Sydney Pollack: 1934-2008

Academy Award-winning director/producer/actor Sydney Pollack passed away on May 26 at the age of 73, leaving behind a legacy of films spanning nearly every genre. As a director, Pollack worked with a bevy of Hollywood legends—Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford, Barbra Streisand—in movies like Out of Africa (which snagged both Best Picture and Best Director Oscars), Tootsie, They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, and last year's Michael Clayton.

Pollack began his lengthy career as a stage actor in New York City and quickly ascended into a director's chair with a little help from Burt Lancaster. After helming some well-received episodic TV, Pollack's first feature film, 1965's The Slender Thread, got a lukewarm response from critics. He didn't score a bona fide hit until the '80s, when the cross-dressing, soap-opera dramedy Tootsie won accolades from the press, the public, and the Academy (the film scored 10 Oscar nominations and a Best Supporting Actress win for Jessica Lange).

A true renaissance man, Pollack also acted in acclaimed films by directors like Stanley Kubrick (Eyes Wide Shut), Woody Allen (Husbands and Wives) and Robert Altman (The Player) and produced dozens of smaller films with fellow recently-departed director Anthony Minghella through their production company, Mirage Enterprises. His last film was 2006's Sketches of Frank Gehry, a documentary about the groundbreaking American architect.

Related links:

Sydney Pollack on IMDb

NYTimes: Sydney Pollack, Director of High-Profile Hollywood Movies, Is Dead at 73

L.A. Times: Sydney Pollack's films exhibit a versatile, collaborative hand

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