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The ’70s and ’80s had no shortage of cop shows on TV. Series such as Starsky & Hutch, Adam-12, Charlie’s Angels, The Streets of San Francisco, and Hawaii Five-O lit up living rooms nightly. But none unleashed law enforcement laughs like the comedy cop show Barney Miller. Forty years after the series finale, which Barney Miller cast members are still alive?
When cops and crooks were funny
Primarily set in a Greenwich Village squad room, Barney Miller documented the daily business of a group of wisecracking New York detectives. The half-hour sitcom debuted in 1975 and aired on Sunday evenings through 1982. The main cast featured a bevy of talented actors, including former symphony and big-band clarinetist Hal Linden in the title role.
In addition to Linden as the mustached captain of the fictional 12th Precinct, Barney Miller starred Max Gail as Detective Stanley Thaddeus “Wojo” Wojciehowicz, Ron Glass as Detective Ron Nathan Harris, Jack Soo as Sergeant Nick Yemana, and Steve Landesberg as Detective Arthur P. Dietrich. In addition, Gregory Sierra portrayed Sergeant Miguel “Chano” Amenguale, Ron Carey played NYPD Officer Carl Levitt, and Abe Vigoda embodied the crotchety Sergeant Phillip K. Fish.
Only 2 main ‘Barney Miller’ cast members are still alive
Barney Miller star Hal Linden earned Primetime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for seven consecutive years from 1976 to 1982 but never won. However, after Barney Miller ended, he scooped up three Daytime Emmys, two for hosting FYI: For Your Information spots in 1983 and 1984 and one for Outstanding Performer in a Children’s Special in a CBS Schoolbreak Special episode in 1995.
He also continued acting, landing guest spots in numerous TV series, including Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Will & Grace, The King of Queens, The Bold and the Beautiful, The Mindy Project, Supernatural, and Grey’s Anatomy. The now-91-year-old’s most recent project, the 2023 rom-com You People, is in post-production, according to IMDb.
Like Linden, co-star Max Gail didn’t lose momentum following his stint on Barney Miller. After portraying the always-decent Detective Wojo, the now-79-year-old appeared in multiple movies, miniseries, and TV shows, including 131 episodes of General Hospital as the Alzheimer’s-stricken gambler Mike Corbin. Two years before Barney Miller called it a wrap, Gail formed Full Circle Productions, which raises social consciousness through documentaries and other content.
‘Barney Miller’ actors who have died
In Barney Miller, Ron Glass portrayed the intellectual clotheshorse and would-be book author Detective Harris. The character’s backstory reveals a complex individual who became a Republican despite having protested the war in Vietnam. Glass died at age 71 in November 2016 of respiratory failure. He’s buried at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier, California, according to Find a Grave.
Known for playing the philosophical precinct sergeant who brewed atrocious coffee, Jack Soo died halfway through the fifth season of Barney Miller. IMDb says Soo made his earthly debut in California in 1917, but You Don’t Know Jack: The Jack Soo Story explains he was born to U.S. citizens George and Shiozawaa Suzuki aboard a ship at sea. Soo made the best of an awful time in American history by honing his entertainment chops in a Japanese “relocation camp” in Utah during World War II. He was only 61 years old when he died of throat cancer in January 1979. According to Find a Grave, he’s buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood, California.
Steve Landesberg joined the cast of Barney Miller at the end of the first season and earned three Emmy nods for his role as the nonchalant, well-spoken fountain of trivia, Detective Dietrich. After the series ended, Landesberg made guest appearances in TV series such as That ’70s Show, Law and Order, The Golden Girls, and Everybody Hates Chris and movies including Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Wild Hogs. In December 2010, Landesberg died of cancer in Los Angeles and was cremated.
Gregory Sierra chose Shakespeare over gangs as a teenager in New York. He embarked on a stage and TV acting career before joining the Barney Miller cast as the manic Detective Amenguale for the first two seasons. In the late ’60s, Sierra began appearing on various popular TV shows, including It Takes a Thief, Sanford and Son, The Flying Nun, The High Chaparral, All in the Family, and Mod Squad. After Barney Miller, Sierra made appearances in Cagney & Lacey, Falcon Crest, Growing Pains, Miami Vice, and other popular series. In January 2021, he died of cancer complications.
A former movie actor with credits in films such as The Out of Towners, Silent Movie, and High Anxiety, Ron Carey made his first appearance on Barney Miller as a bad guy in the second season’s final episode. The next year, he made a few appearances as NYPD Officer Carl Levitt, and a year later, Carey was promoted to a full-time cast member. He died of a stroke at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in LA in January 2007.
And, yes, Abe Vigoda is really dead
Abe Vigoda made his film debut at age 51 in The Godfather before signing on to portray the curmudgeonly Sergeant Fish in Barney Miller. After three seasons, Vigoda starred in the spinoff Fish. When the veteran actor failed to attend a 1982 wrap party, rumors of his death began to circulate, much to his amusement.
Vigoda ultimately died of natural causes in 2016 at age 94. He’s interred at Beth David Cemetery in Nassau County, New York, Find a Grave says.
