Oscar winner Alan Arkin, whose background in improvisation and knack for comic drama were cornerstones of his extensive genre-hopping career that yielded enduring characters from the 1960s comedy “The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming” to “Little Miss Sunshine” and “Argo,” has died. I never considered quitting acting, though — I couldn’t, because I was so shy that I needed it as a way of contacting people,” Arkin told The Times in 1998. Versatile and adaptable, Arkin launched his career as a member of Chicago’s influential improvisational troupe, Second City. Alan Wolf Arkin was born on March 26, 1934, in New York City. When Arkin was 5, he announced that he wanted to be an actor — a phase his father was certain he’d out outgrow.

Source: Los Angeles Times June 30, 2023 17:55 UTC