino
North
Alaskan Grandpa
Plain Clothes
Mr. Wiseman
Underworld
Will Cassady
Jury Duty
Judge Powell
Home of Angels
1994
Crime Spree
Angelo Giancarlo
Prancer
Orel Benton
The Godfather: The Complete Epic 1901–1959
Salvatore "Sal" Tessio (uncredited)
The Godfather Trilogy: 1901-1980
Salvatore 'Sal' Tessio
Farce of the Penguins
Penguin from Boca (voice)
The Don Is Dead
Don Talusso
Witness to the Mob
Paul Castellano
Just the Ticket
Arty
Three Rooms in Manhattan
Waiter (uncredited)
The Misery Brothers
Don Frito Layleone
Newman's Law
John Dellanzia
The Devil's Daughter
Alikhine
Love Is All There Is
Rudy
Keaton's Cop
Louis Keaton
Toma
Donzer
Death Car on the Freeway
Mr. Frisch
The Story of Pretty Boy Floyd
Dominic Morrell
Me and the Kid
Pawn Broker
Tea Cakes or Cannoli
2000
Having Babies
Al Schneider
Chump Change
The Frog
How to Pick Up Girls!
Nathan Perlmutter
Fist of Honor
Victor Malucci
Gridlock
Herb
A Brooklyn State of Mind
Uncle Guy
Farticus
Zeus
The Comedy Company
Jake
Vasectomy: A Delicate Matter
Abe
The Big Stuffed Dog
Carnival Pitchman
The Unknown Trilogy
Uncle Morty (segment "Frankie the Squirrel")
TV Shows (45)
Family Guy
Abe Vigoda (voice) · 1 eps
Law & Order
Detective Landis · 1 eps
The Love Boat
Charlie Fletcher · 1 eps
Murder, She Wrote
George · 1 eps
Diagnosis: Murder
Alfredo Bartolo / Al Bartell / Mr. Johnson · 1 eps
Hawaii Five-O
Abe Kemper · 1 eps
Wings
Harry · 1 eps
MacGyver
Bill Cody · 1 eps
The Rockford Files
Al Dancer · 1 eps
The Rockford Files
Phil 'The Dancer' Gabriel · 1 eps
Dark Shadows
3 eps
Mannix
Anton Valine · 1 eps
Touched by an Angel
Receptionist Angel · 1 eps
Love, American Style
Mr. Burdick (uncredited) · 2 eps
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
4 eps
Tales from the Darkside
Jake Corelli · 1 eps
Mad About You
Kalman Wertzel · 1 eps
Cannon
Mr. Couzellous · 1 eps
Studio One
Old Train Passenger · 1 eps
Barney Miller
Philip Fish · 58 eps
Barney Miller
Det. Phil Fish (uncredited) · 1 eps
Barney Miller
Det. Phil Fish · 1 eps
The Bionic Woman
1 eps
Kojak
Kilty · 1 eps
Suspense
1 eps
Monsters
Dolan · 1 eps
The Rookies
1 eps
Vega$
1 eps
Weird Science
1 eps
Eight Is Enough
1 eps
The Littlest Hobo
1 eps
The Norm Show
1 eps
B. J. and the Bear
1 eps
Promised Land
1 eps
The Adventures of the Black Stallion
1 eps
Harper Valley
1 eps
Superboy
1 eps
Mario Puzo's The Godfather: The Complete Novel for Television
Salvatore "Sal" Tessio (uncredited) · 4 eps
Lucky Luke
Judge Rinehart · 1 eps
Deadline
Joseph Spiaggio · 1 eps
B.L. Stryker
Clayton Baskin · 1 eps
Supertrain
Ray Yellburton · 1 eps
Toma
1 eps
Fish
Phil Fish · 35 eps
Tattletales
1 eps
Self / Appearances (13)
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self · 1 eps
Saturday Night Live
Self (uncredited) · 1 eps
The Mike Douglas Show
Self · 1 eps
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Self (uncredited) · 1 eps
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Self - Guest · 1 eps
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Self · 4 eps
Dinah!
Self · 1 eps
The Bob Hope Show
Self · 1 eps
The Captain and Tennille
Self - Guest · 1 eps
Tony Orlando and Dawn
Self · 1 eps
Late Night with Conan O'Brien: 10th Anniversary Special
Self
Joys
Self
Night of 100 Stars III
Self