Veteran actor, director and producer Alan Arkin died June 29 at 89 after a long, varied career. He is probably best known for his Oscar-winning role in the comic-drama “Little Miss Sunshine” in 2006. Arkin portrayed Edwin Hoover, the title character’s profanity-prone grandfather.
He was also an important part of the acting ensemble in “Argo,” the biography-drama also starring Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston and John Goodman. The political-thriller, directed by Affleck, was nominated for three Academy Awards and won for Best Picture of 2012. Arkin was nominated for Oscar’s golden statuette in the Supporting Actor category.
I could go on and on about Arkin. The Brooklyn, New York native was so great in so many films. He personified evil in “Wait Until Dark” in 1967 as Roat, one of the baddies desperate to steal a little girl’s doll stuffed with heroine from a sightless woman played by Audrey Hepburn.
He was also very enjoyable and engaging in “Catch 22” in 1970 and the action-adventure-comedy “The In-Laws” with Peter Falk in 1979.
Arkin appeared in 111 movies or TV shows during his decades-long prolific career. Most recently he was the voice of Wild Knuckles in “The Minions: The Rise of Gru” last year and appeared in 17 episodes of the streaming TV series “The Kominsky Method” opposite Oscar-winning actor Michael Douglas from 2018 to 2021.
