Image was everything in Hollywood, and Abe Vigoda’s unusual look became his ticket to fame and fortune. The slouchy, dour-faced character actor was best known for playing gritty, Mafioso types, most notably as the scheming Tessio in “The Godfather” (1972) and its 1974 sequel. But he was definitely more than just a tough guy; he was also a gifted comedic actor. Audiences remembered him as the aging, cynical Detective Sgt. Phil Fish on the hit sitcom “Barney Miller” (ABC, 1975-1982) – a role that earned Vigoda Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for three years in a row, between 1976 and 1978. It wasn’t until 1982, however, when the actor really made headlines after a People magazine article mistakenly reported he was dead. Vigoda got a good laugh out of it and was always in on the joke. The question “Is Abe Vigoda still alive?” lasted for several years, resurfacing in skits for David Letterman and Conan O’Brien’s talk shows.
Abraham Charles Vigodah was born on Feb. 24, 1921 in New York City. His parents, Lena and Samuel Vigodah, were Jewish immigrants from Russia. He had a brother, Bill, a comic book artist. He made his stage debut at age 17 and was a prolific stage actor in New York and on the road for more than 20 years. His Broadway credits include “Marat/Sade” (1967); “The Man in the Glass Booth” (1968); “Richard II,” where he played John of Gaunt for the New York Shakespeare Festival; “Tough to Get Help” (1972) as Abraham Lincoln, and many others. He also played the straight man for Jimmy Durante and Ed Wynn on the variety show “All Star Revue” in the early 1950s.
Vigoda was already in his 50s when he hit the big time. His performance as the double-crossing mobster Tessio in Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather” launched his film career. Coppola said he selected Vigoda from an open casting call of 500 unknown actors who auditioned for the role. In a memorable scene from the film, he pleaded with Robert Duvall to get him off the hook “for old time’s sake.” He also appeared in the movie’s sequel in 1974. Since that life-changing role, Vigoda took on numerous film projects including “Cannonball Run II” (1984), “Joe Versus the Volcano” (1990), “Sugar Hill” (1994) and “Look Who’s Talking” (1989) as John Travolta’s 100-year-old grandfather. He also lent his voice to bring to life Salvatore “The Wheezer” Valestra, one of Gotham City’s most powerful crime bosses in “Batman: Mask of the Phantasm” in 1993.
But Vigoda received his biggest – and most memorable – role to date as Sgt. Fish on the dry police precinct sitcom “Barney Miller,” starring Hal Linden as the title character, surrounded by a series of eccentric boobs who just happened to be his fellow police officers. Vigoda explained how he landed the job on the hit series: “I got the role because the producer thought I looked tired. But I looked tired because I had been jogging earlier that day. He said to me, ‘You look tired, Abe.’ I said, ‘I am.’ He said, ‘You also look like you have hemorrhoids.’ I said, ‘what are you? A doctor or a producer?’ And he said, ‘Well, I’m a producer and you know what? You’ve got the role.’ Happened just like that.” His deadpan delivery made him a TV star and even gave him his own spin-off series, “Fish” (ABC, 1977-1978), where he played a retired police officer that had to deal with troublesome schoolchildren.
Vigoda often looked lifeless as Sgt. Fish, but the actor certainly never imagined his looks to fuel a rumor that refused to fade for many years. In 1982, People magazine erroneously referred to him as “the late Abe Vigoda.” While the sullen-faced actor said in interviews that the error cost him acting jobs, he took it all in stride, even posing for a photograph showing him sitting up in a coffin, holding up the magazine. The rumor started up again in 1987 when a television reporter mistakenly referred to him as “the late Abe Vigoda.” Since then, questions and rumors of Vigoda’s “demise” became such a long running pop cultural joke, that late night TV hosts loved to incorporate him into their offbeat skits from time to time. In one “Late Night with David Letterman” (NBC, 1982-1993) skit, for instance, host Letterman was shown trying to summon Vigoda’s ghost. The actor suddenly walked in and declared, “I’m not dead, you idiot!”
Vigoda was also a recurring guest on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” (NBC, 1993- ). During a 2006 sketch, O’Brien showed an audience member summoning the dead. Lo and behold, that “deceased” person turned out to be Vigoda. In “Comedy Central Presents: The N.Y. Friars Club Roast of Drew Carey” (Comedy Central, 1998), with Vigoda present in the office, comedian Jeffrey Ross said, “and my one regret is that Abe Vigoda isn’t alive to see this.” Ross followed that with “Drew, you go to Vegas, what’s the over-under on Abe Vigoda.” In 1999, the persistent rumor almost came true when Vigoda was a passenger on an American Airlines flight that lost pressure at 31,000 feet. The plane made an emergency landing and everyone survived. The website, www.abevigoda.com, was even created for the sole purpose of announcing whether the actor was still alive or not.
Vigoda was married to Beatrice Schy and had one daughter, Carol. He was a longtime member of the New York Friar’s Club. He continued to make films and appear on TV well into his sunset years. The former stage actor was even asked to recreate the 1940s role of Boris Karloff, whom he resembled, in a 1986 revival of “Arsenic and Old Lace.”