Veteran actor Abe Vigoda, famous for playing the treacherous mobster Salvatore Tessio in The Godfather and Sgt. Phil Fish on the hit television series Barney Miller, has had such a long career that for decades there have been multiple false reports of his death. But today we are sad to report that the story is very much true: Abe Vigoda has died at the age of 94.
A Brooklyn native, Vigoda originally made a name for himself on Broadway with performances in Marat/Sade and The Man in the Glass Booth in the 1960s, before eventually becoming a familiar face to audiences worldwide after he won an open casting call for Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 classic drama The Godfather. Vigoda would go on to co-star in the TV series Barney Miller before earning his own short-lived spin-off Fish, and proceeded to become a familiar face in a vast number of films in a variety of genres, including the hit comedy Look Who’s Talking, the family film Prancer and the cult kids movie Good Burger. He also contributed his voice to the animated classic Batman: Mask of the Phantasm.
Abe Vigoda was a respected actor with an excellent sense of humor, even about the many false rumors about his untimely passing. We mourn the loss of a great actor like Abe Vigoda, but we leave you with a fond memory from Late Night with David Letterman, in which Abe Vigoda was forced to prove – in person – that he was still with us. (And of course, thanks to his lifetime of wonderful work, he always will be.)
Photo: Paramount Pictures
William Bibbiani (everyone calls him ‘Bibbs’) is Crave’s film content editor and critic. You can hear him every week on The B-Movies Podcast and watch him on the weekly YouTube series Most Craved and What the Flick. Follow his rantings on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.
