Arlene Alda
Arlene Alda is the longtime wife of iconic TV/film actor, comedian, screenwriter and autor, Alan Alda.
Arlene’s 83-year-old husband was honored over the weekend by the SAG awards, Alan received the SAG’s Lifetime Achievement Award for his accomplishments on screen and stage as well as his considerable humanitarian and charity work during a career that spans six decades. He moved everyone almost to tears with his speech, exhorting everyone in the room to “stay playful, have fun and let’s keep searching…It can’t solve everything but it wouldn’t hurt.”
Alan born, Alphonso Joseph D’Abruzzo on January 28, 1936 to actor Robert Alda –is no stranger to winning of course. Over his decades-long career, he’s received Six Golden Globes and six Emmys; and he’s also been nominated for the Academy Award.
The New Yorker who was diagnosed with Parkinson three years ago, is best known for his role as Army Captain Hawkeye Pierce on the hit CBS series “M*A*S*H,” which ran from 1972 to 1983.
Alda’s film career includes roles such as in Woody Allen’s Crimes and Misdemeanors and Bullets Over Broadway; Neil Simon’s California Suite; and Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator.
Scorsese’s Howard Hughes biopic that earned Alda his lone Oscar nomination in 2004 for portraying U.S. Sen. Owen Brewster. Alda has also been nominated for a Grammy (for his spoken-word version of his memoir), as well as three Tonys.
Among his achievements we can definitely include his decades-long marriage to wife, Arlene Alda. The couple has been married since 1957, together they are the parents of three daughters, Eve, Elizabeth and Beatrice Alda. Both Elizabeth and Beatrice did some acting in the past.
The former Arlene Weiss, a Bronx native –met Alan back in 1956, at the time they were both college students attending a mutual friend’s party. The two bonded after a rum cake fell down to the floor and neither she nor Alan hesitated to eat.
They were married the following year, after Alan graduated Fordham. Arlene Alda attended Hunter College where she studied music. She pursue a career as a clarinetist and later turned to photography and writing.
As a professional clarinetist, Arlene played in the Houston Symphony. However when she became a mom, she became a photographer. As a photographer Arlene Alda’s work has been featured in national publications including Vogue, People and Good Housekeeping.
She is also the author of numerous books for children, including Just Kids from the Bronx.
Arlene and her husband are also proud grandparents of eight grandchildren. The longtime NY residents are also known for their advocacy effort.
