ALAN ARKIN
Birth Name: Alan Wolf Arkin
Date of Birth: March 26, 1934
Born in New York City, Alan Arkin started his career in the entertainment industry as a member of a folk-singing group called The Terriers. He then joined Chicago's Second City improv group
which prepared him well for his stage debut in Carl Reiner's Enter Laughing. This project garnered Arkin rave reviews as well as a coveted Tony Award.
Known for sterling comic performances, Arkin is an extremely versatile entertainer—working in theater and film as both actor and director, and, as well, authoring a number of children's books. He is also a songwriter and exhibited-photographer. Father of E.R.'s Adam Arkin, Alan made his big screen debut in The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming! which earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor and a Golden Globe Award. He went on to earn a second Oscar nod for his sensitive portrayal of John Singer in The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (1968).
More recently, he won a Best Supporting Actor award from the Boston Society of Film Critics for his role in Thirteen Conversations About One Thing (2001) and an Academy Award for Little Miss Sunshine (2006). He also has two Genie awards for his work in Improper Channels (1981) and Joshua Then and Now (1985).
He continues to work steadily in motion pictures such as Marley & Me (2008), Sunshine Cleaning (2009), City Island (2010) and The Change-Up (2011).