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Famed character actor Abe Vigoda’s funeral set for Manhattan

NEW YORK (AP) – Friends and mourners are gathering in Manhattan for a funeral service for actor Abe Vigoda.

He’s best known for playing Phil Fish on the 1970s TV series “Barney Miller” and Sal Tessio in the classic movie “The Godfather.” The funeral service at Riverside Memorial Chapel is scheduled to start at noon.

Vigoda died Tuesday in his sleep at age 94 at his daughter’s home in Woodland Park, New Jersey.

His life ended over three decades after a false report claimed he was dead, leading to a long-running joke over whether he was dead or alive.

His step into fame came when director Francis Ford Coppola plucked him from obscurity as a supporting actor in New York theater for a role in the 1972 Oscar-winning “The Godfather.”