As Dave Grohl delivered a pretty decent rendition The Beatles' classic "Blackbird" during Sunday's "In Memoriam" tribute at the Oscars, many were baffled by one glaring omission: Abe Vigoda. Vigoda, most known for his iconic role as Sal Tessio in The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, passed away in January at the age of 94. "This man was never sick," Carol Vigoda Fuchs, Vigoda's daughter, told the Associated Press shortly after her father's passing. However, even with a prolific film career spanning four decades, the Academy Awards somehow failed to mention Vigoda among its annual tradition of honoring the recently deceased.
"Abe’s family feels disappointed and cheated by the Academy," Fuchs said Monday, as quoted by the New York Post. "Abe gave his life and heart to acting, and a simple tribute in recognition of his devotion was overlooked." Though she expressed confidence that "the Emmys will do it," Fuchs insisted that was still no excuse for the Oscars' disrespectful omission. "The Academy made a mistake," Fuchs said. "It’s an injustice."
Fuchs, of course, is right. In addition to his timeless turn as Sal in Godfather Part I and Part II, Abe Vigoda made cinematic impact with memorable roles in Look Who's Talking, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, Underworld, and Good Burger. The Barney Miller star was also humorously known for his unwitting participation in a series of widely publicized death hoaxes, with the first instance of falsely reported death dating all the way back to 1982.
Rest in power, Abe Vigoda. The Academy may have forgotten but the rest of us have not.
