Abe Vigoda

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Birthday:

24 February 1921, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Birth Name:

Abraham Charles Vigodah

Height:

183 cm

Tall, dour-faced and slouch-shouldered character actor Abe Vigoda 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. Show less «

(Explaining how he ended up playing Det. Sgt. Fish on Barney Miller (1974)) "I got the role because the producer thought I looked tired. But...Show more »

(Explaining how he ended up playing Det. Sgt. Fish on Barney Miller (1974)) "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. I was just jogging five miles.' He said, 'You also look like you have haemorrhoids.' 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.' Just like that." Show less «

I've always been content just to be working and making a modest living for my wife and child.

While living in Los Angeles, I'd jog three to five miles a day. One morning jogging, my agent calls about a new series called Barney Miller ...Show more »

While living in Los Angeles, I'd jog three to five miles a day. One morning jogging, my agent calls about a new series called Barney Miller (1974), saying, "Go there at once." Well, I was tired and exhausted ... I must have run five miles that morning. I said. "I have to go home and take a shower." "No, no, no. go right now to Studio City, you're very right for it, they know you from The Godfather (1972), they want to see you." "With my shorts?" "Go". Danny Arnold and Ted Flicker, the producers, look at me, I look at them, they look at me again. "You look tired." "Of course I'm tired, I jogged five miles this morning, I'm exhausted." "Yeah, yeah, tell me, you look like you have haemorrhoids." "What are you, a doctor or a producer?" Show less «