NEW YORK: According to his sons, Alan Arkin, the Oscar-winning actor from “Little Miss Sunshine” and “Argo” famed for his dry wit and improvisational abilities, has passed away at the age of 89.
Adam, Matthew, and Anthony, who all followed their father into the entertainment industry, called him “a uniquely talented force of nature, both as an artist and a man.”
Without providing a cause of death, they said in a statement on Friday that he was “a loving husband, father, grand and great grandfather, who was adored and will be deeply missed.”
Born to Russian-German Jewish immigrants in Brooklyn on March 26, 1934, Arkin started taking acting training at an early age.
In the 1950s, his family moved to Los Angeles, where Arkin received scholarships to a number of local theatre schools before quitting to start a folk singing group called The Tarriers in 1955.
With “The Banana Boat Song,” the group’s 1956 smash, he proceeded to pursue both acting and music careers for the following ten years.
He made his debut appearance on the big screen with The Tarriers in 1957’s “Calypso Heat Wave” as a member of Chicago’s renowned Second City improvisational group.
His performance in “From the Second City,” his Broadway debut, led to a part in the critically praised comedy “Enter Laughing,” for which he won a Tony Award.
