Alan Arkin, an actor from the United States who was 89 years old and won an Oscar and a Bafta for his performance as the crazy granddad in the movie Little Miss Sunshine, has passed away.
Arkin’s career on television and stage lasted seven decades, and he had an appearance in Ben Affleck’s film Argo, which went on to win an Academy Award.
In a statement released by the family on Friday, his sons Adam, Matthew, and Anthony acknowledged their father’s passing.
They described their father not just as an artist but also as a man who possessed a singularly brilliant force of nature.
“A devoted family man who was beloved by his wife and children, as well as his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, he will be sorely missed.”
Arkin also provided the voice of J.D. Salinger for the animated series BoJack Horseman, which aired on Netflix from 2015 to 2016. Paul Reiser, who starred alongside Alan Arkin in a more recent series on Netflix called The Kominsky Method, responded to the news of his passing by tweeting that “a world without Alan Arkin is… not so great.”
“I’ve loved this man from the moment he came on screen in The Russians Are Coming (Whitaker Walt!),” he said in the letter. “I was 8.
“One of the most memorable experiences of my life was getting to know him and eliciting a chuckle from him. RIP good buddy.”
Michael McKean, who is most known for his role as Nigel in Spinal Tap, has also paid tribute to one of his acting inspirations and friends online. McKean said the following: “When I was a young actor, people wanted to know if I wanted to be a serious actor or a humorous one.
“I’d answer, ‘Which kind is Alan Arkin?,’ and that would put an end to the conversation,”
He offered this description of Arkin: “Charming, hilarious, and armed with a flawless [nonsense] detector, he was pure pleasure to be with.”
The New York-born and Los Angeles-raised actor, director, and screenwriter who is recognized for his deadpan comic timing began taking acting training as a youngster. However, he began his career in music, singing and playing guitar in a folk band named The Tarriers. He was born in New York and reared in Los Angeles.
In 1956, they had a top-five success with “The Banana Boat Song,” which eventually became renowned due to Harry Belafonte’s rendition of it.
In 1960, he relocated to Chicago and became an early member of the Second City improvisational comedy group. In a previous interview, he stated that the troupe “literally saved my life.” He had previously dropped out of college.
His successful playing career got its start on Broadway in 1963, when he was cast in the play Enter Laughing. For his performance, he was given the Tony Award for outstanding actor.
He rose to prominence after starring in films such as 1966’s The Russians Are Coming and later 1967’s The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, for both of which he was nominated for an Academy Award in the category of best actor. Both of these films earned him nominations. The former film, a comedy set during the Cold War, earned him a Golden Globe award.
Early in his career, he made the transition into directing, and in 1973, he was nominated for another Tony Award for his efforts behind the scenes on the play The Sunshine Boys.
“He is completely insane.”
Returning to the big screen for the first time since co-starring with Johnny Depp in Tim Burton’s fantasy romance Edward Scissorhands in 1990, the performance he gave in Little Miss Sunshine in 2006 earned him both the Academy Award and the Bafta Award for best-supporting actor.
The tragicomedy centered on members of a dysfunctional family who took their youngest kid to compete in a beauty competition for children.
In the film, Arkin portrayed the role of Edwin Hoover, a foul-mouthed grandpa who moves in with his family after being kicked out of a retirement home for snorting heroin. Hoover was played by Arkin.
In the next chapters, he instructs his granddaughter Olive, who is competing in a beauty contest and wants to learn how to striptease, in the dance moves necessary for the competition.
Arkin is said as having commented at one point of the role, “He’s a maniac, but to me, he was absolutely believable.”
The actor was never interested in the publicity that was generated about him or his films, despite the fact that the media praised his work.
“I’ve never met Oscar Buzz,” he joked. “I’ve heard a lot about him, but I’ve never actually met the man.”
Out of My Mind, the book that he published in 2018, revealed that despite his accomplishments as a younger man, he had spent most of his life feeling absolutely and completely miserable.
He described how his practice of meditation had allowed him to successfully turn around his personal life.
During an interview that took place around the time that the book was published, he mentioned that he had been an anxious youngster and that acting, which he described as “torture” at times, had helped him become more resilient.
“I had this sense that I didn’t exist,” he added. “I had no idea who I was.” “My parents were lovely people in many respects, but they weren’t affectionate with each other or with us. I cannot recall either one of them ever touching me in any way.
“I felt ignored to the point where I didn’t even exist – so acting was my lifeline to not feeling like I was being obliterated. It was my only way to not feel like I was being erased.” When I was younger, the stage was the only place I ever felt truly alive.
Lester Siegel, a fictitious Hollywood producer, was the character that Ben Affleck played in the historical drama Argo, which was released in 2012 and was a surprise winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture.
During the time of the Iran hostage crisis, the events of the movie take place. Employees of the United States Embassy in Iran are being held hostage, and a plot to free them involves the fabrication of a movie in Iran.
Arkin, a voracious reader, also appeared in the film adaptation of the satirical dark comedy novel Catch-22 written by Joseph Heller and directed by Mike Nichols. Arkin portrayed the role of Captain John Yossarian (Bombardier).
Arkin received acting nominations for the Emmy Awards for his performance in television programs such as Escape from Sobibor, The Pentagon Papers, and The Kominsky Method. He played the agent of a previously successful actor who was portrayed by Michael Douglas in these shows.
2019 marked the year that the veteran was presented with their very own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
FAQs:
Q1. What is Alan Arkin most famous for?
Alan Arkin, the Oscar-winning character actor best remembered for his roles in “Little Miss Sunshine” and “Argo,” passed away last week in California, according to his family. On Thursday, Arkin passed away in Carlsbad, a city in San Diego County. He was 89 years old.
