Alan Arkin Biography

Alan Wolf Arkin (born March 26, 1934) is an American actor, director, musician, and singer. With a film career spanning more than 55 years, Arkin is known for his performances in Popi, Wait Until Dark, The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, Catch-22, The In-Laws, Edward Scissorhands, Glengarry Glen Ross, Thirteen Conversations About One Thing, Little Miss Sunshine, and Argo.

He has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor twice for his performances in The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming and The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Little Miss Sunshine and received a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his performance in Argo.

Early life

Arkin was born Alan Wolf Arkin in Brooklyn, New York City] on March 26, 1934, the son of David I. Arkin, a painter and writer, and his wife, Beatrice (Wortis), a teacher. He was raised in a Jewish family with "no emphasis on religion". His grandparents were immigrants from Ukraine, Russia, and Germany. His parents moved to Los Angeles when Alan was 11, but an 8-month Hollywood strike cost his father his job as a set designer. During the 1950s Red Scare, Arkin's parents were accused of being Communists, and his father was fired when he refused to answer questions about his political ideology. David Arkin challenged the dismissal, but he was vindicated only after his death.

Career

Early work

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 Arkin a psychological approach to acting. Arkin attended Los Angeles City College from 1951 to 1953. He also attended Bennington College. With two friends, he formed the folk music group The Tarriers, in which Arkin sang and played guitar. The band members co-composed the group's 1956 hit "The Banana Boat Song", a reworking, with some new lyrics, of a traditional, Jamaican calypso folk song of the same name, combined with another titled "Hill and Gully Rider". It reached #4 on the Billboard magazine chart the same year as Harry Belafonte's better-known hit version. The group appeared in the 1957 Calypso-exploitation film Calypso Heat Wave, singing "Banana Boat Song" and "Choucoune".

From 1958 to 1968, Arkin performed and recorded with the children's folk group, The Baby Sitters. He also performed the role of Dr. Pangloss in a concert staging of Leonard Bernstein's operetta Candide, alongside Madeline Kahn's Cunegonde. Arkin was an early member of the Second City comedy troupe in the 1960s.

Acting

Arkin is one of only six actors to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his first screen appearance (for The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming in 1966). Two years later, he was again nominated, for The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter.

In 1968, he appeared in the title role of Inspector Clouseau after Peter Sellers disassociated himself from the role, but the film was not well received by Sellers' fans. Arkin and his second wife Barbara Dana appeared together on the 1970-1971 season of Sesame Street as a comical couple named Larry and Phyllis who resolve their conflicts when they remember how to pronounce the word "cooperate."

His best known films include Wait Until Dark as the erudite killer stalking Audrey Hepburn; The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, Catch-22, The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, Little Murders, The In-Laws, Glengarry Glen Ross, and Little Miss Sunshine, for which he won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar; and Argo. His portrayal of Dr. Oatman, a scared and emotionally conflicted psychiatrist treating John Cusack's hit man character Martin Q. Blank in Grosse Point Blank was also well received.

His role in Little Miss Sunshine, as Grandfather Edwin, who was foul-mouthed and had a taste for cocaine, won him the BAFTA Film Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. On receiving his Academy Award on February 25, 2007, Arkin said, "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". At 72 years old, Arkin was the sixth oldest winner of the Best Supporting Actor Oscar.

In 2006-2007, Arkin was cast in supporting roles in Rendition as a U.S. senator and The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause as Bud Newman (Carol's Father), starring with Tim Allen, Martin Short, Elizabeth Mitchell, Judge Reinhold, and Wendy Crewson.

On Broadway, Arkin starred in Enter Laughing (for which he won a Tony Award) and Luv. He also directed The Sunshine Boys, among others.

Directing

In 1969, Arkin's directorial debut was a 12-minute children's film titled People Soup, starring his sons Adam and Matthew Arkin. Based on a story of the same name he published in Galaxy Science Fiction in 1958, People Soup is a fantasy about two boys who experiment with various kitchen ingredients until they concoct a magical soup which transforms them into different animals and objects.

His most acclaimed directorial effort is Little Murders, released in 1971. Written by cartoonist Jules Feiffer, Little Murders is a black comedy film starring Elliott Gould and Marcia Rodd about a girl, Patsy (Rodd), who brings home her boyfriend, Alfred (Gould), to meet her severely dysfunctional family amidst a series of random shootings, garbage strikes and electrical outages ravaging the neighborhood. The film opened to a lukewarm review by Roger Greenspan, and a more positive one by Vincent Canby in the New York Times. Roger Ebert's review in the Chicago Sun Times was more enthusiastic, saying, "One of the reasons it works and is indeed a definitive reflection of America's darker moods, is that it breaks audiences down into isolated individuals, vulnerable and uncertain."

Arkin also directed Fire Sale (1977), Samuel Beckett Is Coming Soon (1993) and Arigo (2000).

Writing

Arkin is the author of many books, including Tony's Hard Work Day (illustrated by James Stevenson, 1972), The Lemming Condition (illustrated by Joan Sandin, 1976), Halfway Through the Door: An Actor's Journey Toward Self (1979), and The Clearing (1986 continuation of Lemming). In March 2011, he released his memoir, An Improvised Life.

Singing

In 1985, he sang two selections by Jones & Schmidt on Ben Bagley's album Contemporary Broadway Revisited.

Personal life

Arkin has been married three times. He and Jeremy Yaffe (m. 1955-1961) have two sons: Adam Arkin, born August 19, 1956, and Matthew Arkin, born March 21, 1960. He was married to actress-screenwriter Barbara Dana from 1964 to the mid-1990s. They lived in Chappaqua, New York. In 1967, they had son Anthony (Tony) Dana Arkin. In 1996, Arkin married psychotherapist Suzanne Newlander. They live in Carlsbad, California.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Other notes
1957	Calypso Heat Wave	Tarriers lead singer
1963	That's Me		Short film; also writer
1966	'	Lt. Rozanov	Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Nominated"?Academy Award for Best Actor Nominated"?BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles Nominated"?Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year - Actor Nominated"?Laurel Award for Top Male Comedy Performance Nominated"?New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
	The Last Mohican	Mr. Ableman	Short film; also writer
1967	Woman Times Seven	Fred	segment: The Suicides
	Wait Until Dark	Roat Roat Jr. Roat Sr.
1968	Inspector Clouseau	Inspector Jacques Clouseau
	'	John Singer	Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Nominated"?Academy Award for Best Actor Nominated"?Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama Nominated"?Laurel Award for Top Male Dramatic Performance
1969	Popi	Abraham Rodriguez	Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Nominated"?Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
	'	Garbage man in commercial	Cameo
	People Soup	Adam	Also writer and director
1970	Catch-22	Capt. John Yossarian	Nominated"?Laurel Award for Top Male Dramatic Performance Nominated"?National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor
1971	Little Murders	Lt. Practice	Also director
1972	Last of the Red Hot Lovers	Barney Cashman
1973	Deadhead Miles	Cooper
1974	Freebie and the Bean	Bean
1975	Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins	Gunny Rafferty	Also released as Rafferty and the Highway Hustlers
	Hearts of the West	Burt Kessler	New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor
1976	'	Dr. Sigmund Freud
1977	Fire Sale	Ezra Fikus	Also director
1979	'	Sheldon S. Kornpett, D.D.S.	Also executive producer
	'	Yasha Mazur
1980	Simon	Prof. Simon Mendelssohn	Nominated"?Saturn Award for Best Actor
1981	Full Moon High	Dr. Brand
	Improper Channels	Jeffrey Martley	Genie Award for Best Performance by a Foreign Actor
	Chu Chu and the Philly Flash	Flash
1982	'	Schmendrick	Voice only
1983	'	Captain Invincible
1985	Joshua Then and Now	Reuben Shapiro	Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
	Bad Medicine	Dr. Ramn Madera
1986	Big Trouble	Leonard Hoffman
1987	Escape from Sobibor	Leon Feldhendler
1990	Coupe de Ville	Fred Libner
	Edward Scissorhands	Bill	Nominated"?Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor
	Havana	Joe Volpi
1991	'	A. "Peevy" Peabody
1992	Glengarry Glen Ross	George Aaronow	Valladolid International Film Festival Best Actor Award
1993	Indian Summer	Unca Lou Handler
	So I Married an Axe Murderer	Police Captain
	Samuel Beckett is Coming Soon	The Director	Also director
1994	North	Judge Buckle
1995	Picture Windows	Tully	Segment: Soir Bleu
	The Jerky Boys: The Movie	Ernie Lazarro
	Steal Big Steal Little	Lou Perilli
1996	Heck's Way Home	Dogcatcher
	Mother Night	George Kraft
1997	Grosse Pointe Blank	Dr. Oatman
	Four Days in September	Charles Burke Elbrick
	Gattaca	Det. Hugo
1998	Slums of Beverly Hills	Murray Samuel Abromowitz
1999	Jakob the Liar	Max Frankfurter
2000	Magicians	Milo	Direct-to-video
2001	America's Sweethearts	Wellness Guide
	Thirteen Conversations About One Thing	Gene	Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Cast Nominated"?Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male Nominated"?National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated"?Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated"?San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor
2004	Eros	Dr. Pearl Hal	Segment: Equilibrium
	Noel	Artie Venizelos
2006	'	Father Benkhe
	Firewall	Arlin Forester
	Little Miss Sunshine	Edwin Hoover	Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated"?Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated"?Gotham Award for Best Ensemble Cast Nominated"?National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated"?Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated"?Prism Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film Nominated"?Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture Nominated"?Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
	The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause	Bud Newman
	Raising Flagg	Flagg Purdy
2007	Rendition	Senator Hawkins
2008	Sunshine Cleaning	Joe
	Get Smart	The Chief
	Marley & Me	Arnie Klein
2009	'	Herb
	City Island	Michael Malakov (drama coach)
2011	Thin Ice	Gorvy Hauer
	'	Mitch's Dad
	'	Tour Guide	Cameo
2012	Argo	Lester Siegel	Hollywood Film Award for Ensemble of the Year Palm Springs International Film Festival Ensemble Cast Award Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated"?Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated"?BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role Nominated"?Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated"?Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated"?Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture Nominated"?London Film Critics' Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated"?Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated"?Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast Nominated"?San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated"?San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Performance by an Ensemble Nominated"?Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role Nominated"?Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
	Stand Up Guys	Richard Hirsch
2013	The Incredible Burt Wonderstone	Rance Holloway
	Grudge Match	Lightning
	In Security	Police Officer	Cameo
2014	Million Dollar Arm	Ray Poitevint
2015	Love the Coopers	Bucky
2017	Going in Style	Al	Post-production

Television movies/miniseries

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1978	The Other Side of Hell	Frank Dole	TV movie
	'	Simas Kudirka	TV movie
1985	The Fourth Wise Man	Orontes	TV movie
1986	A Deadly Business	Harold Kaufman	TV movie
1987	Escape from Sobibor	Leon Feldhendler	Nominated"?Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Miniseries or Television Film Nominated"?Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor - Miniseries or a Movie
1988	Necessary Parties	Archie Corelli	TV movie
1993	Cooperstown	Harry Willette	TV movie Nominated"?Cable ACE Award for Best Actor in a Movie or Miniseries
	Taking the Heat	Tommy Canard	TV movie
1994	Doomsday Gun	Col. Yossi	TV movie
1995	Picture Windows	Tully	Miniseries
1999	Blood Money	Willy "The Hammer" Canzaro	TV movie
2001	Varian's War	Freier	TV movie
2003	'	Harry Rowen	TV movie Nominated"?Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor - Miniseries or a Movie
	And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself	Sam Drebben	TV movie
2004	Noel	Artie Venzuela	TV movie

Television appearances

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1964	East Side/West Side	Ted Miller	episode: "The Beatnik and the Politician"
1966	ABC Stage 67	Barney Kempinski	Episode: "The Love Song of Barney Kempinski" Nominated"?Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Drama
1970-1971	Sesame Street	Larry	4 episodes, with then-wife Barbara Dana as Larry's wife Phyllis
1979	Carol Burnett & Company	Himself	Episode: "Episode #1.2"
1980	The Muppet Show	Himself	Episode: Season 4, episode 20
1983	St. Elsewhere	Jerry Singleton	Episode: "Ties That Bind" episode: "Lust En Veritas" episode: "Newheart"
1985	Faerie Tale Theatre	Bo	Episode: The Emperor's New Clothes
1987	Harry	Harry Porschak	7 episodes
1997	Chicago Hope	Zoltan Karpathein	Episode: The Son Also Rises Nominated"?Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series
2001-2002	100 Centre Street	Joe Rifkind	10 episodes
2005	Will & Grace	Marty Adler	Episode: "It's a Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad World"
2015-2016	BoJack Horseman	J. D. Salinger (voice)	4 episodes

See also

• List of oldest and youngest Academy Award winners and nominees