Little Miss Sunshine star Alan Arkin dies aged 89

Alan Arkin, the Oscar-winning star of Little Miss Sunshine and a longtime actor on stage and screen, has died at the age of 89.

While his cause of death hasn’t been shared, his passing was confirmed by his sons Adam, Matthew, and Anthony in a joint statement to People.

“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,” they said.

Born in New York in 1934, Arkin entered into the world of acting in the late 1950s after a brief pursuit of a career in music. By 1963, he’d won a Tony Award for his performance in Enter Laughing, before picking up Oscar nominations for 1966’s The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming and 1968’s The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter.

While he also starred in the likes of Catch-22, Edward Scissorhands, Glengarry Glen Ross, and Wait Until Dark, he was best known for his performance as Edwin Hoover, the grandpa in Little Miss Sunshine.

It was the role that won him his first Oscar, before scoring another Best Supporting Actor nomination in 2012 for Argo. Arkin also earned back-to-back Emmy nominations for his performance in The Kominsky Method alongside Michael Douglas.

News of his death has been met with tributes from fans and fellow actors across social media. “Such a wonderful, original voice for comedy. And on the few occasions I was in his presence, a kind and generous soul. I learned so much from watching him. And the laughs I got from his glorious work seem endless. May he rest well,” Jason Alexander tweeted.

“Did ANYONE have the range Alan Arkin had? Hilarious, sinister, insane, tragic. No mood he couldn’t live in. RIP,” Patton Oswalt wrote.