RIP Abe Vigoda, 94... finally...

Sunken-Eyed Character Actor, Dead at 94

Character actor Abe Vigoda, whose leathery, sad-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.

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. The cause of death was
old age. "This man was never sick," Fuchs said.

His death brought to an end years of questions on whether he was still alive — sparked by a
false report of his death more than three decades ago. Though Vigoda took it in stride, the
question of whether he was dead or alive became something of a running joke: There was
even a website devoted to answering the much-Googled question, "Is Abe Vigoda dead?"
(On Tuesday, it had been updated with "Yes," with the date of his death.)