Remembering Alan Arkin, an Everyman With a Side of Chaos
Posted on July 10, 2023
by Eric P
Alan Arkin, who died June 29 at the age of 89, was a scene-stealing character actor who could also anchor the top slot on a call sheet. An early member of Chicago’s legendary Second City improvisational comedy theatre and a successful playwright and theater director, onscreen he was equally capable of being hilarious and heartbreaking – and, when assigned, horrifying. His underplayed deadpan – always tinged with an edge of potential anarchy – was as suitable to the beleaguered everymen he embodied in his youth as it was to the dirty-talking seniors he played later in his career. His was the kind of inimitable onscreen talent you take for granted while it’s around and appreciate keenly once it’s gone.
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