For decades, acting legend Alan Arkin has shown up in a variety of projects, bringing his unique performance style to crush pretty much anything he touched. An Academy Award winner, the man has done everything from dark dramas to biting comedy, in a career that truly highlights his range. That legacy is remembered bittersweetly, as the star of Little Miss Sunshine has died at the age of 89.
The news came from an announcement published by Variety, which confirmed Arkin’s passing through a statement from his sons. No cause of death was revealed at the time of the news breaking, but the Argo actor was at home when it happened. Leaving behind a legacy of family and laughter, the iconic Alan Arkin will be remembered for a great number of roles he’s inhabited; as well as his slyly funny nature and warmth.
Born in 1934, Arkin kicked off his career with roles in TV and movies, as well as the Broadway stage. His breakout roles arrived in the late ‘60s, as the play Enter Laughing and the film The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming both put him on the map with rave reviews. By the time of that picture’s 1966 release, Alan Arkin was an Academy Award nominee, as well as a Tony winner.
Throughout his career, the man tackled projects far and wide, with genre being no barrier to what he could do. The Kominsky Method star proved that fact time and again, which is part of why co-star Michael Douglas was nervous about the Season 3 premiere sending Arkin's character off. At other points in his career, he found himself doing everything from playing one of Hollywood's most iconic detectives in 1968’s Inspector Clouseau to starring in four episodes of Sesame Street between 1970-1971.
Alan Arkin’s final film role cemented that sort of variety, as he provided the voice to disgruntled supervillain Wild Knuckles as part of the voice cast of 2022’s Minions: The Rise of Gru. But of course, two of his most memorable performances was the one that won him an Academy Award in 2007, as part of the cast of Little Miss Sunshine; as well as his role in the 2012 Oscar winner for Best Picture, Ben Affleck's Argo.
Those two roles alone could speak volumes about the type of performer Alan Arkin was. With snark and wit, but also warmth and concern present, both Little Miss Sunshine’s Edwin Hoover and Argo’s Lester Siegel were delighted to work with him.
Such was the nature of Alan Arkin in his career, as his limitless enthusiasm to jump into various sorts of projects clearly impacted several generations of moviegoers. We here at CinemaBlend extend our deepest condolences to his friends and family, as they navigate this time of mourning and remembrance.
