The famous stage and movie actor Alan Arkin, who won Tony and Oscar awards, passed away at the age of 89.

With a career spanning decades and a reputation for his particular dry humor.

Arkin won an Academy Award for his performance in Little Miss Sunshine.

“Our father was a uniquely talented force of nature, both as an artist and a man,” his sons Adam, Matthew and Anthony said in a joint statement. “A loving husband, father, grand and great grandfather, he was adored and will be deeply missed.”

Alan Arkin – early career

Born in New York City on March 26, 1934, Arkin started his acting career in the 1960s as a performer with the Second City comedy group. In 1961, he made his Broadway debut in the play From the Second City. In 1963, for his role in Enter Laughing, he took home the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play.

His breakthrough performance in the 1966 comedy The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming earned him his first Academy Award nomination, establishing a long and fruitful cinematic career.

In The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Arkin was nominated for an Oscar for the second time for his performance as a deaf mute. He also starred in Wait Until Dark, Catch-22 by Mike Nichols, Edward Scissorhands, Gattaca, and Glengarry Glen Ross, among other well-known movies.

Little Miss Sunshine and later career

In the independent blockbuster Little Miss Sunshine, Arkin had a late-career breakthrough performance. Arkin’s performance stood out in the supporting cast as the foul-mouthed, drug-snorting, but ultimately loving grandpa of the main character, a beauty pageant.

He was nominated for numerous awards and won the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award.

“More than anything, I’m deeply moved by the open-hearted appreciation our small film has received, which in these fragmented times speaks so openly of the possibility of innocence, growth, and connection,” Arkin said in his acceptance speech.

A few years later, he returned to the Oscars and was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in the Ben Affleck-directed movie Argo, which won Best Picture. He portrayed the Hollywood agent who participates in a covert plan to free American diplomats held hostage in Iran.

He starred in The Kominsky Method on Netflix from 2018 to 2019, where he received back-to-back nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.

His three boys and his wife Suzanne Newlander, to whom he had been married since 1996, survive Arkin. Arkin passed away in his Carlsbad, California, home.

The amazing Alan Arkin, a unique star who gave us countless unforgettable performances over the years, may you rest in peace. Please spread the word about this tale in Alan Arkin’s honor.