Oscar-winning actor Alan Arkin dies at 89

LOS ANGELES

Alan Arkin, the Oscar-winning "Little Miss Sunshine" and "Argo" actor known for his wry wit and improvisation skills, has died at the age of 89, according to his sons.

Adam, Matthew and Anthony - who all followed their father into the entertainment industry - said he 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," they said in a statement Friday, without citing a cause of death.

Born in Brooklyn on March 26, 1934 to Russian-German Jewish immigrant parents, Arkin began taking acting classes from a young age.

His family relocated to Los Angeles in the 1950s, and Arkin won scholarships to various Los Angeles drama colleges before dropping out to form a folk music band, The Tarriers, in 1955.

The group had a hit with 1956's "The Banana Boat Song," and he continued to pursue a music career as well as acting for the next decade.

He was a member of Chicago's storied Second City improvisational troupe, and appeared on the big screen for the first time with The Tarriers in 1957's "Calypso Heat Wave."

He made his Broadway debut in "From the Second City," which led to a role in acclaimed comedy "Enter Laughing," for which he won a Tony Award.

In a rare feat, Arkin earned a best actor Oscar nomination for his first feature acting role, playing the Soviet sailor Rozanov, who is mistaken for a spy, in the 1966 comedy "The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming."

That was followed by appearances in 1967's "Wait Until Dark" opposite Audrey Hepburn, and 1968's "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter," for which he received a second Oscar nomination, for playing a deaf-mute.

Many critics believe Arkin's best performance came in 1970's "Catch 22," the film adaptation of Joseph Heller's best-selling tragicomic war novel.

Arkin appeared regularly on stage, television and the big screen from the 1970s to the 1990s, with notable roles in "Edward Scissorhands" (1990), "Glengarry Glen Ross" (1992) and "Grosse Pointe Blank" (1997).

He took it on himself to create his "Little Miss Sunshine" character's backstory, deciding that Grandpa Hoover should be a washed-up former saxophonist with a penchant for strip clubs and drugs. It would win him his only Oscar.

"I love completely disreputable characters who spout philosophy," Arkin said. "He's completely out there, wide open and nuts."

He earned another Oscar nomination for 2013's best picture winner "Argo," in which he played a curmudgeonly Hollywood producer who brought comic relief to the tense Iran hostage thriller.