Alan Arkin, the wry character actor who demonstrated his versatility in comedy and drama as he received four Academy Award nominations and won an Oscar in 2007 for B次元官网网址淟ittle Miss Sunshine,B次元官网网址� has died. He was 89.

His sons Adam, Matthew and Anthony confirmed their fatherB次元官网网址檚 death through the actorB次元官网网址檚 publicist on Friday. B次元官网网址淥ur father was a uniquely talented force of nature, both as an artist and a man,B次元官网网址� they said in a statement.

A member of ChicagoB次元官网网址檚 famed Second City comedy troupe, Arkin was an immediate success in movies with the Cold War spoof B次元官网网址淭he Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are ComingB次元官网网址� and peaked late in life with his win as best supporting actor for the surprise 2006 hit B次元官网网址淟ittle Miss Sunshine.B次元官网网址� More than 40 years separated his first Oscar nomination, for B次元官网网址淭he Russians are Coming,B次元官网网址� from his nomination for playing a conniving Hollywood producer in the Oscar-winning B次元官网网址淎rgo.B次元官网网址�

In recent years he starred opposite Michael Douglas in the Netflix comedy series B次元官网网址淭he Kominsky Method,B次元官网网址� a role that earned him two Emmy nominations.

Arkin once joked to The Associated Press that the beauty of being a character actor was not having to take his clothes off for a role. He wasnB次元官网网址檛 a sex symbol or superstar, but was rarely out of work, appearing in more than 100 TV and feature films. His trademarks were likability, relatability and complete immersion in his roles, no matter how unusual, whether playing a Russian submarine officer in B次元官网网址淭he Russians are ComingB次元官网网址� who struggles to communicate with the equally jittery Americans, or standing out as the foul-mouthed, drug-addicted grandfather in B次元官网网址淟ittle Miss Sunshine.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淎lanB次元官网网址檚 never had an identifiable screen personality because he just disappears into his characters,B次元官网网址� director Norman Jewison of B次元官网网址淭he Russians are ComingB次元官网网址� once observed. B次元官网网址淗is accents are impeccable, and heB次元官网网址檚 even able to change his looks. B次元官网网址� HeB次元官网网址檚 always been underestimated, partly because heB次元官网网址檚 never been in service of his own success.B次元官网网址�

While still with Second City, Arkin was chosen by Carl Reiner to play the young protagonist in the 1963 Broadway play B次元官网网址淓nter Laughing,B次元官网网址� based on ReinerB次元官网网址檚 semi-autobiographical novel.

He attracted strong reviews and the notice of Jewison, who was preparing to direct a 1966 comedy about a Russian sub that creates a panic when it ventures too close to a small New England town. In ArkinB次元官网网址檚 next major film, he proved he could also play a villain, however reluctantly. Arkin starred in B次元官网网址淲ait Until DarkB次元官网网址� as a vicious drug dealer who holds a blind woman (Audrey Hepburn) captive in her own apartment, believing a drug shipment is hidden there.

He recalled in a 1998 interview how difficult it was to terrorize HepburnB次元官网网址檚 character.

B次元官网网址淛ust awful,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淪he was an exquisite lady, so being mean to her was hard.B次元官网网址�

1968B次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淭he Heart Is a Lonely Hunter,B次元官网网址� in which he played a sensitive man who could not hear or speak, again elevated ArkinB次元官网网址檚 status in Hollywood. He starred as the bumbling French detective in B次元官网网址淚nspector ClouseauB次元官网网址� that same year, but the film would become overlooked in favor of Peter SellersB次元官网网址� Clouseau in the B次元官网网址淧ink PantherB次元官网网址� movies.

ArkinB次元官网网址檚 career as a character actor continued to blossom when Mike Nichols, a fellow Second City alumnus, cast him in the starring role as Rossarian, the victim of wartime red tape in 1970B次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淐atch-22,B次元官网网址� based on Joseph HellerB次元官网网址檚 million-selling novel. Through the years, Arkin turned up in such favorites as B次元官网网址淓dward Scissorhands,B次元官网网址� playing Johnny DeppB次元官网网址檚 neighbor; and in the film version of David MametB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淕lengarry Glen RossB次元官网网址� as a dogged real estate salesman. He and Reiner played brothers, one successful (Reiner), one struggling (Arkin), in the 1998 film B次元官网网址淭he Slums of Beverly Hills.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淚 used to think that my stuff had a lot of variety. But I realized that for the first twenty years or so, most of the characters I played were outsiders, strangers to their environment, foreigners in one way or another,B次元官网网址� he told The Associated Press in 2007.

B次元官网网址淎s I started to get more and more comfortable with myself, that started to shift. I got one of the nicest compliments IB次元官网网址檝e ever gotten from someone a few days ago. They said that they thought my characters were very often the heart, the moral center of a film. I didnB次元官网网址檛 particularly understand it, but I liked it; it made me happy.B次元官网网址�

Other recent credits included B次元官网网址淕oing in Style,B次元官网网址� a 2017 remake featuring fellow Oscar winners Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman, and B次元官网网址淭he Kominsky Method.B次元官网网址� He played a Hollywood talent agent and friend of DouglasB次元官网网址� character, a once-promising actor who ran an acting school after his career sputtered.

Arkin also directed the film version of Jules FeifferB次元官网网址檚 1971 dark comedy B次元官网网址淟ittle MurdersB次元官网网址� and Neil SimonB次元官网网址檚 1972 play about bickering old vaudeville partners, B次元官网网址淭he Sunshine Boys.B次元官网网址� On television, Arkin appeared in the short-lived series B次元官网网址淔ayB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淗arryB次元官网网址� and played a night court judge in Sidney LumetB次元官网网址檚 drama series B次元官网网址�100 Centre StreetB次元官网网址� on A&E. He also wrote several books for children.

Born in New York CityB次元官网网址檚 borough of Brooklyn, he and his family, which included two younger brothers, moved to Los Angeles when he was 11. His parents found jobs as teachers, but were fired during the post-World War II Red Scare because they were Communists.

B次元官网网址淲e were dirt poor so I couldnB次元官网网址檛 afford to go to the movies often,B次元官网网址� he told the AP in 1998. B次元官网网址淏ut I went whenever I could and focused in on movies, as they were more important than anything in my life.B次元官网网址�

He studied acting at Los Angeles City College; California State University, Los Angeles; and Bennington College in Vermont, where he earned a scholarship to the formerly all-girls school.

He married a fellow student, Jeremy Yaffe, and they had two sons, Adam and Matthew.

After he and Yaffe divorced in 1961, Arkin married actress-writer Barbara Dana, and they had a son, Anthony. All three sons became actors: Adam starred in the TV series B次元官网网址淐hicago Hope.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淚t was certainly nothing that I pushed them into,B次元官网网址� Arkin said in 1998. B次元官网网址淚t made absolutely no difference to me what they did, as long as it allowed them to grow.B次元官网网址�

Arkin began his entertainment career as an organizer and singer with The Tarriers, a group that briefly rode the folk musical revival wave of the late 1950s. Later, he turned to stage acting, off-Broadway and always in dramatic roles.

At Second City, he worked with Nichols, Elaine May, Jerry Stiller, Anne Meara and others in creating intellectual, high-speed impromptu riffs the fads and follies of the day.

B次元官网网址淚 never knew that I could be funny until I joined Second City,B次元官网网址� he said.