According to his sons, Alan Arkin, the Oscar-winning ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ and ‘Argo’ actor famed for his sardonic wit and improvisation talents, died at the age of 89.
Adam, Matthew, and Anthony, who all worked in the entertainment industry with their father, described him as “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,” they said in a statement Friday, without citing a cause of death.
Arkin, who was born in Brooklyn on March 26, 1934 to Russian-German Jewish immigrant parents, began taking acting training at an early age.
Arkin’s family moved to Los Angeles in the 1950s, and he received scholarships to several Los Angeles theatre institutions before dropping out to form The Tarriers, a folk music band, in 1955.
The group had a hit with ‘The Banana Boat Song’ in 1956, and he proceeded to pursue a music and acting career for the next decade.
He was a member of Chicago’s legendary Second City improvisational team and made his film debut with The Tarriers in 1957’s ‘Calypso Heat Wave’.
He made his Broadway debut in “From the Second City,” which led to a role in the Tony-winning comedy “Enter Laughing.”
