Detective Phil Fish is a fictional

NYPD The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...

in the TV series ''

Barney Miller ''Barney Miller'' is an American sitcom television series set in a New York City Police Department police station on East 6th St in Greenwich Village. The series was broadcast on ABC Network from January 23, 1975, to May 20, 1982. It was created ...

'' and later in the spin off series ''

Fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

''. He was played by

Abe Vigoda Abraham Charles Vigoda (February 24, 1921 – January 26, 2016) was an American actor known for his portrayals of Salvatore Tessio in ''The Godfather'' (1972) and Phil Fish in both ''Barney Miller'' (1975–1977, 1982) and ''Fish'' (1977–1978 ...

. Fish was an odd character for a television

: aged, grumpy, and suffering from a variety of maladies for which he constantly needs medication. The most recurring malady was inflamed

hemorrhoids Hemorrhoids (or haemorrhoids), also known as piles, are vascular structures in the anal canal. In their normal state, they are cushions that help with stool control. They become a disease when swollen or inflamed; the unqualified term ''hemo ...

, for which he could bring a donut cushion to his desk chair. The detectives' bathroom was as important to him as his desk. Fish's wife was Bernice, played by

Florence Stanley Florence Stanley (born Florence Schwartz; July 1, 1924 – October 3, 2003) was an American actress of stage, film, and television. She is best known for her roles in ''Barney Miller'' (1975–1977) and its spinoff ''Fish'' (1977-1978), ''My T ...

, who made occasional visits to the squad room and whose name the aging Fish once forgot during breakfast. He retires at the age of 63 and 38 years of service from the 12th precinct, the character of Fish became the center of his own series, ''Fish'', in which he and his wife served as

foster parent Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home (residential child care community, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family memb ...

s for a number of troubled children, referred to euphemistically as PINS, or "persons in need of supervision". His successor at the precinct was Det. Arthur P. Dietrich. Fish visited the 12th precinct once after his retirement from the force and played a role at the end of the series ''Fish'' (in the episode "Lady and the Bomb"), but it proved to be a bit of a letdown for him.

References

Fictional New York City Police Department detectives Barney Miller characters Television characters introduced in 1974 {{tv-char-stub