• Home
  • News
  • Entertainment
  • LAD Originals

To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders

Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications

Not now
OK
Advert
Advert
Advert

Hollywood star Alan Arkin dies aged 89

Tom Wood

Published 
| Last updated 

Hollywood star Alan Arkin dies aged 89

Little Miss Sunshine star Alan Arkin has died at the age of 89, his family has confirmed.

In a statement made to People, Arkin's sons Adam, Matthew, and Anthony said: “Our father was 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.”

Arkin shot to fame in movies in the late 1960s, though he had been a successful stage actor before then, winning a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in 1963.

Advert

For his performance in Little Miss Sunshine in 2006, he was awarded the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and then BAFTA for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

Alan Arkin. Credit: UPI/Alamy Stock Photo
Alan Arkin. Credit: UPI/Alamy Stock Photo

Arkin started out with great success on the boards, working as both an actor and a director, before he shot to stardom with 1966 film The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming.

He followed that up with successes like The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Popi, Catch-22, and The In-Laws.

Advert

In later decades, he starred in films like Glengarry Glen Ross, Gross Pointe-Blank and Thirteen Conversations about One Thing.

Then, in 2006 he achieved one of his highest accolades with a stand-out performance in Little Miss Sunshine, directed by husband and wife Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris.

Arkin played Edwin Hoover, the grandfather and teacher of the eponymous young beauty pageant contestant.

His performance captured the imaginations of critics and audiences alike, earning him a number of nominations during that awards season, including Best Supporting Actor nods at the BAFTAs, and at the Academy Awards.

Advert

He won at the both.

In his career, he was nominated for four Oscars, receiving his last nod in 2013 for Argo, as well as three BAFTAs, six Emmys, six Golden Globes - winning one - and countless other awards including Screen Actors Guild awards, Tony Awards, and critics selections.

Arkin in Little Miss Sunshine. Credit: Fox Searchlight Pictures
Arkin in Little Miss Sunshine. Credit: Fox Searchlight Pictures

He also had a lengthy career as an author, penning books from 1972 until 2018, and was a successful singer.

Advert

In the 1950s, Arkin had performed with chart-topping band The Tarriers, as well as performing with children’s folk group The Baby Sitters.

Arkin was married on three occasions, divorcing twice, and had three sons.

He married psychotherapist Suzanne Newlander in 1996, and lived with her in Carlsbad, California, until his death.

His last documented performance was as a voice actor in Minions: The Rise of Gru in 2022.

Featured Image Credit: Fox Searchlight Pictures/UPI / Alamy Stock Photo

Topics: TV and Film, Celebrity

Tom Wood
More like this
Advert
Advert
Advert

Chosen for YouChosen for You

News

Jimmy Savile made a ‘hidden in plain sight’ joke in harrowing Have I Got News For You appearance

5 minutes ago

Most Read StoriesMost Read

Actor Sir Michael Gambon has died aged 82

2 days ago