Abe Vigoda, whose long face and distinctive voice helped establish him as a beloved character actor in TV and film, has died, the Associated Press reports. He was 94, and less than a month shy of his 95th birthday.

Vigoda, who was born in 1921, died in his sleep on Tuesday morning. He'd spent his final days in hospice care near the home of his daughter, Carol Vigoda Fuchs. His cause of death was old age, according to Fuchs.

"This man was never sick," Fuchs said.

Actor Abe Vigoda, shown in character on the Los Angeles, Ca. set as Detective Fish in "Barney Miller," Aug. 8, 1977. Image: Jeff Robbins/Associated Press

For all of the pop culture acclaim Vigoda built up over the years, he was perhaps most notorious for being the subject of misreported death announcements. The first occurrence happened in a 1982 People magazine report that erroneously referred to him as "the late Abe Vigoda."

It happened frequently enough in subsequent years that a website was eventually created for the sole purpose of tracking Vigoda's mortality. The actor always took the running gag in good humor, and was known to bring it up in his various appearances on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

Vigoda's breakout moment as an actor came in 1972, when he was cast as Sal Tessio in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather. He became something of a cult favorite over time, with notable appearances in a wide range of films, including Joe versus the Volcano, Look Who's Talking and Good Burger.

Vigoda also starred as Detective Sgt. Phil Fish on the '70s sitcom Barney Miller, and briefly led a spinoff series — Fish — that aired from Feb. 1977 to June 1978. His final role was in 2008's horror anthology, The Unknown Trilogy.

Despite his apparent retirement from acting, Vigoda remained active during his final years. He notably appeared in a 2010 Super Bowl commercial for Snickers candy bars with Betty White. Both actors were 88 at the time, and the commercial — one of the most popular at the Super Bowl that year — hinged its punchline on their age.

Vigoda also joined the band Phish on stage during their Halloween concert in 2013. During the song "Wombat" — which references the Fish TV series — someone (not Vigoda) dressed in a wombat suit and flanked by dancers came out and grooved through the song.

When guitarist Trey Anastasio invited the group back to the stage to take their bows, Vigoda emerged clad in the same wombat suit, wearing his trademark grin.

"It was just wonderful," he said on a call with WGNTV Chicago after the show (via LiveforLiveMusic). "I was told it was 38,000 people in this auditorium, and so I had a very lovely time. At my age, yet! Can you imagine?"

The Associated Press contributed to this report.