In Memoriam: Alan Arkin

Oscar and Tony-winning actor Alan Arkin died on Thursday, June 29, 2023. His passing was reported by his sons Adam, Anthony, and Matthew, though they did not disclose how he died. Arkin was 89 years old.

He was known for his Academy Award winning performance as the foul-mouthed grandfather Edwin Hoover in Little Miss Sunshine. Arkin had another recognizable offbeat comedy performance in Edward Scissorhands, he was in the crime thriller Glengarry Glen Ross, and was nominated for an Oscar for his role in Argo.

Born in Brooklyn, New York on March 26, 1934, Arkin took acting classes as a child. He bounced around at a few colleges, then had a short music career as a singer and guitarist in a folk band. After he quit the band, Arkin moved to Chicago where he was an early member of the Second City improv comedy troupe. He arrived on Broadway in 1961 in From the Second City, then won a Tony Award in ’63 for Enter Laughing.

Arkin’s onscreen career began with an uncredited role in 1957’s Calypso Heat Wave. He had his first and second Oscar nominations for The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming in ’67 and The Heart is a Lonely Hunter a year later. Then he was in Catch-22, Full Moon High, and did a few episodes of St. Elsewhere.

Staying busy in the ‘90s, Arkin appeared in The Rocketeer, So I Married an Axe Murderer, The Jerky Boys, Grosse Pointe Blank, Gattaca, and Slums of Beverly Hills. He was in America’s Sweethearts, Firewall, The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, Marley & Me, Grudge Match, the live-action Dumbo, and his final role was voice acting in Minions: The Rise of Gru.