Actor Alan Arkin, Oscar winner for ‘Little Miss Sunshine,’ dead at 89

Alan Arkin, the Oscar-winning actor known for his roles in “Little Miss Sunshine,” “Argo” and “The Kominsky Method,” has died at age 89, according to his family.

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

Arkin was born in Brooklyn, New York, on March 26, 1934. He made his on-screen debut in 1957’s “Calypso Heat Wave” and became an early member of the Chicago-based The Second City improv group in 1960. He made his TV debut in a 1964 episode of “East Side/West Side.”

In 1963, he won a Tony Award for best featured actor in a play for his performance in “Enter Laughing.” He was later nominated for another Tony, this time for best direction of a play for “The Sunshine Boys,” in 1973.

Arkin’s star continued to grow throughout the ’60s, culminating in two best actor Academy Award nominations. The first, in 1967, was for the Norman Jewison-directed “The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming,” which he starred in with Carl Reiner and Eva Marie Saint. He won a Golden Globe for this role. The second, in 1969, was for the Robert Ellis Miller-directed “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter,” in which he starred opposite Sondra Locke.

The actor was nominated for his first Emmy in 1967 for “ABC Stage 67.” He would go on to earn five others throughout his career, including one for a guest role on “Chicago Hope” in 1997 and two for the Chuck Lorre-created “The Kominsky Method,” which he starred in alongside Michael Douglas, in 2019 and 2020.

Arkin also received two best supporting actor Academy Award nominations later in his career. The first, for which he won the Oscar, was in 2006 for the Jonathan Dayton- and Valerie Faris-directed “Little Miss Sunshine,” which he starred in alongside an ensemble cast led by Abigail Breslin as the titular character. The other was for the Ben Affleck-directed “Argo” in 2013.

Some of Arkin’s most notable film roles include 1969’s “Popi,” 1970’s “Catch-22,” 1979’s “The In-Laws,” 1987’s “Escape from Sobibor,” 1990’s “Edward Scissorhands,” 1992’s “Glengarry Glen Ross” and 1997’s “Gattaca.”

On TV, he appeared on “Sesame Street” in the early ’70s alongside his second wife, Barbara Dana, and appeared in an episode of “The Muppet Show” — later making a cameo in the 2011 film centered on the characters. He also appeared on shows like “Harry,” “100 Centre Street” and “Bojack Horseman.”

Arkin was married three times: to Jeremy Yaffe from 1955 to 1961, to Dana from 1964 to 1994 and to Suzanne Newlander beginning in 1996 until his death. He is also a father to three sons, Adam Arkin and Matthew Arkin, whom he shared with Yaffe, and Anthony Arkin, whom he shared with Dana.