1. Alan Wolf Arkin was an American actor, filmmaker and musician.
52 Facts About Alan Arkin
1. 2.
Alan Arkin returned to Broadway acting in the comedic play Luv, and directed Neil Simon's The Sunshine Boys, for which he received a Tony Award nomination.
3.
Alan Arkin won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as a foul-mouthed grandfather in Little Miss Sunshine.
4.
Alan Arkin was Oscar-nominated for his roles in Russians Are Coming, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, and Argo.
5.
Alan Arkin acted in Wait Until Dark, Inspector Clouseau, Popi, Catch-22, The In-Laws, Edward Scissorhands, The Rocketeer, Glengarry Glen Ross, Grosse Pointe Blank, Thirteen Conversations About One Thing, Get Smart, Going in Style, Dumbo and Spenser Confidential.
6.
Alan Arkin directed three films, including the comedies Little Murders and Fire Sale.
7.
Alan Arkin voiced Schmendrick in The Last Unicorn, JD Salinger in the animated series BoJack Horseman, and Wild Knuckles in Minions: The Rise of Gru.
8.
From 2018 to 2019, Alan Arkin starred in the Netflix comedy series The Kominsky Method, earning two consecutive nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
9.
Alan Wolf Arkin was born in Brooklyn, a borough of New York City, on March 26,1934, the son of teacher, painter, writer and lyricist David I Arkin, and his wife, Beatrice, a teacher.
10.
Alan Arkin was raised in a Jewish family with "no emphasis on religion".
11.
Alan Arkin's grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Ukraine, Russia, and Germany.
12.
Alan Arkin's parents moved to Los Angeles when Alan was 11, but an 8-month Hollywood strike cost his father his job as a set designer.
13.
David Alan Arkin challenged the dismissal, but he was vindicated only after his death.
14.
Alan Arkin, who had been taking acting lessons since age 10, became a scholarship student at various drama academies, including one run by the Stanislavsky student Benjamin Zemach, who taught Alan Arkin a psychological approach to acting.
15.
Alan Arkin attended Los Angeles State College from 1951 to 1953.
16.
Alan Arkin started his career in the 1950s as a singer and guitarist in the folk group, The Tarriers.
17.
Alan Arkin went on to sing with another folk group, The Baby Sitters.
18.
Alan Arkin was an early member of the Second City comedy troupe in the 1960s.
19.
Alan Arkin made his Broadway debut as a performer in From the Second City at the Royale Theatre in 1961.
20.
Alan Arkin starred in 1963 on Broadway as David Kolowitz in Joseph Stein's comedic play Enter Laughing.
21.
Alan Arkin co-starred alongside Bob Balaban, Martin Balsam, Buck Henry, Bob Newhart, Austin Pendleton, Martin Sheen, Jon Voight, and Orson Welles.
22.
Alan Arkin directed the black comedy film Little Murders, released in 1971 and later became a cult classic.
23.
In 1973, Alan Arkin directed the Broadway production of Neil Simon's The Sunshine Boys.
24.
Alan Arkin starred opposite Peter Falk in a film directed by Arthur Hiller and written by Andrew Bergman.
25.
In 1980, Alan Arkin starred in the Marshall Brickman comedy Simon which gained mixed reviews but earned him a Saturn Award nomination.
26.
Alan Arkin voiced the magician Schmendrick in the 1982 cult animated film The Last Unicorn.
27.
In 1985, Alan Arkin starred in the television film The Fourth Wise Man starring Martin Sheen and Eileen Brennan.
28.
Alan Arkin won Best Supporting Actor at the Genie Awards for his role as Reuben Shapiro in the 1985 film adaption of Mordecai Richler's semi-autobiographical novel Joshua Then and Now.
29.
In 1987, Alan Arkin appeared in the sitcom Harry, which was canceled after four low-rated episodes.
30.
In 1990, Alan Arkin appeared in a supporting role in Tim Burton's fantasy romance Edward Scissorhands starring Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder.
31.
Alan Arkin appeared in the live action Disney film The Rocketeer starring Bill Campbell and Jennifer Connelly, and the film adaptation of the David Mamet play Glengarry Glen Ross starring Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, and Kevin Spacey.
32.
In 1996, Alan Arkin appeared in the film adaptation of the Kurt Vonnegut novel Mother Night starring Nick Nolte, Sheryl Lee, John Goodman, and Kirsten Dunst.
33.
Alan Arkin directed Samuel Beckett Is Coming Soon and Arigo.
34.
Alan Arkin starred in the Jill Sprecher drama Thirteen Conversations About One Thing with Matthew McConaughey, John Turturro, and Clea DuVall.
35.
In 2006, Alan Arkin appeared in a supporting role in the ensemble comedy-drama Little Miss Sunshine with Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Paul Dano, and Abigail Breslin.
36.
In between 2006 and 2007, Alan Arkin was cast in supporting roles in Rendition as a US Senator Hawkins and The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause as Bud Newman, with Ann-Margret playing his wife.
37.
Alan Arkin received nominations for the Golden Globe Award, the BAFTA Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award.
38.
Alan Arkin did receive the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.
39.
Alan Arkin continued to act in supporting roles in films such as the sports drama Million Dollar Arm with Jon Hamm and the Christmas comedy Love the Coopers.
40.
From 2015 to 2016, Alan Arkin voiced JD Salinger in the Netflix animated series BoJack Horseman.
41.
Alan Arkin gave his final two film-acting roles in 2020 and 2022.
42.
Alan Arkin starred alongside Mark Wahlberg and Winston Duke in the 2020 Netflix film Spenser Confidential.
43.
In September 2022, Alan Arkin joined Casey Affleck, Kathy Bates, and Teyana Taylor who had been cast in the independent heist thriller The Smack, which was in pre-production prior to his death.
44.
Alan Arkin was a member of The Tarriers when they recorded "Cindy, Oh Cindy", which charted.
45.
From 1958 to 1968, Alan Arkin performed and recorded with the children's folk group The Baby Sitters.
46.
Alan Arkin performed the role of Dr Pangloss in a concert staging of Leonard Bernstein's operetta Candide, alongside Madeline Kahn's Cunegonde.
47.
Alan Arkin was married three times; his first two marriages ended in divorce.
48.
Alan Arkin was married to actress-screenwriter Barbara Dana from 1964 to 1994; she appeared with him in segments of Sesame Street in the 1970s.
49.
In 1996, two years after his divorce from Barbara, Alan Arkin married psychotherapist Dr Suzanne Newlander, whose surname he adopted for his character, Norman Newlander, in the Netflix series, The Kominsky Method.
50.
Alan Arkin died at his home in San Marcos, California, on June 29,2023, at the age of 89.
51.
Alan Arkin's death was attributed to heart problems, of which he had a history.
52.
In 2014, Alan Arkin received the Gregory Peck Award for Cinematic Excellence to honor his life's work at the San Diego Film Festival.