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Abe Vigoda (born Abraham Charles Vigodah on February 24, 1921) is an American movie and television actor.

Vigoda was born in New York City to Lena and Samuel Vigodah, Jewish immigrants from Russia.^[1] Vigoda gained fame through his supporting character roles, notably as mobster Sal Tessio in the 1972 movie The Godfather. He later played Detective Sgt. Fish on the television series Barney Miller and its spinoff Fish. Before Barney Miller, he made a few appearances on the ABC-TV soap Dark Shadows. He has appeared on Broadway in Marat/Sade (1967), The Man in the Glass Booth (1968), Inquest (1970), Tough to Get Help (1972), and Arsenic and Old Lace (1987).

He has been mentioned in popular works by artists such as the Beastie Boys and Liz Phair. He makes regular appearances as himself (usually in skits relating to his age) on the television show Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

A comedy song has been circulating on the web, called "Rollin' With Vigoda" - in the style of "Rollin' With Saget" by Jamie Kennedy, about the singer's crazy night out with Abe Vigoda.

In 1982, Vigoda enjoyed a little extra publicity when People magazine erroneously declared him dead. Vigoda took the error with good humor, posing for a photograph showing him sitting up in a coffin, holding the magazine in question. This rumor was nearly started again in 1987 when a reporter for Secaucus, New Jersey television station WWOR, Channel 9 erroneously referred to him as "the late Abe Vigoda." She corrected herself on the air the next day. His erroneous death has remained a running joke for Vigoda. For example, a Late Night with David Letterman skit showed Letterman trying to summon the ghost of Vigoda. Abe then walked in and declared, "I'm not dead, you idiot!". In 2002, Greg Galcik recorded a gothic rock song Abe Vigoda's Dead, a parody of Bela Lugosi's Dead by Bauhaus. Also, a November 2006 Conan O'Brien sketch showed an audience member summoning the dead. The "deceased person" turned out to be Vigoda.

In 1999, Vigoda experienced a potentially life-threatening situation. While he was a passenger aboard American Airlines Flight 180 from San Diego to New York, the plane experienced a burst compressed air line in the passenger cabin. Oxygen masks were deployed, and the plane made an emergency descent and landing in Palm Springs. Vigoda and five other passengers were listed as "slightly injured."^{[citation needed]}

Mr. Vigoda now resides in Manhattan's Upper East Side.

• Billy the Kid vs. Dracula (1965)
• Three Rooms in Manhattan (1965)
• The Godfather (1972)
• The Don Is Dead (1973)
• Newman's Law (1974)
• The Godfather: Part II (1974)
• The Cheap Detective (1978)
• Cannonball Run II (1984)
• The Stuff (1985) (Cameo)
• Vasectomy: A Delicate Matter (1986)
• Keaton's Cop (1988)
• Plain Clothes (1988)
• Look Who's Talking (1989)
• Prancer (1989)
• Joe Versus the Volcano (1990)
• Fist of Honor (1993)
• Me and the Kid (1993)
• Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993) (voice)
• Home of Angels (1994)
• Sugar Hill (1994)
• North (1994)
• The Misery Brothers (1995)
• Jury Duty (1995)
• Love Is All There Is (1996)
• Underworld (1996)
• Me and the Gods (1997)
• A Brooklyn State of Mind (1997)
• Good Burger (1997)
• Just the Ticket (1999)
• Tea Cake or Cannoli (2000)
• Crime Spree (2003)
• Chump Change (2004)
• Farce of the Penguins (2007) (voice)

Upcoming:

• Frankie the Squirrel (2007)

• Dark Shadows (cast member in 1969)
• The Devil's Daughter (1973)
• Toma (1973)
• The Story of Pretty Boy Floyd (1974)
• Barney Miller (cast member from 1975-1977)
• The Bionic Woman (1976)
• Having Babies (1976)
• Fish (1977-1978)
• Soap (1978)
• The Comedy Company (1978)
• How to Pick Up Girls! (1978)
• Death Car on the Freeway (1979)
• Gridlock (1980)
• The Big Stuffed Dog (1981)
• As the World Turns (cast member in 1985)
• Tales from the Darkside - A Choice of Dreams in 1986
• Santa Barbara (cast member in 1989)
• Lucky Luke (1993) (canceled after 8 episodes)
• Law & Order (1995) (1 ep. as Brisco's retired partner)
• Witness to the Mob (1998)
• Late Night with Conan O'Brien (recurring character)
• Family Guy (2001) (Cameo)

• Abe Vigoda at the Internet Movie Database
• AbeVigoda.com
• Abe Vigoda at TV.com