Profile of the Day: Alan Arkin

Today we remember actor Alan Arkin, who passed away yesterday at the age of 89.

Image: Alan Arkin / Gordon Correll, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Arkin was born on March 26, 1934 in Brooklyn, New York to David Arkin, a painter and writer, and Beatrice Wortis, a teacher. Since he was a child, Arkin knew he wanted to be a performer. He began taking acting classes at the age of 10 and after dropping out of college, toured Europe as part of a folk band. In the early 1960s, Arkin made a name for himself as an early member of Chicago’s Second City comedy troupe. He soon made his debut on the Broadway stage and earned a Tony Award nomination in 1963.

In 1966, Arkin starred in his first feature film The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming. His performance earned Arkin an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. It would be the first of four Oscar nominations he would earn throughout his career, winning once for his supporting role in the hit indie film Little Miss Sunshine. In addition to his success on the stage and film, Arkin had also received acclaim for his work on the small screen. Most recently, he earned back-to-back Emmy nominations for Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his work in the Michael Douglas led series The Kominsky Method.

RIP Alan Arkin (1934-2023).

View Alan Arkin’s Geni Profile