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Abe Vigoda's Daughter Angry That Actor Was Missing From 'In Memoriam' At Oscars

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Famously long rumored to be dead, beloved character actor Abe Vigoda died for real in January at age 94. But the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences didn't seem to notice.

In any case, it omitted Vigoda from the "In Memoriam'' package on Sunday's Oscarcast, and his daughter Carol Vigoda Fuchs is incensed.

Vigoda played Salvatore "Sal'' Tessio, the doomed Mafia soldier in "The Godfather.''

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Fuchs wonders why the Academy forgot him, even as it paid tribute to Alex Rocco, seen in the same 1972 film as Las Vegas casino owner Moe Green. Rocco, who died last July at age 79, was among the four dozen industry figures honored in the segment.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Vigoda's 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 Oscar-winning "The Godfather." His fame was cemented with his comic turn as over-the-hill detective Phil Fish in "Barney Miller," which ran from 1975 to 1982.

Vigoda died in his sleep on Jan. 26 at his daughter's home in Woodland Park, New Jersey. The cause of death was old age. "This man was never sick," Fuchs said.

(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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