Veteran and Oscar-Winning Actor Alan Arkin Dies at 89

Alan Arkin poses with the Oscar he won for best supporting actor for his work in "Little Miss Sunshine" at the 79th Academy Awards in Los Angeles on Feb. 25, 2007. Kevork Djansezian/AP Photo

Alan Arkin, whose acting career spans seven decades on both the screen and stage and includes some of Hollywood’s most popular films, has died. He was 89.

Perhaps best known for his ability to project a characteristically dry repartee in his roles as well as his penchant for playing dramatic parts, Arkin had earned two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Golden Globe Award, a Tony Award as well as a British Academy Film Award and an Oscar during his career. He appeared in more than 100 TV and feature films.

“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,” said Arkin’s sons Adam, Matthew, and Anthony in a joint statement.

While it was for his role as Edwin Hoover, the foul-mouthed grandfather of a dysfunctional family in 2006’s Little Miss Sunshine that won him an Oscar, Arkin played varied parts throughout his time in show business. In that particular part, the actor’s time on screen only equaled 14 minutes but still won him the Best Supporting Actor Award.

Most recently, Arkin co-starred in the well-received The Kominsky Method for Netflix alongside Michael Douglas. The show garnered Emmy nominations in 2019, 2020, as well as Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild nods in 2020 and 2021.

In 2012, playing veteran producer with a cutting sense of humor Lester Siegel in Ben Affleck’s political drama Argo, Arkin earned his fourth Oscar nomination.

Early Career and Beyond

Born in Brooklyn, New York, on March 26, 1934, Arkin moved with his family to Los Angeles as a child.

After leaving college and embarking on a brief career as a member of a folk music group, he landed in Chicago and became an early member of the Second City improvisational troupe, according to the comedy theater and school of improvisation’s website.

While he made his Broadway debut in 1961 with “From the Second City,” he followed it up with his Tony-winning performance in 1963’s “Enter Laughing.”

His storied film career includes roles in such movies as David Mamet’s “Glengarry Glen Ross,” Mike Nichols’ adaptation of “Catch-22” and Neil Simon’s adaptation of his own play “Last of the Red Hot Lovers.” He also appeared as a Puerto Rican detective alongside James Caan in Richard Rush’s crime drama “Freebie and the Bean.”

He earned his initial Academy Award nomination for his first credited feature performance in Norman Jewison’s Cold War comedy “The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming.” Then, in 1967, he starred in “Wait Until Dark” as a vicious drug dealer who holds a blind woman (played by Andrew Hebpurn) captive in her own apartment. In 1969, he earned his second Oscar nomination for Carson McCuller’s adaptation “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter.” He directed his first film “Little Murders” in 1971.

In the 1990s, he starred in such films as “Grosse Pointe Blank,” “Gattaca,” and “Slums of Beverly Hills.”

“I used to think that stuff had a lot of variety. But I realized that for the first twenty years or so, most of the characters I played were outsiders, strangers to their environment, foreigners in one way or another,” Arkin told the Associated Press in 2007. “As I started to get more and more comfortable with myself, that started to shift. I got one of the nicest compliments I’ve ever gotten from someone a few days ago. They said that they thought my characters were very often the heart, the moral center of a film. I didn’t particularly understand it, but I liked it; it made me happy.”

He Leaves a Legacy in Hollywood

On Thursday, many actors in the Hollywood community took to social media to express their sadness over Arkin’s death and the lasting legacy that he will leave on the craft.

“Alan Arkin—legendary in every aspect and any genre. His range was and is… beyond! Truly one of a kind,” Ralph Macchio posted on Twitter.

Actor Jason Alexander posted, “#ripAlanArkin Such a wonderful, original voice for comedy. And on the few occasions I was in his presence, a kind and generous soul. I learned so much from watchinghim. And the laughs I got from his glorious work seem endless. May he rest well.”

Said actress Ellen Barkin in a tweet: “Alan Arkin was so talented with astounding range. He could do it all and he did. And brilliantly. Watching him over the years taught me so much about acting. Talent like this is rare indeed. Rest in Peace Alan Arkin.”

Michael Imperioli wrote on Instagram: “Arkin was a rare breed who had an infallible sense of truth that allowed him to shift with ease from the tragic to the hilarious in the blink of an eye. Such a great actor and such a great loss to cinema.”

Arkin’s son Adam, 66, is also well-known for his acting and directing. He has starred in such television series as “Sons of Anarchy,” “8 Simple Rules,” and “Chicago Hope.”

Arkin died at his home in Carlsbad, California.