Oscar-winning director Sydney Pollack has died at the age of 73. Pollack passed away at his Los Angeles home after losing his battle with cancer. He’s survived by his wife Claire, daughters Rebecca and Rachel, and six grandchildren. Pollack was preceeded in death by his son, Steven, who was killed in a plane crash in 1993.
Considered an actor’s director, Pollack’s career spanned five decades and included many acting roles as well as directing and producing credits. The acclaimed filmmaker picked up his first Academy Award nomination for directing the dramatic film They Shoot Horses, Don’t They starring Jane Fonda. The 1982 comedy Tootsie with Dustin Hoffman and Jessica Lange earned Pollack his second Best Director nomination. In 1985 Pollack won Best Director and Best Picture Oscars for Out of Africa, a film which took home a total of seven Academy Awards. His latest Oscar nomination came in the Best Picture category as one of the producers of Michael Clayton.
Pollack’s other directing credits include The Way We Were, Three Days of the Condor, The Electric Horseman, Absence of Malice, The Firm, Random Hearts, Havana, and The Interpreter.
Born in Lafayette, Indiana, Pollack studied at the Neighborhood Playhouse School in New York in the early 1950s. After a brief stint in the Army, Pollack returned to the school as a teacher, meeting and marrying one of his students (Claire Griswold).
Pollack spent time on the stage before making his feature film acting debut alongside Robert Redford in 1962’s War Hunt. Pollack and Redford remained close after War Hunt, working together on seven movies as well as on Redford’s passion project, the Sundance Film Institute. Pollack made his directorial debut in 1965 with The Silver Thread starring Sidney Poitier and Anne Bancroft.
Pollack never forgot his acting roots and played supporting roles in a handful of films, including the 2008 romantic comedy Made of Honor in which he played Patrick Dempsey’s father.
