Remembering Alan Arkin - Comic and Serious Character Actor, Director, Producer, and Screenwriter

Alan Arkin, star of film and TV for more than 60 years, died last Thursday in California at the age of 89. Born in Brooklyn, he was the son of Ukrainian and German Jewish immigrants.

As Andrew Silow-Carroll wrote in The Times of Israel, 

Over a nearly seven-decade career, he imbued comic roles with pathos and serious roles with a touch of sardonic humor. He was working until nearly the end of his life, co-starring with Michael Douglas from 2018 to 2019 in Chuck Lorre’s Netflix comedy series “The Kominsky Method.” That role, as agent Norman Newlander, earned him two consecutive Emmy Award nominations.

Arkin made his film debut — and received his first Academy Award nomination — opposite Reiner in “The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming,” about a Soviet sub that runs aground off New England. The phrase he teaches his comrades — “Emergency! Everybody to get from street!” — became a catchphrase.

Here is the "Emergency" clip from that very funny satiric movie, which also starred Carl Reiner, Eva Marie Saint, Theodore Bikel, and Jonathan Winters.  

Enjoy!

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