'Uniquely talented' Alan Arkin, passes away at 89

The statement, shared with the US entertainment magazine People, read: “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.”

Arkin was born in New York to Jewish immigrant parents and was raised in a secular family and later moved to LA. Although he was not religious, many of the characters he played shared his Jewish heritage.

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Alan Arkin and Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross

It was his turn as the foul-mouthed, drug-using grandfather Edwin Hoover in the darkly comic 2006 hit Little Miss Sunshine that earned him an Oscar, for best-supporting actor, at the age of 72.

He was shortlisted again for the same award in 2013 for his performance in Ben Affleck’s best picture winner Argo.

His Oscars win came decades after his earlier nominations, for The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming in 1967 and The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter in 1969.

Commenting on Arkin’s death US comedian Patton Oswalt, said: “Did anyone have the range Alan Arkin had? Hilarious, sinister, insane, tragic. [There was] no mood he couldn’t live in.”