Alan Arkin, Oscar-winning actor for ‘Little Miss Sunshine,’ dies at 89 – National – News Block

Alan Arkin, the American actor who won an Oscar for his role as a heroin-using grandfather in the film. little miss sunshine, has died. He was 89.

In a statement through Arkin’s publicist, his sons, Adam, Matthew and Anthony, said: “Our father was a uniquely talented force of nature, both as an artist and as a man. A loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, he was adored and will be sorely missed.”

Arkin was known for his decades-long acting career on both stage and screen.

A member of Chicago’s famed Second City comedy troupe, Arkin was an immediate hit in Cold War parody films. The Russians are coming, the Russians are coming and peaked late in life with his best supporting actor win for the 2006 surprise hit little miss sunshine. More than 40 years separated his first Oscar nomination, for the russians are comingfrom his nomination for playing a conniving Hollywood producer in the Oscar-winning film Argo.

In recent years, he starred with Michael Douglas in the Netflix comedy series. The Kominsky methodrole that earned him two Emmy nominations.

Actor Michael McKean paid tribute to his friend with a joke on Twitter on Friday.

“When I was a young actor, people wanted to know if I wanted to be a serious actor or a funny one. I would answer ‘What type is Alan Arkin?’ and that shut them up,” he wrote, adding: “Rest in peace, Alan. No one better, ever.”

Arkin died at his home in Carlsbad, California, on Thursday, Variety reported.

Arkin was known for his variety: both his dry wit and tragic style earned him four Academy Award nominations over the course of his career, and he won a Tony Award in 1963 for his first major stage role in Carl Reiner. enter laughing.

He was initially turned down for the role in little miss sunshine when the casting team deemed him too healthy for the character of the 80-year-old grandfather who was frail from years of drug abuse.

“That’s the best rejection I’ve ever gotten, they thought I was too manly,” Arkin said, flexing his biceps and striking a muscleman pose during a 2007 interview with The New York Times.

He remained remarkably active in film and television well into his 80s.

Some of Arkin’s other films included The Seven Percent Solution in 1976, the parents in law in 1979, Edward Scissorhands in 1990, thick tip blank in 1997, be smart in 2008 and go in style in 2017.

Alan Wolf Arkin was born on March 26, 1934 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, but his family moved to Los Angeles when he was 11 years old. His father, a painter and writer, lost his job as a teacher after he was accused of being a communist during the “Red Scare” of the 1950s.

In addition to his prolific acting career, Arkin has also taken turns off-stage as a film and theater director, as well as writing and writing several books.

— With files from The Associated Press and Reuters

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Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin talk about ‘The Kominsky Method’

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