Alan Arkin, 'Little Miss Sunshine,' 'Argo' & 'The Kominsky Method' Actor, Dies at 89

Alan Arkin, the Oscar and Tony winner fondly remembered for such films as "Little Miss Sunshine" and his recent success on TV's "The Kominsky Method," died Thursday at 89.

His death was confirmed exclusively to People magazine by his sons, who said, "Our father was a uniquely talented force of nature, both as an artist and a man. A loving husband, father, grand and great grandfather, he was adored and will be deeply missed."

Arkin worked extensively, moving with ease from the stage to the screen, big and small, and was also a noted director.

All that, plus he could sing.

He was born March 26, 1934, in Brooklyn, the son of painter and Blacklisted songwriter David I. Arkin, who famously wrote the lyrics for the classic "Black and White" (1954).

Arkin studied acting seriously from childhood, was an early Second City comedy member, and made an uncredited film debut in 1957's "Calypso Heat Wave."

Arkin's first TV work was on "East Side/West Side" in 1964, by which time he had made his Broadway debut — winning the Tony — in the smash hit "Enter Laughing" (1963). He followed it up with 1964's "Luv."

Arkin's film career took off after his Oscar-nominated turn as Lt. Rozanov in Norman Jewison's "The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming" (1967).

Other prominent films of his early career include the Audrey Hepburn thriller "Wait Until Dark" (1967), "Woman Times Seven" (1967), the polarizing comedy "Inspector Clouseau" (1968), "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter" (1968; second Oscar nomination), "Popi" (1969), and "Catch-22" (1970).

Arkin's directing debut was the short "People Soup" (1969), which featured his sons Adam and Matthew Arkin, both of whom have gone on to acting careers of their own. Arkin was Oscar-nominated for his work.

He went on to direct "Little Murders" (1971) and "Fire Sale" (1977), as well as "The Sunshine Boys" (1975) on Broadway, for which he was Tony-nominated.

Arkin's mid-career films were diverse, among them "Last of the Red Hot Lovers" (1972), "Freebie and the Bean" (1974), "The Seven-Per-Cent Solution" (1976), "The In-Laws" (1979), and "Chu Chu and the Philly Flash" (1981).

Mostly concentrating on films until just before the end of his career, he worked steadily in major productions like "Edward Scissorhands" (1990), "Havana" (1990), "The Rocketeer" (1991), "Glengarry Glen Ross" (1992), "So I Married an Axe Murderer" (1993), "Grosse Pointe Blank" (1997), "Gattaca" (1997), "Slums of Beverly Hills" (1998), "America's Sweethearts" (2001), and "Little Miss Sunshine" (2006), for which he won the Oscar.

Later films include "The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause" (2006), "Sunshine Cleaning" (2008), "Get Smart" (2008), "Marley & Me" (2008), "Argo" (2012; Oscar nomination), "Going in Style" (2017), "Dumbo" (2019), "Spenser Confidential" (2020), and his final film, "Minions: The Rise of Gru" (2022), which was a voice role as Wild Knuckles.

Arkin's TV work, while less prolific, was often acclaimed. He was Emmy-nominated for his work on "ABC Stage 67" (1967), in "Escape from Sobibor" (1987), for an episode of "Chicago Hope" (1997), and for his work in "The Pentagon Papers" (2003). He also appeared with then-wife Barbara Dana on several episodes on "Sesame Street" (1970-1971), acted in a memorable three-episode arc on "St. Elsewhere" (1983), appeared on Shelley Duvall's "Faerie Tale Theatre" (1985), and was the star of two short-lived series — "Harry" (1987) and "100 Centre Street" (2001-2002).

In 2005, Arkin played the father of Debra Messing's character on an episode of "Will & Grace," with later appearances of the character played by Robert Klein.

Arkin closed his career with a TV winner, playing Norman Newlander on the hit Michael Douglas dramedy "The Kominsky Method" (2018-2021), for which he was twice Emmy-nominated. He retired from acting and did not appear in the last episodes.

Married three times, Arkin is survived by his wife of more than 25 years, Suzanne, and by his three sons.