Born March 26, 1934 in Brooklyn New York, Alan Arkin was the son of artist-writer-lyricist David I. Arkin and his wife Beatrice, a teacher. The family moved to Los Angeles in 1946 where the senior Arkin was employed by the Hollywood studios until he ran afoul of the “red scare” in 1950.
The younger Arkin dropped out of college in the mid-1950s to form a folk group called the Tarriers for which he was the lead singer. He co-wrote “The Banana Boat Song” which became a huge hit for Harry Belafonte in 1956. He made his film debut with The Tarriers in 1957’s Calypso Heat Wave. He later became one of the original members of Chicago’s Second City comedy troupe. Married to first wife Jeremy Yaffe in 1955, they divorced in 1961. Actor Adam Arkin is their son.
Arkin starred in back-to-back Broadway hits, 1963’s Enter Laughing and 1964’s Luv, the year he married second wife Barbara Dana with whom he had sons Matthew and Anthony. They would remain married for thirty years. He had his first starring role on screen in 1966’s The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming for which he received his first Oscar nomination. The following year he earned kudos in support of Audrey Hepburn in Wait Until Dark. In 1968 he starred in the disastrous Inspector Clouseau but rebounded with the same year’s The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter for which he received his second Oscar nomination. They were followed by 1969’s Popi, 1970’s Catch-22, and 1971’s Little Murders.
While his films of the next few years were not hits, he made a big splash as director of Neil Simons 1972 Broadway smash hit, The Sunshine Boys. His next major film role was in 1975’s Hearts of the West in support of Jeff Bridges. He followed that with strong notices for 1977’s The Seven-Per-Cent Solution in which he played Sigmund Freud. He did not have another hit until he starred alongside Peter Falk in Arthur Hiller’s 1979 hit, The In-Laws.
Alternating between big and small screens during the 1980s, Arkin re-emerged as an acting force to be reckoned with in such 1990s films as Edward Scissorhands, Havana, The Rocketeer, Glengarry Glen Ross, Indian Summer, So I Married an Axe Murderer, Grosse Pointe Blank, and Gattaca. Two years after his divorce from Barbara Dana, Arkin married third wife Suzaane Newlander in 1996 with whom he would be married to for the remainder of his life.
Arkin’s films of the first decade of the 21st century included 2004’s Noel, 2005’s Little Miss Sunshine for which he won his Oscar, 2008’s Sunshine Cleaning, and 2009’s City Island. He received his fourth and final Oscar nomination for 2012’s Argo. Subsequent films included 2017’s Going in Style and 2019’s Dumbo.
More recently in the hit TV series, The Kaminsky Method for which he received back-to-back Emmy nominations in 2019 and 2020, his last big screen role was in 2022’s Minions: The Rise of Gru.
Alan Arkin died June 29, 2023 at 89.
ESSENTIAL FILMS
THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING, THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING (1966), directed by Norman Jewison
Nominated for four Oscars including Best Picture, Actor (Arkin), Adapted Screenplay, and Editing, this hit comedy threw cold water on the Cold War. Arkin and John Phillip Law both received Golden Globe nominations for Best Newcomer their portrayals of sailors on a Soviet submarine that accidentally finds itself in U.S. waters. Arkin won a second Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor – Comedy. The high-powered cast also included Carl Reiner, Eva Marie Saint, Brian Keith, Jonathan Winters, Paul Ford, Theodore Bikel, Tessie O’Shea, Doro Merande, and Johnny Whitaker.
THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER (1968), directed by Robert Ellis Miller
Arkin won the New York Film Critics award for Best Actor and his second Oscar nomination for playing a deaf mute who moves to a new town to be near his hospitalized friend (Chuck McCann), a fellow deaf mute, and becomes involved with those around him. 23-year-old Sondra Locke was also nominated for playing a 17-year-old girl in this emotionally charged film. The cast also included Stacy Keach as a recovering alcoholic and Percy Rodriguez as a self-righteous black doctor in the midst of strife with his daughter, a young Cicely Tyson. Cinematography was by 10-time Oscar nominated and 2-time winner James Wong Howe.
GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS (1992), directed by James Foley
David Mamet wrote the screenplay for the film version of his acclaimed play which was based on his real-life experience working as an agent for a high-pressure real estate company in the 1970s. It boasted one of the greatest acting ensembles of all time. Jack Lemmon won the National Board of Review award for Best Actor and Al Pacino was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, winning Best Actor for the same year’s Scent of a Woman. Arkin was included in the ensemble along with Alec Baldwin, Ed Harris, Kevin Spacey, Jonathan Pryce, and Bruce Altman.
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE (2006), directed by Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris
Nominated for 4 Oscars including Best Picture, Supporting Actor (Arkin), Supporting Actress (Abigail Breslin), and Original Screenplay, this hilarious comedy about a family driving cross-country to bring their young daughter (Breslin) to a beauty pageant, finally earned Arkin his Oscar as the girl’s cantankerous grandfather. Also in the cast were Steve Carrell and Toni Collette as the girl’s parents, Greg Kinnear as her uncle, and Paul Dano as her teenage brother. The production crew made sure that Breslin really was listening to music on her headphones to drown out Arkin’s profanity.
ARGO (2012), directed by Ben Affleck
Nominated for 7 Oscars, and winner of 3 including Best Picture, this smart thriller about the secret CIA mission to rescue six Americans held hostage in Iran in 1979 was a box-office bonanza. Although told from the point of view of the CIA, President Carter gave 90% of the credit to the Canadian embassy. Third-billed Arkin was the only one of the actors nominated for an Oscar for his shrewd portrayal of a Hollywood producer. Affleck, who was also the film’s star, was shockingly overlooked for a Best Director nomination. The huge cast included Bryan Cranston, John Goodman, Victor Garber, Tate Donovan, Kyle Chandler, and Zeljko Ivanek.
ALAN ARKIN AND OSCAR
The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming (1966) – nominated – Best Actor.
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (1968) – nominated – Best Actor.
Little Miss Sunshine (2006) – Oscar – Best Supporting Actor
Argo (2012) – nominated – Best Supporting Actor
