Academy and Tony Award-winning actor Alan Arkin has died at the age of 89.
His death was confirmed exclusively to PEOPLE by his sons, Adam, Matthew, and Anthony, who made a joint statement on behalf of the family: “Our father, both as an artist and as a man, was a uniquely gifted force of nature. A loving husband, father, great. and great-grandfather adored him and will be greatly missed.”
Most recently, Arkın took the lead role. Kominsky Method Along with Michael Douglas, he earned Emmy nominations in 2019 and 2020, and Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations in 2020 and 2021 for Netflix. Missing a little sunshine (2006), Arkın played Edwin Hoover, the grandfather of the dysfunctional family. The role, which spanned only 14 minutes of screen time, earned him an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Arkin’s memorable return in the 2012 political drama directed by Ben Affleck Slang earned him his fourth Oscar nomination. He played veteran producer Lester Siegel, who captivated audiences with his sharp sense of humor and scathing words.
His 66-year-old son, Adam Arkın, is also a famous actor and director. Chicago Hope, 8 Simple Rules And sons of anarchy.
Alan Arkin was born on March 26, 1934, in Brooklyn, New York; His family moved to Los Angeles during his childhood. “That’s why I don’t live there now,” Arkin told PEOPLE at his home in Chappaqua, New York, in 1979.
After graduating high school, Arkın attended several different colleges and dropped out of at least three, including Bennington College in Vermont.
“They might have threw me out,” Arkin told PEOPLE in a 1979 story about himself and his second wife, actress Barbara Dana. “I can’t remember.”
After leaving college, Arkin embarked on a brief musical career with a folk band called the Tarriers, where he sang and played guitar. The short-lived group released their hit top 5 single ‘The Banana Boat Song’ in 1957.
However, Arkın, who has been taking acting lessons since his childhood, left the group and tried to establish himself as an actor. In 1960, Arkin arrived in Chicago and became the first member of the Second City improv comedy troupe, according to a history on the organization’s website.
“Second City saved my life. It literally saved my life,” Arkin said. “I have a feeling that this is true for many other people as well.”
After spending some time on the Second City stage in Chicago, Arkin made his Broadway debut in 1961. From the Second City and followed it with a Tony Award-winning performance in 1963. Go Laugh.
Don’t miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up to date with the best PEOPLE has to offer, from compelling celebrity news to compelling stories that engage people.
More television and film roles followed in the years after Arkin’s first big success on Broadway; He received the first of four career Oscar nominations in 1967 for his role in the comedy. The Russians are coming, the Russians are coming.
Over the next 50 years, Arkın starred in more than 100 films and films, especially in the following films: The heart is a lone hunter which earned him his second Oscar nomination (1968); catch 22 (1970); Edward Scissors Hands (1990) and GlengarryGlenRoss (1992).
In addition to his film and stage works, Arkın has been nominated for six Emmy Awards. Kominsky Method. He left the show before its third season in 2021. “I am like a horse on the road,” he said. Guard in 2020.
Arkın survived his wife, Suzanne Newlander, whom he married in 1996, and three children: sons Adam Arkin and Matthew Arkin, with whom he shared with his first wife, Jeremy Yaffe, and Anthony Dana Arkin, with whom he shared his second wife, Dana.