Alan Arkin was born in Brooklyn, New York on March 26 1934. His father would take him to see foreign films at the Thalia in New York. It was through subtitles that he learned to read. It was in 1945, when Alan Arkin was eleven, that his family moved to Los Angeles. He studied at Los Angeles City College and California State Los Angeles. He received a drama scholarship from Bennington College in Vermont.
Alan Arkin was a talented musician who could play guitar, piano, fife, and vibraphone. He joined the vocal group The Tarriers. The Tarriers had two minor hits with "Cindy, Oh Cindy" (with Vince Martin) and "The Banana Boat Song." They also recorded several albums and appeared in the movie Calypso Heat Wave (1957), marking Alan Arkin's film debut. Alan Arkin toured Europe with The Tarriers from 1957 to 1959.
Alan Arkin moved from music into acting, appearing with a repertory company in the Adirondacks. Afterwards he appeared in off-Broadway production of Abelard and Heloise. Alan Arkin moved to St. Lousi where he performed with the Compass Players and then joined the comedy troupe Second City in Chicago in 1960. It was through Second City that he made his Broadway debut in 1961, appearing in From the Second City. In the Sixties he appeared on Broadway in Enter Laughing and Luv, and he directed Hail Scrawdyke!. In the Seventies he directed The Sunshine Boys and Molly on Broadway. In the Nineties he directed Taller Than a Dwarf.
Alan Arkin made his film debut as an actor in the comedy short "That's Me" (1963), which was written by him and Andrew Duncan. It received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. His feature film debut was in The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming (1966), in which he played Lt. Rozanov, the political officer of a Russian submarine. He was nominated for the Oscar for Best Actor for the role. He was also nominated for Best Actor for his role in The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (1968). In the Sixties he also appeared in the movies Woman Times Seven (1967), Wait Until Dark (1967), Inspector Clouseau (1968), Popi (1969), The Monitors (1969), and Catch-22 (1970).
In the Seventies Mr. Arkin appeared in the movies Little Murders (1971), Deadhead Miles (1971), Last of the Red Hot Lovers (1972), Freebie and the Bean (1974), Rafferty and the God Dust Twins (1975), Hearts of the West (1975), The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1975), Fire Sale (1977), The In-Laws (1979), The Magician of Lubin (1979), and Simon (1989).
In the Eighties he appeared in the movies Improper Channels (1981), Chu Chu and the Philly Flash (1981), Full Moon High (1981), The Return of Captain Invincible (1983), Joshua Then and Now (1985), Bad Medicine (1985), Big Trouble (1986), Coupe de Ville (1990), Edward Scissorhands (1990), and Havana (1990). He was the voice of Schmendrick in the animated feature The Last Unicorn (2002).
In the Nineties he appeared in the movies The Rocketeer (1991), Glengarry Glen Ross (1992), Indian Summer (1993), So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993), North (1994), The Jerky Boys (1995), Steal Big Steal Little (1995), Mother Night (1996), Grosse Point Blank (1997), O Que é Isso, Companheiro? (1997), GATTACA (1997), Slums of Beverly Hills (1998), Jakob the Liar (1999), and Magicians (2000).
In the Naughts he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in Little Miss Sunshine (2006). He appeared in the movies America's Sweethearts (2001), Thirteen Conversations About One Thing (2001), Eros (2004), Noel (2004), Firewall (2006), The Novice (2006), The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006), Raising Flagg (2006), Rendition (2007), Sunshine Cleaning (2008), Get Smart (2008), Marley & Me (2008), The Private Lives of Pippa Lee (2009), and City Island (2009).
In the Teens Alan Arkin was nominated for the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for Argo (2012). He appeared in the movies The Convincer (2011), The Change-Up (2011), The Muppets (2011), Stand Up Guys (2012), The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (2013), In Security (2013), Grudge Match (2013), Million Dollar Arm (2014), Love the Coopers (2015), Going in Style (2017), Dumbo (2019), and Spenser (2020). In the 2020s he provided the voice of Wild Knuckles in the animated feature Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022).
Alan Arkin made his television debut on the show East Side/West Side in 1964. In the Sixties he also guest starred on the TV shows ABC Stage 67 and Sesame Street. In the Seventies he made more guest appearances on Sesame Street and also guest starred on Captain Kangaroo, Busting Loose, and Carol Burnett & Company. He appeared in the TV movies It Couldn't Happen to a Nicer Guy, The Other Side of Hell, and The Defection of Simas Kurirka.
In the Eighties Alan Arkin guest starred on the TV shows St. Elsewhere, American Playhouse, Faerie Tale Theatre, and A Year in the Life. He starred on the short-lived show Harry. He appeared in the TV movies The Fourth Wise Man, A Deadly Business, Escape from Sobibor, and Necessary Parties. In the Nineties he guest starred on the TV shows Picture Windows and Chicago Hope. He appeared in the TV movies Cooperstown, Taking the Heat, Heck's Way Home, and Blood Money.
In the Naughts Mr. Arkin starred on the short lived show 100 Centre Street. He guest starred on the show Will & Grace. He appeared in the TV movies Varian's War, The Pentagon Papers, and And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself. In the Teens he provided the voice of J.D. Salinger on the animated series BoJack Horseman. He starred on the TV show The Kominsky Method. He guest starred on the show Get Shorty. In the 2020s he continued to appear in The Kominsky Method.
Alan Arkin was simply an incredible actor, one of the greatest character actors of the late Twentieth and early Twenty First Centuries. He was both extremely versatile and extremely prolific, and could play any number of roles. He shined as submarine officer Rozanov in The Russians Are Coming the Russians are Coming. He was impressive in Catch-22 as Captain Yossarian, the burned out and traumatized U.S. Air Force bombardier who wanted out of the war. in The In-Laws he played mild-mannered dentist Shelley Kompett, whose daughter's father-in-law, Vince Ricardo (Peter Falk) turns out to be a CIA agent. In The Rocketeer he was aircraft mechanic Peevy, who figures out how to get a rocket pack to work. Alan Arkin could play villains as well. He played the violent con man Roat in Wait Until Dark. Alan Arkin was so impressive in so many movies, including Freebie and the Bean, Hearts of the West, The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, Argo, and many others. Few actors were as great as Alan Arkin was.
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