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Tag: The Godfather

  • Abe Vigoda, “Barney Miller” and “Godfather” Actor Dies at 94

    Abe Vigoda, best known for his role as Phil Fish on the 1970s TV show Barney Miller and as a Mafia solder in The Godfather died on Tuesday at the age of 94.

    Carol Vigoda Fuchs, Abe Vigoda’s daughter, confirmed her dad died in his sleep at her home in Woodland Park, New Jersey, of old age.

    “This man was never sick,” she said.

    Abe Vigoda got his start in New York theater. His first big break on the big screen was when Francis Ford Coppola cast him in The Godfather in 1972. CBS reports 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). 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.”

    His character returned as a flashback in The Godfather II.

    Abe Vigoda’s greatest recognition came via his Phil Fish role on Barney Miller, which he portrayed from 1975 to 1982. The show also starred Hal Linden. Vigoda took his character to a spinoff dubbed Fish, that lasted just one season. He continued to make guest appearances as Phil Fish until the show ended.

    It’s likely when people hear of his passing today, they’ll think Abe Vigoda died several years back. For some reason his name kept turning up on the internet as a celebrity death hoax.

    In 1997 the actor was reportedly shopping in Bloomingdale’s in Manhattan when a salesman said, “You look like Abe Vigoda. But you can’t be Abe Vigoda because he’s dead.”

    The TV and film world has lost an exceptional character actor, but his legend will no doubt live on for many years to come.

  • Al Pacino Calls the Late Mike Nichols the ‘Greatest Director I Ever Worked With’

    Al Pacino called Mike Nichols, who died suddenly on Wednesday at the age of 83, the “greatest director” he ever worked with.

    That is high praise considering Pacino has worked with some of the greatest directors of all time, including Francis Ford Coppola, Oliver Stone and Steven Soderbergh.

    Pacino told Us Weekly Thursday while promoting his movie The Humbling at New York City’s 21 Club that the news of Nichols’ death came as a shock.

    “Oh, man. It just knocked me out,” said Pacino. “I’m not over the shock yet. Not that I ever will be. The shock of it is so much, it’s hard to talk about it right now. It’s hard to believe.”

    The Godfather actor worked with Nichols in 2003 on the HBO miniseries Angels in America. Both the actor and the EGOT-winning director won Emmys for the project. Pacino won for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie, and Nichols won for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie, or a Dramatic Special.

    The 74-year-old actor praised the legendary director, calling him the “greatest director.”

    “I loved him so,” Pacino told Us. “He was my friend, and he was the greatest director I ever worked with. He was.”

    Pacino told The Hollywood Reporter he also considered Nichols a friend.

    “I loved Mike. I worked with him, and he was a friend,” he said.

    Director Barry Levinson, who directed Pacino in The Humbling and was with Pacino at the luncheon, concurred.

    “His work is exceptional, and he’s one of those guys that has an impact as a director in this business,” said Levinson. “He was a man that could handle comedy and drama in an effortless fashion, and he took some risks.”