People: Friends, fellow celebs memorialize Vigoda
NEW YORK – Nobody who knew “The Godfather” and “Barney Miller” actor Abe Vigoda made mourners smile through their tears Sunday faster than comedian and friend Gilbert Gottfried.
“This is the 20th time we buried Abe Vigoda,” Gottfried announced.
It was a reference to a running joke about whether Vigoda, the character actor best known for his portrayal of Mafia soldier Sal Tessio in “The Godfather,” was dead or alive – the result of a false report of his death decades ago.
The true end came Tuesday when Vigoda died in his sleep at age 94 at his daughter’s Woodland Park, New Jersey, home.
The program for the memorial service featured a photograph of the actor in a suit and tie with a line from “The Godfather”: “Can you get me off the hook … for old times’ sake?”
The printed program included written tributes from fellow actors, including Robert Duvall, who said it was impossible to watch “The Godfather” and not remember his performance.
Todd Bridges, who worked with him on a sitcom spinoff of “Barney Miller,” recalled him as “a man of dignity” who protected him like a father, including when he scolded a director for yelling at children on the set.
Those who spoke at the memorial, where a large picture of Vigoda rested beside white flowers and before the crowd, included former New York City Mayor David Dinkins.
As the service ended, the theme from “The Godfather” serenaded the departing crowd.
Carter to address House of Lords
Jimmy Carter will make a rare address to Britain’s House of Lords on Wednesday to discuss his work to eradicate Guinea worm disease.
The 91-year-old ex-president has helped lead the successful campaign against the disease since 1986.
His office says the eradication of the painful disease spread by contaminated water is now within reach, with just 22 cases reported last year. There were an estimated 3.5 million cases each year when the Carter Center started its work to curtail the disease.
The former president’s office said Saturday he will take questions after the talk and encouraged people to submit questions via Twitter to #askJimmyCarter.
Carter said in December that he is cancer free after receiving treatment for liver cancer that had spread to his brain.
The birthday bunch
Folk singer Bob Shane (The Kingston Trio) is 82. Singer Don Everly is 79. Opera singer Carol Neblett is 70. Rock musician Mike Campbell (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers) is 66. Blues musician Sonny Landreth is 65. Lisa Marie Presley is 48. Comedian-actor Pauly Shore is 48. Actor Michael C. Hall is 45. Martial arts champion Ronda Rousey is 29. Rock singer Harry Styles (One Direction) is 22.