Actor Alan Arkin Dies at 89
By Movieguide® Staff
Actor Alan Arkin, who appeared in several Movieguide® Award-nominated movies, died this week. He was 89.
“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,” Arkin’s sons Adam, Matthew and Anthony said in a joint statement.
Arkin played a role in more than 110 movies, including family-friendly movies like THE MUPPETS and DUMBO, which were nominated for a Movieguide® Award, and MINIONS: RISE OF GRU.
According to People magazine:
Alan Arkin was born in Brooklyn, New York, on March 26, 1934; his family moved to Los Angeles during his childhood. That ‘is why I don’t live there now,” Arkin quipped to PEOPLE in 1979 from his home in Chappaqua, New York.
After finishing high school, Arkin attended several different colleges and dropped out of at least three, including Bennington College in Vermont, which lists him as an alumnus of the class of 1955.
Despite not finishing college, Arkin had a successful career in acting. He took acting lessons as a child and eventually found a home with the comedy troupe Second City.
“Second City saved my life. It literally saved my life,” Arkin said. “I have a feeling it’s true for a lot of other people, too.”
According to Variety:
Beyond his screen career, Arkin began in entertainment as a stage performer, serving as an early member of the Second City comedy troupe in Chicago before making his Broadway debut in “From the Second City” in 1961. Two years later, he scored a Tony Award for starring in Joseph Stein’s comedy “Enter Laughing.” …
Arkin was an actor whose gifts were recognized early. After his Tony in 1963, he earned his first Emmy nomination, for the “ABC Stage 67” episode “The Love Song of Barney Kempinski,” in 1967, the same year he earned his first Oscar nomination. Arkin never really left television despite the success of his film career. His next Emmy nomination came in 1987 for the Holocaust-themed CBS telepic “Escape From Sobibor”; the third was in 1997 for a guest appearance on “Chicago Hope” and another in 2003 for telepic “The Pentagon Papers.”
Arkin had a significant acting range and is perhaps best known for his role in the excessive LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE. He also appeared in MARLEY AND ME, GET SMART, ARGO, and more.
Please pray for Arkin’s family as they mourn his loss.
