Even if many people do not know his name at first, you can be sure that you have seen several movies with Alan Arkin in your life. His greatest success is the tragic comedy Little Miss Sunshine. Arkin won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Edwin Hoover’s grandfather. The actor has since passed away at the age of 89. American trade journals report this unanimously.
After Arkin initially wanted to pursue a career as a folk singer and dropped out of college specifically to tour with the band The Tarrier (which he did, by the way), he joined the Second City theater company. In 1963, Arkin received his first Tony Award for his Broadway performance in the comedy Enter Laughing. Thus, Hollywood became aware of the actor.
In the farce “The Russians are coming! The Russians are coming!” Arkin should then celebrate his debut in the dream factory and immediately land an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.Although he continued his career in theater for a few more years after that, Arkin eventually returned to the big screen and took on roles in the thriller Wait Until Dark or the drama The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter.
During the 1990s, Arkin became one of the most sought-after supporting actors ever. His work includes such high-profile films as Glengarry Glen Ross, Edward Scissorhands, Gattaca, Powerless, Marley & I, Argo (for which he received another Oscar nomination), The Incredible Burt Wonderstone”, “Old School Two”, “Exit in Style” , “Dumbo” or “Spenser Confidential”. But his heartwarming performance in Little Miss Sunshine will probably be remembered the most.