Lifestyle
Alan Arkin has died — the star of ‘Get Smart’ and ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ was 89
Eric Charbonneau/Invision/AP
Alan Arkin died on Thursday at age 89. His manager, Estelle Lasher, confirmed the news to NPR in an email. Publicist Melody Korenbrot said he died in California but did not offer more details.
Arkin sparked up more than 100 films in a career stretching over seven decades. He was the cranky grandpa in 2006’s Little Miss Sunshine, the intruder menacing Audrey Hepburn in 1967’s Wait Until Dark and the movie studio boss in 2012’s Argo.
Arkin knew from childhood that he wanted to be an actor, and he spent a lifetime performing. Born in Brooklyn to Jewish emigrant parents from Russia and Germany, he started taking acting classes at age 10. After dropping out of Bennington College, he toured Europe with a folk band and played the lute in an off-Broadway play. In the early 1960s, Arkin broke out as an improv star at Chicago’s Second City, which led to scores of screen credits.
“When I got to Second City, I was terrible for a couple of months,” he told NPR’s Talk of the Nation in 2011. “I thought I was going to get fired, and if I got fired, I didn’t know where I would go or what I would do.”
But Arkin learned to relish the audience’s investment in each sketch. “They knew that if one didn’t work, the next one might be sensational,” he remembered. “And it was — the ability to fail was an extraordinary privilege and gift because it doesn’t happen much in this country, anywhere… Everybody’s looking at the bottom line all the time, and failure doesn’t look good on the bottom line, and yet you don’t learn anything without failing.”
His Second City success led to stardom on stages in New York, but Arkin told NPR he found Broadway boring.
“First of all, you’re not encouraged to experiment or play very much because the — the play gets set the minute the opening night is there, and you’re supposed to do exactly that for the next year,” he said. “And I just am constitutionally unable to just find any kind of excitement or creativity in that kind of experience.”
But while performing in the play Luv on Broadway in 1964, Arkin got a call from film director Norman Jewison. He encouraged Arkin to deploy his improv skills in the 1966 film The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming.
“I’d get through the scene, and I didn’t hear the word cut,” Arkin said. “So I would just keep going.”
And he did. In film, he was in Grosse Pointe Blank, Edward Scissorhands, Gattaca, Thirteen Conversations About One Thing, and the film adaptation of Get Smart. On TV, he appeared in shows ranging from Captain Kangaroo, Carol Burnett & Company, St. Elsewhere, Will & Grace and BoJack Horseman.
His sons said in a statement, “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.”
Toward the end of his life, Alan Arkin started painting and authored a memoir. His last role was in Minions: The Rise of Gru.
Lifestyle
With age and sobriety, Michael McDonald is ready to get personal
Timothy White/Sacks & Co.
Even Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Michael McDonald says he feels like an imposter sometimes.
“I don’t mean to be self-deprecating when I say this, but I never really understood why people gave me so much credit as a musician,” McDonald says. “I really am just, more or less, a songwriter who plays a little bit of piano.”
It’s an understatement. McDonald’s singular sound that has captivated audiences for generations and has given life to remixes, remakes and thousands of impressions from Tonight Show skits to The Voice.
His new memoir, What A Fool Believes, which he co-wrote with comedian Paul Reiser, chronicles McDonald’s childhood in Ferguson, MO., his early years as a session musician and his decades-long career as a member of Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers and as a solo artist.
Throughout his career, McDonald was known for crossover hits. His 1982 single, “I Keep Forgettin’,” cracked the top 10 of Billboard’s Pop, R&B and Adult Contemporary charts, and was later sampled by hip-hop artists Warren G and Nate Dogg in their 1994 hit, “Regulate.”
McDonald says that earlier in his career, he tended to avoid writing about himself directly in songs. But looking back now, he’s noticed a shift in his music, which he attributes, in part, to becoming sober in the mid 1980s.
“More than anything, I think what people who suffer from addiction share universally is that we’re kind of hiding from ourselves. We’re kind of hiding from our feelings,” he says. “I’ve learned in sobriety to slowly peel back different layers.”
Interview highlights
Jim Shea/Brian Moore/Sacks & Co.
On his first band, Mike and the Majestics
It was Mike and the Majestics, and I soon got demoted, and it was just the Majestics. We started when we were all around 12. I think our first gigs happened more like when I was 13. And the other guys were a year and two older than me.
Back then, we were playing basement parties, birthday parties for girls we knew in the eighth grade. And then we graduated to fraternity parties, at a very tender age, which my mother was not happy about. And so she enlisted my father to come on as our manager — not before we were exposed to some of the rites of passage that we were probably too young to witness. … We thought we’d died and gone to heaven. Because the girls were all really cute, and the frat guys were out of their minds and they would pass the hat. … But then we had a curfew because we were all like 12 and 13 years old. And in the course of all this, we learned all the filthy lyrics to “Louie Louie” and songs like that were college staples.
YouTube
On writing the Doobie Brothers’ song, “Takin’ It To The Streets,” which was inspired by gospel
The intro of the song just kind of popped in my head, and I couldn’t wait to get to the gig and set my piano up and pick the chords out on the piano. … It just felt like an opening to a gospel song and I loved gospel music at the time. … What better motif for that very idea of people falling through the cracks of our society and … and how do we do better by each other than a gospel song. … It took me a minute to come up with “Takin’ to the Streets” because that came from the idea that … we’ve got to do better by each other or this is what it’s going to come to. It’s going to be settled one way or the other. These kinds of progressive ideas and reforms don’t come easily, and they come by necessity. … We’re going to meet on the same plane one way or the other, maybe we can do it out of love for each other and consideration and empathy before we have to do it out of frustration.
On the realization that white artists were covering Black musicians’ songs and being praised for it
I think that was pretty much the experience of a lot of people in my generation growing up. White kids who thought that Pat Boone wrote, “Tutti Frutti.” We didn’t know any better, you know, because radio was so segregated, as was everything, in the United States at the time. It was a sad division in what really was such a strong part of our culture, you know, but it was always kind of isolated away from and giving credit to the people who really brought those art forms to America and, really gave America its own true artistic art form: Jazz and R&B music and gospel. …
For instance, the English invasion bands, we thought that they wrote those songs like, “It’s All Over Now” by The Rolling Stones was Bobby Womack and his brothers and had a group called The Valentinos, and that song was a No. 1 hit on Black radio when the Stones released it. … I never cease to be surprised by the roots of some music that I thought was more of a pop record, but that really has its roots in the blues tradition and was written by American artists who didn’t really enjoy the success of the song that other artists did.
On being big in the Black community
Whenever that was brought to my attention, by friends of mine who liked our music, I was really flattered by that. And I continue to be flattered because, to me, that’s really the test of anything I ever really desired to do was to represent, in my own way, what I truly believe is American music. To have that privilege of being able to do that and have it accepted by the audience who I believe created it, who invented it and brought it to all of us.
On how his voice has aged
The voice is a malleable instrument, at best, and especially with age, it’s like you’re constantly renegotiating with it. I find that at my age now, I’m just trying to figure out what my strengths are and what I can use to put the song across. I wish in some ways I could sing with the range or the sense of pitch or whatever it is I had when I was younger. But unfortunately, those things change over the years. …
I’ve been less reluctant to lower keys and stuff, and especially if it brings a better performance out of me, but I found that a lot of things have changed. … I have to kind of learn what still works for me when I’m singing, because I don’t want to be trying to sound like I used to sound and have that be obvious. I want to just be able to do what I do best now.
Sam Briger and Susan Nyakundi produced and edited this interview for broadcast. Bridget Bentz, Molly Seavy-Nesper and Meghan Sullivan adapted it for the web.
Lifestyle
'Prison Break' Star Sarah Wayne Callies Claims Male Costar Spat in Her Face
Sarah Wayne Callies claims one of her male costars on “Prison Break” spat in her face — just one example, she says, of the rampant misogyny she had to deal with as the only gal.
The actress went on the ‘Broad Ideas’ podcast Monday, with SWC explaining that playing Sara Tancredi on the FOX series — which aired from 2005 to 2009 — was a double-edged sword … ’cause she faced harsh realities, including an alleged ugly incident she recounts.
Broad Ideas with Rachel Bilson
Sarah says that a male actor on the show hawked one onto her mug — and while she doesn’t get into specifics, including any names, she says it was emblematic of the vibe on set.
She does suggest she’ll get more into this in her own podcast eventually … but she left the hosts shocked by the revelation — and you can tell, even now, Sarah grapples with how she handled it at the time.
As she says … she would have to go home sometimes and talk her husband “out of going to hospitalize somebody.” So, on its face, it sounds like her hubby was aware of this.
The show — which starred the likes of Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell — became an instant hit at the time … and catapulted its cast to stardom — and Sarah attributes their new rush of fame to the chaos and messiness on set.
Despite the challenges she dealt with … Sarah made it clear not all the men on the show were jerks — some, in fact, were total gentlemen and she says she made friends too.
Looks like Sarah’s reclaiming her on-set experiences and making the best of it … especially after launching the “Prison Breaking with Sarah and Paul” podcast earlier this year, where they watch and dissect old episodes.
The show was so successful it spawned a TV film in 2009, and even saw a revival season in 2017 — with Sarah appearing in them all. As for the alleged spitter … TBD.
Lifestyle
Why you should think twice before posting that cute photo of your kid online
Many parents share photos and videos of children on social media: birth announcements, their kid making a mess at the dinner table, their milestones like a first step.
But there are potential dangers to constantly posting about your child online, says Leah Plunkett, a faculty member at Harvard Law School who specializes in children, family law and technology. In Plunkett’s 2019 book Sharenthood: Why We Should Think Before We Talk About Our Kids Online, she explains how adults can put children’s privacy and personal data at risk.
This phenomenon is called “sharenting,” says Plunkett. Legal scholars in her field use the term — a portmanteau of “sharing” and “parenting” — to describe “all the ways that parents, aunts, uncles, teachers, coaches and other trusted adults in a kiddo’s life transmit children’s private information digitally.” It can make kids vulnerable to identity theft and harassment. And as they grow older, it may undercut their ability to tell their own story.
Plunkett talks to Life Kit about the different harms of oversharing, how to post information about your kid safely and how to talk to loved ones about your limits. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Parents share a surprising amount of data about their kids online. A birthday photo, for example, can reveal a kid’s name, age and date of birth. What are some of the privacy concerns around that?
There is a thriving black market for personally identifiable information. Kids’ Social Security numbers, when combined with date of birth, name and address, are often good targets for identity theft. Most minors don’t have credit attached to their Social Security numbers, so [someone may be able to use them to] open fraudulent lines of credit.
Creditors don’t verify the age of applicants, so a bad actor could potentially open a credit card without anyone noticing until the kid becomes an adult and wants a card of their own. What are some other security risks?
There are tragic cases of stalking, bullying and harassment. They are rare but they do happen.
So someone could use social media to figure out where your kid lives, goes to school and their patterns and routines. They could also learn about their likes and dislikes and use them in an insidious way.
Other people don’t need to have information about the ins and outs of your child’s emotional and personal life.
You write in your book that children’s data is a form of currency. And there’s the adage that if a product is free, you are the product. What should adults think about when giving a company their child’s data? Or when reading the fine print on a social media platform?
Parents should be aware that they’re not going to know at the moment where a piece of information, photo or video, might go. When we click “I accept,” those agreements give companies and third parties a lot of latitude about what they can do with your data.
After my book came out, The New York Times ran a big investigative piece about the ways in which social media photos of toddlers and young children had been surreptitiously used to train facial recognition software. That’s one of many examples.
Also, at some point down the road, maybe somebody makes a decision about your child based on the stuff you’ve put out about them — how your child is doing at school, how they’re moving through the world. Maybe that is an individual human decision maker. Maybe that is an algorithmically driven data analysis product.
And when you mean decision makers, that could be a university recruiter or a hiring manager. And that may affect your child’s ability to tell their own story.
To themselves or to others in the future. If the world is figuring out significant things about who they are online and making projections about who they’re going to be, it can undercut their ability to figure that out for themselves.
Reading your book, it’s clear you’re not like a Luddite. You have kids, but you haven’t sworn off social media. How do you avoid oversharing the digital realm?
Since I started researching this topic, I adjusted my own personal compass to be very minimalist. I pretty much never post my kids on social media. If I do, you don’t see their faces or anything that would identify them. I don’t use full names. I don’t celebrate their birthday on social media. I don’t show the kids standing in front of where they go to school.
I follow a “holiday card-or-less” rule of thumb when sharing on social media: updates you’d be comfortable with anyone, from your great aunt to your boss, seeing. Information that’s not going to embarrass anybody and isn’t particularly private.
Personally, my wife and I are pretty tight about the pictures we share of our kid. How do we prevent other people, like family and friends, from taking photos of them at, say, a baptism or a birthday party, and posting it online?
For something like a baptism or another rite of passage, it’s probably impossible to get everyone to not celebrate their joy and pride by taking out a phone. But it is OK to make a gentle request. You might say: Thank you so much for being in this moment with us. To really be in the moment, we would request that you refrain from pictures or videos.
Some people will listen, some people won’t. Then make the call about whether or not it matters enough to you to follow up privately with the people who you see taking pictures and videos.
How do you model digital consent with your kids?
The conversation starts with very young kids. Explain what you’re doing, why you’re doing it and where the image or video is going. You might say something like, “Hey, we’re having a really great meal. We’re using a recipe your grandfather sent us. I’m going to take a picture for him. Everybody smile for grandpa.”
You could also ask your kid at a pretty young age, “are you OK with taking a photo? Anyone not feeling up for it?”
What questions should parents ask themselves before they hit post?
Are you posting a picture of your child in any state of undress? If you are, please don’t post it.
Are you sharing your child’s location, full name or date of birth? If you are, think about whether that level of detail is necessary for your post.
If your parents shared a similar post about you at this age, how would you have felt about it? If the answer is that it would have really bothered you, take another minute to think about what you need from this post.
What advice do you have for parents who often share photos and videos of their children and their lives on social media? Is it too late for them?
I had the same reaction when I started researching all of this, and I’m here to tell you, take a deep breath. Don’t panic. If you want to change, go back over your social media posts and take down what you’re not so sure about. Then make your settings private.
Please don’t be hard on yourselves. Since the dawn of time, parents have been making the best choices they can at any given moment, and then later being like, maybe I’ll do that differently going forward.
The digital story was edited by Malaka Gharib. The visual editor is Beck Harlan. We’d love to hear from you. Leave us a voicemail at 202-216-9823, or email us at LifeKit@npr.org.
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