Alan Arkin, Oscar-winning 'Little Miss Sunshine' star, dies at 89

Alan Arkin, a veteran actor of both the small and big screen who won an Academy Award for his role in “Little Miss Sunshine,” has died, according to his representative. He was 89.

“Our father was a uniquely talented force of nature, both as an artist and a man,” his sons, Adam, Matthew and Anthony, said in a family statement to NBC News.

“A loving husband, father, grand and great grandfather, he was adored and will be deeply missed.”

Born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in Los Angeles, Arkin was an accomplished actor, whose career took off on Broadway, winning a Tony Award in 1963 for “Enter Laughing.”

His transition to film was a seamless one, as he racked up a pair of best actor Oscar nominations, first for 1966's “The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming” (his first credited role in a movie) and again two years later for “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter.”

Arkin was a steady presence on the big screen, appearing in other films such as “Wait Until Dark,” “Catch-22,” “Last of the Red Hot Lovers,” “The Seven-Per-Cent Solution,” “The In-Laws,” “Edward Scissorhands,” “Havana,” “Glengarry Glen Ross,” “Sunshine Cleaning,” "Marley & Me" and the film adaptation of the TV series “Get Smart.”

He also provided the voice of Wild Knuckles in 2022's "Minions: The Rise of Gru."

He won the best supporting actor Academy Award for playing a man kicked out of a retirement home for snorting heroin in the 2006 road-trip comedy “Little Miss Sunshine.” In 2012, he was again nominated for an Oscar in the same category for “Argo,” playing a Hollywood executive tasked with producing a movie to cover for saving American hostages in Iran.

Arkin also had success on the small screen, earning six Emmy Award nominations, including his first in 1967 for “ABC Stage 67.” Most recently, he garnered nominations in 2019 and 2020 for best supporting actor in a comedy series for Netflix’s “The Kominsky Method.”

Arkin also earned an Emmy nomination in 1997 for guest starring on “Chicago Hope,” a drama that starred his son Adam. In addition, he notched Emmy nods for his roles in the miniseries “Escape from Sobibor” and the TV-movie “The Pentagon Papers.” He also had guest roles on “St. Elsewhere,” “Sesame Street,” “Will & Grace” and “BoJack Horseman.” In addition, he starred in the short-lived drama "100 Centre Street."

And while he was successful in his field, Arkin tried to see the big picture in his later years.

“Acting used to be my identity,” he told TODAY in 2020. “It used to be how I identified myself. Those were my words. Now, acting, all it is anymore, is an expression of who I am. It’s not who I am. It’s not what I am. It’s something I do.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com