Jeremy Yaffe was Alan Arkin's first wife before he got his big break doing improv at Second City in Chicago. She has been married at least four times.
As a student, Jeremy Yaffe met Alan Arkin at a liberal arts college in Vermont. The couple married and set off to New York City to pursue the future Academy Award Winner's acting passion.
The couple divorced after two children, and Jeremy Yaffe got reskilled. The former pair's sons followed in their father's footsteps and forged careers in the entertainment industry.
The Tarriers (L-R) Bob Carey, Vince Martin, Erik Darling and Alan Arkin pose for a portrait circa 1957, in New York City, New York. | Source: Getty Images
Jeremy Yaffe Led a Bohemian Lifestyle with Alan Arkin
At 18, Jeremy married her 21-year-old classmate from Bennington College, Vermont, in December 1955. In his 2011 memoir, "An Improvised Life," the actor noted that the school was "not pleased" about their wedding. He wrote:
"We left the college and headed to New York without a thought in our heads of what would happen next. Within a couple of weeks, we found out that Jeremy was pregnant."
Unable to find work as an actor, Alan joined the folk group The Terriers. The band was signed to a label and had an extensive European tour, which made enough money for his young family to join them eventually.
Alan in London on September 18, 1970. | Source: Getty Images
Missing acting, Alan quit his steady gig with the band for occasional part acting in the theatre. In the summer of 1959, Jeremy became pregnant again.
Alan cast his firstborn, Adam Arkin, in the Oscar-winning short "People Soup" when he was 13.
"Finally, the insecurity of our life became too much for Jeremy, " Alan wrote, "and within months of the birth of our second son, Matthew, she took the children and left." Matthew was three months old when his parents separated.
Adam Arkin, Phyllis Lyons, daughter Molly Arkin, and Alan Arkin. | Source: Getty Images
Jeremy Yaffe's Life after Alan Arkin
As reported in her first husband's obituary in the Independent, Jeremy returned to school to retrain as a nurse and remarried. Not much is known about her career, except that she participated in a movie in the early 1970s.
She went on to marry three more times by the dawn of the new millennium but was single when her son Matthew was profiled in the New York Times in March 2000.
"My life was crazy: a lot of divorces," Matthew said in 2014, "a lot of moving between different configurations of family." His father also remarried a few times.
Adam Arkin at the L.A. screening of "The Night Agent" held at the Tudum Theater, on March 20, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. | Source: Getty Images
Jeremy Yaffe's Two Sons with Alan Arkin Also Became Famous
Alan cast his firstborn, Adam Arkin, in the Oscar-winning short "People Soup" when he was 13, and Adam has worked steadily since. He had Emmy-nominated turns for his guest starring roles in "Northern Exposure," "Frasier," and "Chicago Hope."
Alan Arkin (L) and his son, Matthew Arkin attend the ceremony honoring Alan Arkin with a Star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame held on June 7, 2019 in Hollywood, California. | Source: Getty Images
The second child, Matthew, has a son with his first wife, actress Pamela Newkirk. The son of an Oscar winner, he practiced law in Tarrytown and White Plains for five years before taking up acting.
He landed parts in features like Jim Carrey's "Liar, Liar," "An Unmarried Woman," and "Margot at the Wedding" with Nicole Kidman. The performer has also worked on Broadway and had guest spots on "Get Shorty," "Criminal Minds," and "Aquarius."
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