Everything about Alan Arkin totally explained
Alan Wolf Arkin (born
March 26,
1934) is an
American award-winning
actor and
director. He is best-known for starring in such films as:
Catch-22;
The In-Laws;
Edward Scissorhands;
The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming;
Glengarry Glen Ross ; and
Little Miss Sunshine, for which he won an
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2007. He is the father of actor
Adam Arkin.
Biography
Early life and career
Arkin was born in
Brooklyn,
New York City, the son of Beatrice (
née Wortis), a teacher, and
David I. Arkin, a
painter and
writer who mostly worked as a
teacher. Arkin was raised in a
Jewish family with "no emphasis on religion;" his maternal grandfather was an immigrant from
Odessa, Ukraine. The family moved from
Brooklyn to
Los Angeles, California when Arkin was 11 years old,
Arkin, who had been taking acting lessons since age 10, became a scholarship student at various drama academies, including one run by
Stanislavsky student
Benjamin Zemach, who taught Arkin a psychological approach to acting. Arkin attended Franklin High School, in Los Angeles, followed by
Los Angeles City College from 1951 to 1953. 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, same-name
Jamaican
calypso folk song 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.
From 1958 to 1968, Arkin performed and recorded with the children's
folk group,
The Baby Sitters.
Acting career
Arkin is one of only eight 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.
Arkin is equally comfortable in comedy and dramatic roles. Among those for which he's garnered the most favorable critical attention are his Oscar-nominated turns above;
Wait Until Dark, as the erudite killer stalking
Audrey Hepburn; director
Mike Nichols'
Catch-22;
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (where he played
Sigmund Freud); writer
Jules Feiffer's
Little Murders, which Arkin directed; the
The In-Laws, co-starring
Peter Falk;
Glengarry Glen Ross; and
Little Miss Sunshine, for which he received his third Oscar nomination, in the category of
Best Supporting Actor. On the
11 February 2007 he received a
BAFTA Film Award for
Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his portrayal of Grandfather Edwin in
Little Miss Sunshine. On
February 25,
2007, upon winning the
Academy Award for
Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Arkin, who plays a foul-mouthed grandfather with a taste for
heroin 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 became the sixth oldest winner of the Best Supporting Actor Oscar.
On
Broadway, Arkin starred in
Enter Laughing, for which he won a
Tony Award, and
Luv. He also directed
The Sunshine Boys, among others.
Writing career
Arkin is also the author of many books, including the children's stories
The Lemming Condition and
The Clearing.
Personal life
Arkin has been married three times. He and Jeremy Yaffe, to whom he was married from 1955 to 1960, have two sons:
Adam Arkin, born Aug. 19, 1956 or 1957 (accounts differ), and Matthew Arkin, born in 1960. In 1967, Arkin had son Anthony (Tony) Dana Arkin with actress-screenwriter
Barbara Dana (born 1940), to whom he was married from
June 16,
1964 to the mid-1990s. In 1996, Arkin married a
psychotherapist, Suzanne Newlander.
As of 2007, they live in
New Mexico.
Filmography
| Films |
| Year |
Film |
Role |
Other notes |
| 1957 |
Calypso Heat Wave |
Tarriers lead singer |
uncredited |
| 1963 |
That's Me |
|
Nominated - Academy Award for Live-Action Short Subject |
| 1966 |
The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming |
Lt. Rozanov |
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Nominated - Academy Award for Best Actor; Nominated - BAFTA Award |
| The Last Mohican |
Pretzel Peddler |
short film |
| 1967 |
Woman Times Seven |
Fred (segment "The Suicides") |
released June 1967 |
| Wait Until Dark |
Harry Roat |
released October 1967 |
| 1968 |
Inspector Clouseau |
Inspector Jacques Clouseau |
released July 19 |
| The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter |
John Singer |
Nominated - Academy Award for Best Actor
Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama |
| 1969 |
Popi |
Abraham Rodriguez |
Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama |
| The Monitors |
Cameo appearance |
released October |
| 1970 |
Catch-22 |
Capt. John Yossarian |
|
| 1971 |
Little Murders |
Lt. Practice |
also director |
| 1972 |
Last of the Red Hot Lovers |
Barney Cashman |
released August |
| Deadhead Miles |
Cooper |
|
| 1974 |
It Couldn't Happen to a Nicer Guy |
|
Nov. 1974 TV-movie |
| Freebie and the Bean |
Bean |
released December 1974 |
| 1975 |
Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins |
Gunny Rafferty |
a.k.a. Rafferty and the Highway Hustlers |
| Hearts of the West |
Burt Kessler |
released October 1975 |
| 1976 |
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution |
Dr. Sigmund Freud |
|
| 1977 |
Fire Sale |
Ezra Fikus |
also director |
| 1978 |
The Other Side of Hell |
Frank Dole |
January 17, 1978 TV-movie |
| The Defection of Simas Kudirka |
Simas Kudirka |
January 23, 1978 TV-movie |
| 1979 |
The In-Laws |
Sheldon S. Kornpett, D.D.S. |
released June 1979 |
| The Magician of Lublin |
Yasha Mazur |
released November 1979 |
| 1980 |
Simon |
Prof. Simon Mendelssohn |
|
| 1981 |
Full Moon High |
Dr. Brand |
|
| Improper Channels |
Jeffrey Martley |
released May 1981 |
| Chu Chu and the Philly Flash |
Flash |
released August 1981 |
| 1982 |
The Last Unicorn |
Schmendrick |
voice |
| 1983 |
The Return of Captain Invincible |
Captain Invincible |
|
| 1984 |
A Matter of Principle |
Flagg Purdy |
TV movie |
| 1985 |
The Fourth Wise Man |
Orontes |
March 1985 TV movie |
| Joshua Then and Now |
Reuben Shapiro |
released September 1985 |
| Bad Medicine |
Dr. Ramón Madera |
released November 1985 |
| 1986 |
A Deadly Business |
Harold Kaufman |
TV |
| Big Trouble |
Leonard Hoffman |
released May 1986 |
| 1987 |
Escape from Sobibor |
Leon Feldhendler |
Nominated - Emmy Award |
| 1988 |
Necessary Parties |
Archie Corelli |
TV |
| 1990 |
Coupe de Ville |
Fred Libner |
released March 1990 |
| Edward Scissorhands |
Bill |
released Dec. 7, 1990 |
| Havana |
Joe Volpi |
released Dec. 12, 1990 |
| 1991 |
The Rocketeer |
A. 'Peevy' Peabody |
|
| 1992 |
Glengarry Glen Ross |
George Aaronow |
|
| 1993 |
Cooperstown |
Harry Willette |
Jan. 1993 TV movie |
| Indian Summer |
Unca Lou Handler |
released April 1993 |
| Taking the Heat |
Tommy Canard |
June 1993 TV movie |
| So I Married an Axe Murderer |
Police Captain (uncredited) |
released July 1993 |
| Samuel Beckett is Coming Soon |
The Director (character) |
short film; also director |
| 1994 |
North |
Judge Buckle |
released July 22, 1994 |
| Doomsday Gun |
Col. Yossi |
July 23, 1994 TV movie |
| Picture Windows |
Tully, in segment "Soir Bleu" |
Oct. 1994 TV movie |
| 1995 |
The Jerky Boys |
Ernie Lazarro |
released Feb. 1995 |
| We're Here! A Hollywood Story |
Wayne "Wendell" Mazur |
released Jun. 1995 |
|
Steal Big Steal Little |
Lou Perilli |
released Sept. 1995 |
| 1996 |
Heck's Way Home |
Dogcatcher |
March 1996 - TV |
| Mother Night |
George Kraft |
released Nov. 1996 |
| 1997 |
Grosse Pointe Blank |
Dr. Oatman |
released April 1997 |
| O Que É Isso, Companheiro? |
Charles Burke Elbrick |
Brazil-U.S May 1997; U.S. Jan. 1998 |
| Gattaca |
Det. Hugo |
released Oct. 1997 |
| 1998 |
Slums of Beverly Hills |
Murray Samuel Abromowitz |
|
| 1999 |
Jakob the Liar |
Max Frankfurter |
released Sept. 1999 |
| Blood Money |
Willy "The Hammer" Canzaro |
TV movie |
| 2000 |
Arigo |
|
writer and director |
| Magicians |
Milo |
direct-to-video |
| 2001 |
Varian's War |
Freier |
April 2001 TV movie |
| America's Sweethearts |
Wellness Guide |
released July 2001 |
| Thirteen Conversations About One Thing |
Gene |
wide theatrical release 2002 |
| 2003 |
The Pentagon Papers |
Harry Rowen |
March 2003 TV-movie
Nominated - Emmy Award |
| And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself |
Sam Drebben |
Sept. 2003 TV movie |
| 2004 |
The Novice |
Father Benkhe |
released Sept. 2004 |
| Noel |
Artie Venzuela |
Nov. 2004 TV movie |
| Eros |
Dr. Pearl / Hal in segment "Equilibrium" |
|
| 2006 |
Firewall |
Arlin Forester |
released Feb. 2006 |
| Little Miss Sunshine |
Edwin Hoover |
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role |
|
Bud Newman |
released Dec. 2006 |
| 2007 |
Raising Flagg |
Flagg Purdy |
released Feb. 2007 |
| Rendition |
Senator Hawkins |
released October. 2007 |
| 2008 |
Sunshine Cleaning |
Joe |
|
| Get Smart |
The Chief |
scheduled July 2008 |
| Marley & Me |
TBA |
scheduled December 2008 |
| 2009 |
The Private Lives of Pippa Lee |
Herb |
filming |
| Television |
| Year |
Title |
Role |
Notes |
| 1964 |
East Side/West Side |
Ted Miller |
"The Beatnik and the Politician" |
| 1966 |
ABC Stage 67 |
Barney Kempinski |
"The Love Song of Barney Kempinski"
Nominated - Emmy Award |
| 1970-1972 |
Sesame Street |
Larry |
unknown episodes |
| 1979 |
Carol Burnett & Company |
Himself |
Episode 1, Season 2 |
| 1983 |
St. Elsewhere |
Jerry Singleton |
3 episodes: "Ties That Bind", "Lust En Veritas", "Newheart" |
| 1958 |
Faerie Tale Theatre |
Bo |
"The Emperor's New Clothes" |
| 1987 |
Harry |
Harry Porschak |
March 4–25, ABC TV series |
| 1997 |
Chicago Hope |
Zoltan Karpathein |
"The Son Also Rises"
Nominated - Emmy Award |
| 2001-2002 |
100 Centre Street |
Joe Rifkind |
A&E TV series |
| 2005 |
Will & Grace |
Marty Adler |
"It's a Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad World" |
| 2006-2007 |
Boston Legal |
Prosecutor |
Two episodes in Season 3 |
Further Information
Get more info on 'Alan Arkin'.
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