Alan Arkin, star of The Kominsky Method dies at 89
Tributes from his peers and the younger performers who worked with the actor who always delivered
Brigit Grant is the Jewish News Supplements Editor
“He was one of our greatest actors. Hilarious, heartbreaking, and the ability to be terrifying, his range was amazing. I cherish the chance I had to act with him in America’s Sweethearts (2001).”
This was Billy Crystal’s tribute to American actor Alan Arkin who died at his home in San Marcos, California on Thursday at the age of 89. The Brooklyn-born Jewish actor of Ukranian/German heritage was the visual equivalent of a sigh of relief for audiences, as his name attached to a project meant what they were about to see would be good.
The Academy Award nomination he received for his film debut in 1966’s The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming was the starting point of a career that spanned seven decades in which he also became the sixth-oldest winner of the best supporting actor Oscar in 2007 in Little Miss Sunshine.
Memorable as the mild-mannered Manhattan dentist drawn into an espionage scheme in The In-Laws in 1979, Arkin studied the Stanislavski method with Benjamin Zemach who specialised in Jewish themes, and this teaching framed his performances in The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter(1968); Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) and Catch-22, the 1970 film adaptation of Joseph Heller’s novel.
More recently Arkin voiced J.D. Salinger in the cult Netflix animated series, BoJack Horseman, but it was his role as retired agent and widower Norman Newlander alongside Michael Douglas in Chuck Lorre’s The Kominsky Method on Netflix that showed his veteran skill as a comic performer with immaculate timing and genuine heart.
Among the many tributes to Arkin on Friday were those from Jewish actor Natasha Lyonne, who starred with him in the cult favourite Slums of Beverly Hills and wrote:”I love this man so much. The favourite of all my movie dads and so brilliant, inspiring and kind for so long.”
Even The Muppets paid tribute as the actor appeared on their show often, but it was The Kominsky Method in which he wowed most recently and was nominated for two consecutive Emmy Awards. After three seasons Netflix felt the series had reached its natural end, and season three marked the passing of Norman Newlander who made his good friend Sandy Kominsky (Douglas) executor of his will. Arkin said all along that he was only good for two seasons, so his departure was planned, but this seems all the more poignant now, notably for his co-star Michael Douglas paid tribute on instagram. “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. My experience of working with Alan was some of my most memorable. He will be deeply missed.”
Enjoy Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin discussing their careers and so much more here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uIpCL6hJRk
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