Alan Arkin
Alan Wolf Arkin ( born March 26, 1934 in New York City, New York ) is an American actor, film director, children's author and Oscar winners.
Life and work
Even in his school days Arkin joined the band The Tarriers to make career as a folk singer. When the band in 1956 with a first version of Banana Boat Song had a successful single in the U.S. charts, he left college to go with the band on tour. Despite a successful tour of Europe Arkin left the band. A friend had offered him to join the Chicago theater group The Second City.
In the early 1960s he moved to New York to play there on Broadway. Already in 1963 he received his first Tony Award for Best Supporting Actor in the comedy Enter Laughing. The directed by Mike Nichols comedy Luv was very well received and made the director Norman Jewison attention to him. So got Arkin 1966 his first role in a Hollywood film. In Jewison war farce The Russians are coming! The Russians are coming! he played a Soviet submarine officer; for which he was nominated in the category Best Actor for the Oscar for best newcomer and for the BAFTA Award.
However, Arkin remained faithful to the theater, and as late in the same year at a short-lived production of Hail Scrawdyke! debut as a director. In 1967 he moved back to the film and took over in the thriller Wait until it is dark on the side of Audrey Hepburn, the role of the villain. In the following years he concentrated on his film career. For his portrayal of a deaf-mute in the film drama The heart is a lonely hunter, he received his second Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. In 1970 he starred as Captain Yossarian the U.S. Air Force in Mike Nichols film adaptation of the novel Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, the main role. Catch-22 - The evil trick made Alan Arkin known worldwide.
In 1971 he directed the adaptation of the play Little Murders by Jules Feiffer. The following year he published his first children's book entitled Tony 's Hard Work Day. The mid-1970s returned Arkin as a director on Broadway and took over barely rolls of film. In 1981 he played the main role in the book written by his son Adam Arkin TV movie Papa skin on the plaster. In the 1990s, he drew attention to himself mainly by appearances in the films Glengarry Glen Ross, Four Days in September and Jakob the Liar.
2004 appeared the first book to be translated into German from him, Cassie loves Beethoven. His three other children's books have not been translated, they are available only in the original English edition.
2007 Arkin finally won his first Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in the film Little Miss Sunshine. Another Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for the film followed in 2013 Argo.
His sons, Adam, Anthony and Matthew are also an actor.