Actor. He was best known for the many roles he portrayed in films, television, and on the theatrical stage during a career that spanned the 1950s to the 21st Century. He aspired to be an actor from an early age. His family, who was Jewish, moved to Los Angeles when he was 11 years old. After high-school graduation, he studied drama at both Los Angeles City College and Los Angeles State College (now California State University, Los Angeles). He later attended Bennington College in Vermont. He moved to New York City in 1955 and embarked on a career in music as a songwriter, singer, and guitar player. In 1957, he joined Erik Darling and Bob Carey in a folk group called the Tarriers. His first film appearance came that same year in the group's low-budget beach movie "Calypso Heat Wave." He went on to appear in numerous films during his career, such as "The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming" (1966), "Wait Until Dark" (1967), "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter" (1968), "Popi" (1969), "Catch-22" (1970), "Last of the Red Hot Lovers" (1972), "Freebie and the Bean" (1974), "Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins" (1975), "The Seven-Per-Cent Solution" (1976), "The In-Laws" (1979), "The Last Unicorn" (1982), "Joshua Then and Now" (1985), "Big Trouble" (1986), "Edward Scissorhands" (1990), "The Rocketeer" (1991), "Glengarry Glen Ross" (1992), "Indian Summer" (1993), "So I Married an Axe Murderer" (1993), "Mother Night" (1996), "Grosse Pointe Blank" (1997), "Gattaca" (1997), "Slums of Beverly Hills" (1998), "Thirteen Conversations About One Thing" (2001), "Little Miss Sunshine" (2006), "Rendition" (2007), "Sunshine Cleaning" (2008), "Get Smart" (2008), "Argo" (2012), "Million Dollar Arm" (2014), "Going in Style" (2017), "Dumbo" (2019) and "Minions: The Rise of Gru" (2022). In 1958, he had a small singing part in an Off-Broadway production of Heloise before joining both the Compass Players improv troupe in St. Louis and the Second City improv group in Chicago. He received his real training in the theatre with both groups. In the early 1960s, he went to New York City to perform on the Broadway stage and appeared in various theatrical productions. In 1963, he earned a Tony Award for his performance in "Enter Laughing." He later garnered acclaim for his performance in the Broadway production "Luv" from 1964 to 1967. He continued to appear on the theatrical stage throughout his career. In 1964, he made his television debut on the television series "East Side/West Side Story." He went on to appear on the "small screen" in such productions as "Sesame Street," "St. Elsewhere," "Harry," "Chicago Hope," "100 Centre Street" and "The Kominsky Method." He earned numerous award nominations for his various performances throughout the years and won several awards, including the 2007 Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his performance in "Little Miss Sunshine" and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to motion pictures, located at 6914 Hollywood Blvd. He was still performing at the time of his passing.