But you can’t be Abe Vigoda because he’s dead.” Vigoda often appeared on lists of living celebrities believed to have passed away. In 1997 he was shopping in Bloomingdale’s in Manhattan when a salesman remarked: “You look like Abe Vigoda. Reruns of “Barney Miller” and repeated screenings of the two “Godfather” epics kept Vigoda in the public eye, and unlike some celebrities, he enjoyed being recognized. Vigoda is survived by his daughter, grandchildren Jamie, Paul and Steven, and a great-grandson. Phil Fish (Abe Vigoda) was the aging detective from Barney’s New York watch-house.
#Fish from barney miller series#
He had his daughter with his first wife, Sonja Gohlke, who has also died. Here is the spin-off series Fish from the hugely popular comedy Barney Miller in HD studio quality, complete and unedited. He was married twice, most recently to Beatrice Schy, who died in 1992. I have never had a house before, so now I would like a house with a nice garden and a pool.
“I have the same friends, but the difference now is that I can buy the things I never could afford before. “I’m the same Abe Vigoda,” he told an interviewer. “Barney Miller” became his first steady acting job. My experiences have taught me that if you deeply believe in what you are doing, success can come at any age.” Reflecting on his delayed success, Vigoda once remarked: “When I was a young man, I was told success had to come in my youth.
#Fish from barney miller tv#
In the early 1950s, he appeared as straight man for the Jimmy Durante and Ed Wynn TV comedies.įor 30 years, he worked in the theater, acting in dozens of plays in such diverse characters as John of Gaunt in “Richard II” (his favorite role) and Abraham Lincoln in a short-lived Broadway comedy “Tough to Get Help.” Vigoda continued making occasional guest appearances on “Barney Miller,” quitting over billing and salary differences.īut he remained a popular character actor in films, including “Cannonball Run II,” “Look Who’s Talking,” “Joe Versus the Volcano” and “North.”īorn in New York City in 1921, Vigoda attended the Theater School of Dramatic Arts at Carnegie Hall.
Vigoda remained a regular on “Barney Miller” until 1977 when he took the character to his own series, “Fish.” The story line dealt with the detective’s domestic life and his relations with five street kids that he and his wife took into their home. But Michael anticipates that Sal’s suggestion for a “peace summit” among crime families is a setup and the escorts Sal thought were taking him to the meeting turn out to be his executioners. Vigoda worked in relative obscurity as a supporting actor in the New York theater and in television until Francis Ford Coppola cast him in the 1972 Oscar-winning “The Godfather.” Vigoda played Sal Tessio, an old friend of Vito Corleone’s (Marlon Brando) who hopes to take over the family after Vito’s death by killing his son Michael Corleone (Al Pacino). Vigoda’s daughter, Carol Vigoda Fuchs, told The Associated Press that Vigoda died Tuesday morning in his sleep at Fuchs’ home in Woodland Park, New Jersey. He continued on both shows briefly, before Fish “retired” from Barney Miller in September 1977.NEW YORK - Character actor Abe Vigoda, whose leathery, sunken-eyed face made him ideal for playing the over-the-hill detective Phil Fish in the 1970s TV series “Barney Miller” and the doomed Mafia soldier in “The Godfather,” died Tuesday at age 94. He also starred in its spinoff show Fish that aired from February 1977 to June 1978 on ABC. Phil Fish on the 1975-82 sitcom Barney Miller, a character known for his world-weary demeanor and persistent hemorrhoids. Vigoda went on to play the dilapidated Detective Sgt. He also appeared briefly in The Godfather Part II in a flashback sequence at the end of the film. The turning point in his career came in 1972 when Francis Ford Coppola cast him as Vito Corleone’s old friend-turned-traitor Sal Tessio in the Oscar-winning film The Godfather. Vigoda began acting in New York theater and with small roles in television. He was 94. Vigoda’S daughter tells The Associated Press that he died Tuesday in his sleep at his New Jersey home. Character actor Abe Vigoda, who played the dilapidated Detective Phil Fish in the 1970s series Barney Miller and a short-lived spinoff and mafia soldier Sal Tessio in the first two Godfather films, has died.
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