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.
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.
External links
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/nm0001820
Wikipedia: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q318220
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Filmography (Movies)
Cutaways
Character:
Release Date:23/11/2013
The Unknown Trilogy
Character:Uncle Morty (segment "Frankie the Squirrel")
Release Date:29/01/2008
Farce of the Penguins
Character:Penguin from Boca (voz)
Release Date:01/12/2006
Late Night with Conan O'Brien: 10th Anniversary Special
Character:Self
Release Date:14/09/2003
Crime Spree
Character:Angelo Giancarlo
Release Date:16/04/2003
Tea Cakes or Cannoli
Character:
Release Date:31/12/2000
Chump Change
Character:The Frog
Release Date:01/01/2000
Witness to the Mob
Character:Paul Castellano
Release Date:10/05/1998
Just the Ticket
Character:Arty
Release Date:01/02/1998
A Brooklyn State of Mind
Character:Uncle Guy
Release Date:01/01/1998
Good Burger
Character:Otis
Release Date:25/07/1997
Farticus
Character:Zeus
Release Date:01/01/1997
A Christmas Journey Home
Character:Grandpa
Release Date:01/12/1996
Underworld
Character:Will Cassady
Release Date:01/06/1996
Love Is All There Is
Character:Rudy
Release Date:10/05/1996
Jury Duty
Character:Judge Powell
Release Date:12/04/1995
The Misery Brothers
Character:Don Frito Layleone
Release Date:01/01/1995
North
Character:Alaskan Grandpa
Release Date:22/07/1994
Sugar Hill
Character:Gus Molino
Release Date:25/02/1994
Home of Angels
Character:
Release Date:01/01/1994
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
Character:Salvatore Valestra (voice)
Release Date:25/12/1993
Me and the Kid
Character:Pawn Broker
Release Date:22/10/1993
Fist of Honor
Character:Victor Malucci
Release Date:19/05/1993
Night of 100 Stars III
Character:Self
Release Date:21/05/1990
Keaton's Cop
Character:Louis Keaton
Release Date:09/03/1990
Joe Versus the Volcano
Character:Chief of the Waponis
Release Date:09/03/1990
Prancer
Character:Orel Benton
Release Date:17/11/1989
Look Who's Talking
Character:Grandpa
Release Date:12/10/1989
Plain Clothes
Character:Mr. Wiseman
Release Date:15/04/1988
Vasectomy: A Delicate Matter
Character:Abe
Release Date:01/01/1986
The Stuff
Character:Stuff Commercial Spokesman
Release Date:14/06/1985
Cannonball Run II
Character:Caesar
Release Date:29/06/1984
The Godfather: The Complete Epic 1901–1959
Character:Salvatore "Sal" Tessio (uncredited)
Release Date:24/03/1981
The Big Stuffed Dog
Character:Carnival Pitchman
Release Date:08/02/1981
Gridlock
Character:Herb
Release Date:02/10/1980
Death Car on the Freeway
Character:Mr. Frisch
Release Date:24/09/1979
How to Pick Up Girls!
Character:Nathan Perlmutter
Release Date:03/11/1978
The Comedy Company
Character:Jake
Release Date:21/07/1978
The Cheap Detective
Character:Sergeant Rizzuto
Release Date:23/06/1978
Dean Martin's Red Hot Scandals of 1926
Character:Self
Release Date:08/11/1976
Having Babies
Character:Al Schneider
Release Date:17/10/1976
Joys
Character:Self
Release Date:05/03/1976
The Godfather Part II
Character:Salvatore 'Sal' Tessio
Release Date:20/12/1974
Newman's Law
Character:John Dellanzia
Release Date:21/08/1974
The Story of Pretty Boy Floyd
Character:Dominic Morrell
Release Date:07/05/1974
The Don Is Dead
Character:Don Talusso
Release Date:14/11/1973
Toma
Character:Donzer
Release Date:21/03/1973
The Devil's Daughter
Character:Alikhine
Release Date:09/01/1973
The Godfather
Character:Sal Tessio
Release Date:14/03/1972
Three Rooms in Manhattan
Character:Waiter (uncredited)
Release Date:10/11/1965
Television Appearances
TV Land Awards: A Celebration of Classic TV
Character:
Deadline
Character:Joseph Spiaggio
The Norm Show
Character:
Family Guy
Character:Abe Vigoda (voice)
Promised Land
Character:
Touched by an Angel
Character:Receptionist Angel
Weird Science
Character:
Diagnosis: Murder
Character:Alfredo Bartolo / Al Bartell / Mr. Johnson
Mad About You
Character:Kalman Wertzel
Lucky Luke
Character:Judge Rinehart
The Adventures of the Black Stallion
Character:
Law & Order
Character:Detective Landis
Wings
Character:Harry
B.L. Stryker
Character:Clayton Baskin
Monsters
Character:
Superboy
Character:
MacGyver
Character:Bill Cody
Murder, She Wrote
Character:George
Tales from the Darkside
Character:Jake Corelli
Harper Valley
Character:
The Littlest Hobo
Character:
B. J. and the Bear
Character:
Supertrain
Character:
$weepstake$
Character:Anthony
Vega$
Character:
Mario Puzo's The Godfather: The Complete Novel for Television
Character:Salvatore "Sal" Tessio (uncredited)
The Love Boat
Character:Charlie Fletcher
Eight Is Enough
Character:
Fish
Character:Phil Fish
The Captain and Tennille
Character:Self - Guest
The Bionic Woman
Character:
Saturday Night Live
Character:Self - Cameo (uncredited)
Barney Miller
Character:Philip Fish
Barney Miller
Character:Det. Phil Fish (uncredited)
Barney Miller
Character:Det. Phil Fish
Tony Orlando and Dawn
Character:Self
Dinah!
Character:Self
The Rockford Files
Character:Al Dancer
The Rockford Files
Character:Phil 'The Dancer' Gabriel
Tattletales
Character:
Kojak
Character:Kilty
Toma
Character:
The Sandy Duncan Show
Character:
The Rookies
Character:
Cannon
Character:
Love, American Style
Character:Mr. Burdick (uncredited)
Hawaii Five-O
Character:Abe Kemper
Mannix
Character:Anton Valine
Dark Shadows
Character:
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Character:Self
The Bob Hope Show
Character:Self
Suspense
Character:
Studio One
Character:Old Train Passenger
Images
