Around nine months ago, award-winning director, producer, and actor Sydney Pollack was diagnosed with cancer. On Monday afternoon, Pollack succumb to the illness at his home in Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles surrounded by his family. Pollack is survived by his wife, Claire; two daughters, Rebecca and Rachel; his brother, Bernie; and six grandchildren. He was 73.
Pollack's passion for theater spurred him to leave Lafayette, Indiana at and move to New York at a young age. There he enrolled in the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater where he studied under renowned Sanford Meisner and became acquainted with Martin Landau. Broadway acting gigs evolved into television directing for such shows as The Alfred Hitchcock Hour and The Fugitive. He eventually made the transition to film with his first feature being The Slender Thread starring Sidney Poitier. Over the course of his illustrious career, Pollack would direct and produce critically acclaimed films Tootsie, Out of Africa, They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, and Three Days of the Condor. Pollack, however, was rooted in acting and it was to acting that he returned numerous times, especially in his later years. He made screen appearances in Robert Altman's The Player, Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut, and Tony Gilroy's Michael Clayton.
The Associated Press quotes Michael Clayton star George Clooney who said "'Sydney made the world a little better, movies a little better and even dinner a little better. A top of the hat to a class act. He'll be missed terribly." Quincy Jones, composer for The Slender Thread, also chimed in: "'Sydney Pollack's immense talents as a director were only surpassed by the compassion that he carried in his soul for his fellow man.'" Pollack's legacy as a caring individual was also echoed by long-time friend Landau. "[He] always excelled at everything he set out to do, his friendships and his humanity as much as his talents.'"
