Actor Alan Arkin is dead Photo: Ringo Chiu/ZUMA Wire/dpa
From BZ/afp
The US actor Alan Arkin, known from the tragic comedy “Little Miss Sunshine” and the thriller “Argo”, is dead.
The Oscar winner died at the age of 89, his agent said on Friday, citing family members. Information on the cause of death was not given.
Born in Brooklyn in 1934 to Russian-German-Jewish immigrants, Arkin has starred in more than a hundred films and series throughout his long acting career. He has been nominated four times for an Oscar and won the coveted trophy for Best Supporting Actor in 2007 for Little Miss Sunshine, in which he plays a grumpy grandfather.
He had received his first Oscar nomination for his debut screen role, the spy comedy The Russians are Coming! The Russians are coming!” from 1966.
Other notable films starring Arkin include 1970’s Catch-22, 1990’s Edward Scissorhands and the 1999 remake of Jacob the Liar starring Robin Williams. Arkin received his last Oscar nomination for the 2012 Iran thriller Argo opposite Ben Affleck.
Arkin has also worked as a director, screenwriter and singer. He had a hit with his band The Tarriers in 1956 with the song “The Banana Boat Song”. The song is now primarily associated with Harry Belafonte.