Alan Arkin, the Academy Award-winning actor known for his roles in films including Little Miss Sunshine, Argo, Catch-22, and Glengarry Glen Ross, has died at the age of 89.
Arkin passed away on Thursday, June 29th at his home in California. “Our father was a uniquely talented force of nature, both as an artist and a man. A loving husband, father, grand and great grandfather, he was adored and will be deeply missed,” his sons said in a statement.
Born March 26th, 1934 in Brooklyn, New York, Arkin began taking acting lessons at the age of 10 and studied at multiple drama academies before making his 1957 feature film acting debut in the musical Calypso Heat Wave. After a few TV cameos, he made his Broadway debut in 1961 with From the Second City.
A star turn in 1963’s Enter Laughing earned Arkin the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play, which he followed with a lead role in the 1966 comedy film The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming — receiving his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor and a Golden Globe Best Actor win the process.
After taking over for Peter Sellers in the third entry of The Pink Panther franchise, Arkin once again earned critical acclaim for his role as a deaf mute in the 1968 depression era film The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, receiving nominations for Best Actor at the Oscars and Golden Globes.
To open the 1970s, Arkin starred in the film adaptation of Catch-22, playing the disillusioned, anti-war pilot Captain John Yossarian. He followed up by directing his first feature-length film, Little Murders, starring Elliott Gould and Marcia Rodd, and later helmed the Broadway production of Neil Simon’s The Sunshine Boys, picking up a Tony nomination for Best Direction of a Play.
In the 1980s, Arkin frequently appeared in TV shows like The Muppet Show and St. Elsewhere and most notably starred in the made-for-TV British film Escape from Sobibor about the most successful uprising by Jewish prisoners at German extermination camps. For his starring role as Leon Feldhendler, Arkin received Emmy and Golden Globe nominations.
Arkin appeared as a supporting actor in a number of star-heavy films in the following decade, including Edward Scissorhands, Glengarry Glen Ross, Grosse Point Blank, and The Rocketeer. His excellent character work continued in the 2000s with roles in Thirteen Conversations About One Thing, Sunshine Cleaning, Get Smart, and most notably, the 2006 indie comedy Little Miss Sunshine. Playing Edwin Hoover, a foul-mouthed heroin-using grandfather with a heart of gold, the role in Little Miss Sunshine earned Arkin an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role at the age of 72.
In 2012, Arkin appeared in Ben Affleck’s drama Argo in a supporting role that earned the actor his fourth Academy Award nomination and second for Best Supporting Actor. After voicing J. D. Salinger in Netflix’s animated series BoJack Horseman from 2015 to 2016, Arkin picked up more acclaim for his starring role opposite Michael Douglas in The Kominsky Method, another Netflix show; in addition to two Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, he was also nominated for a pair of Golden Globe Awards in the Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film category.
Arkin is survived by his third wife, Suzanne Newlander Arkin, and sons Adam, Matthew, and Anthony.
