Michael Douglas, John Cusack and other stars pay tribute to Alan Arkin: 'We lost a wonderful actor'
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Michael Douglas was among many celebrities who offered their heartfelt condolences to the celebrated actor Alan Arkin who died at the age of 89. His death was confirmed by his three sons in a jointly issued statement on their family's behalf on Friday, June 30.
"Our father was a uniquely talented force of nature, both as an artist and a man. A loving husband, father, grand and great grandfather, he was adored and will be deeply missed," read the statement provided by the Arkin's sons Adam, Matthew, and Anthony, according to ET.
Arkin 'left an indelible mark on our industry'
To remember the late actor, Michael Douglas shared a picture of him and Arkin working together for the Netflix show 'The Kominsky Method'. "Today we lost a wonderful actor whose intelligence, sense of comedy, and consummate professionalism over the past 70 years has left an indelible mark on our industry," he captioned the Instagram post.
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"My experience of working with Alan was some of my most memorable. He will be deeply missed. Sincere condolences to his wife, Suzanne, and his family," Douglas wrote.
Mourning the loss of the Oscar-winning star, many of his admirers in Hollywood took to social media to pay tributes in his honor. Mia Farrow who worked with Arkin in 'The Last Unicorn' (1982) took to Twitter to share her memory of the late actor. "Very sad to learn of the death of Alan Arkin. Such a lovely person- of course, a great actor. It was a privilege to work with him in 'The Last Unicorn'. For me he will always be ‘Schmendrick’ my invaluable magician companion on our search for other unicorns," Farrow wrote.
Very sad to learn of the death of Alan Arkin. Such a lovely person- of course, a great actor. It was a privilege to work with him in The Last Unicorn. For me he will always be ‘Schmendrick’ my invaluable magician companion on our search for other unicorns pic.twitter.com/uiIlQJhcqJ
— Mia Farrow🌻🇺🇸 🏳️🌈 (@MiaFarrow) June 30, 2023
'Did anyone have the range Alan Arkin had?'
Sharing a story about Arkin wanting to rework a scene in the film 'Grosse Pointe Blank' (1997), John Cusack who worked in the film as the lead talked about the crew initially being skeptical and wrote, "I looked at them kindly but as if they’d gone insane."
"I said you have Alan Arkin wanting to personalize and deepen this comedy we’re making - I wrote it - he can say whatever the f**k he wants - sit back watch and feel lucky - please," he tweeted.
“ At one point, Alan Arkin requested to do a last-minute rewrite of a scene, which made a handful of studio execs mighty uncomfortable. According to Cusack, he assured them, saying "Don't worry. That's Alan Arkin. Anything he's gonna do is gonna make this thing even better “… pic.twitter.com/kad9gNz24R
— John Cusack (@johncusack) June 30, 2023
Patton Oswalt took to Twitter to pay tribute to Arkins and wrote, "Did anyone have the range Alan Arkin had? Hilarious, sinister, insane, tragic. No mood he couldn’t live in. RIP."
Did ANYONE have the range Alan Arkin had? Hilarious, sinister, insane, tragic. No mood he couldn’t live in. RIP. pic.twitter.com/pUVa5j8Tqc
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) June 30, 2023
Michael McKean, who worked with Arkin on the TV movie 'And Starring Pancho Villa' (2003), talked about wanting to be the kind of actor Arkin was. "When I was a young actor people wanted to know if I wanted to be a serious actor or a funny one. I'd answer 'Which kind is Alan Arkin?' and that shut them up," McKean tweeted.
When I was a young actor people wanted to know if I wanted to be a serious actor or a funny one. I'd answer "Which kind is Alan Arkin?" and that shut them up.
— Michael McKean (@MJMcKean) June 30, 2023
Arkin had a successful career spanning six decades
The legendary actor won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his character Edwin Hoover in the 2006 film 'Little Miss Sunshine' in which his role as the grandfather of a dysfunctional family only spanned 14 minutes of screen time.
Arkins, who had four Oscar nominations, appeared in more than 100 films and movies in his career spanning six decades. He starred in movies like 'Argo' (2012), 'Glengarry Glen Ross' (1992), 'Edward Scissorhands' (1990), 'Catch-22' (1970), and 'The Heart is a Lonely Hunter' (1968) for which he was nominated for the Oscars for the second time. He was also nominated for six Emmy Awards and the latest one was for the show 'The Kominsky Method' which he left in 2021 before its third season.
He is survived by his wife Suzanne Newlander and his three children. Arkin married Newlander in 1996. He shared sons Adam Arkin and Matthew Arkin with his first wife Jeremy Yaffe, and Anthony Dana Arkin with his second wife Dana.