One big overdue tribute to a comedy legend alongside two rather recent passings. I wanted to get them out of the way before my big 55 day tomorrow since nothing but fun, fun and happiness over the next 24 hours!
First up is Alan Arkin. What a great comic actor! From time to time, he did some Drama too and I’m not talking about Glengarry Glen Ross (ugh, Mamet and everyone sounds the same!). Try Argo, The Slums of Beverly Hills (he’s cringey) and this gem, The Defection of Simas Kudirka from the Cold War days. But Comedy was obviously his strength. What a long and incredible resume too. His only misstep was Inspector Clouseau in 1968, well before Steve Martin also failed to fill Peter Sellers’ huge shoes.
What really got his career rolling as a solid comic actor was The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming from the mid-Sixties. Me, it would be two late Seventies Comedies he starred in back to back and I enjoyed them immensely thanks to HBO. I’ll start with The In-Laws, an Action-Heist-Comedy co-starring the equally hilarious Peter Falk which takes some very odd turns making it funnier than it should’ve been. Sadly, a big moron in Hollywood decided to remake it with Albert Brooks and Michael Douglas. A huge waste of time and Brooks. The other is Simon a very offbeat comedy co-starring Judy Graubart (the lady from The Electric Company!), Fred Gwynne (Yes, Herman Munster), Madeline Kahn, Wallace Shawn and Austin Pendleton (The Muppet Movie 1979). Arkin plays a Psychology professor who has difficulty getting funding and serious consideration for his studies in sensory deprivation. Enter a government think tank that tricks him into joining with their promises of funding but instead they brainwash him into thinking he’s an alien. It’s not exactly for mass audiences. It’s an obscure memory for me to share with other like-minded fans such as Blaine Capatch or Michael Price.
Thanks for everything Alan! You were a true actor and comedian of great range. Someone who trailblazer the way for others emulating you: Robin Williams, Ton Hanks and Olivia Colman. (Cloris Leachman was your contemporary.)