Abe Vigoda’s daughter: Family ‘disappointed and cheated’ after Oscars ‘In Memoriam’ omits him

The family and fans of the late Abe Vigoda are angry that the star was not among the 42 industry professionals honored during the In Memoriam segment of the Academy Awards telecast Sunday.

Tony Award-nominee Josh Gad tweeted during the ceremony, “Where was #AbeVigoda? #Oscars,” and Vigoda’s daughter, Carol Vigoda Fuchs, told The Associated Press on Monday, “Abe’s family feels disappointed and cheated by the Academy. Abe gave his life and heart to acting, and a simple tribute in recognition of his devotion was overlooked.”

She told TMZ.com in a statement that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences “dismayed many . . . by not paying tribute to the immense professional energies and talents that he brought to the industry,” adding, “Let’s not forget the personal and family sacrifices that were willing made to achieve that essential devotion. The Oscars fell short in many ways and as my father Abe Vigoda said the Oscars have earned, ‘one demerit.’ ”

While Vigoda, who died Jan. 26 at age 94, earned three Emmy Award nominations for his signature role as NYPD Detective Phil Fish on the sitcom “Barney Miller,” he played a key role in “The Godfather” (1972) as the doomed Mafia lieutenant Tessio. He reprised the part in the sequel and played notable roles in films including “The Cheap Detective” (1978), “Cannonball Run II” (1984), the cult-classic “The Stuff” (1985), “Look Who’s Talking” (1989), “Joe Versus the Volcano” (1990), “Sugar Hill” (1993) and others.

His fellow “Godfather” star Alex Rocco, who also was known equally for TV, was honored on air. While some on social media initially thought Vigoda was omitted since his death occurred in 2016, David Bowie and Alan Rickman, who each died in January, made the cut.

Vigoda does appear as image one in the first-name-alphabetical slide show of 120 movie professionals given photos on the Academy’s website memoriam. Several more are listed by name and profession only.

Fuchs told the AP she was certain the Emmy Awards ceremony would honor her father, adding, “But that’s still no excuse. The Academy made a mistake. It’s an injustice.”

Other film actors on the website list but not in the on air memoriam include Anne Meara, Dick Van Patten, Fred Dalton Thompson, the “Police Academy” franchise’s George Gaynes, Italian sex symbol Laura Antonelli, Richard Libertini, Roger Rees, Tony Burton, horror-film icons Angus Scrimm, Betsy Palmer and Gunnar Hansen, and prolific character actor Geoffrey Lewis, whose Oscar-nominated daughter, Juliette Lewis, tweeted, “I know The Academy didn’t mean to overlook my dad Geoffrey Lewis . . . was beloved and contributed over 220 roles in film and tv. Academy maybe you can remember to include him nxt year.”