Sydney Pollack - Dead

[watson]

Actor and director Sydney Pollack has died at age 73, an agent tells The Associated Press.

god rest his soul

ichiban!

[Judge Smails]

I'm offended by the use of the word Pollack in this thread title!

[TheMojoPin]

Wow, I thought he directed more better films. His resume on IMDB is kinda shitty.

RIP, Sydney.

[BoondockSaint]

Wow, I thought he directed more better films. His resume on IMDB is kinda shitty.

RIP, Sydney.

I thought the same thing.

[realmenhatelife]

he directed They Shoot Horses, Dont They? and really isnt that enough?

[watson]

his best performance or production was when ron and fez interviewed him

[barjockey]

http://www.ldsfilm.com/ar/images/CinemaSouthwest12.jpg

Jeremiah Johnson was fantastic.

[TheMojoPin]

he directed They Shoot Horses, Dont They? and really isnt that enough?

Yeah, that's the only one I spotted that I thought was good.

[barjockey]

Will news like this make Fez weepy?

[Fallon]

Wow, I thought he directed more better films. His resume on IMDB is kinda shitty.

RIP, Sydney.
WORST EULOGY EVER!

[WampusCrandle]

so sad - he made the sexiest movie i had ever watched

http://www.lazydork.com/movies/tootsie.jpg

[backinslacks]

I liked him more as an actor, really, but it's still kind of sad.

[PapaBear]

Isn't there a pic of Pollack with Lenay, from the interview show? I can't find it in the gallery.

[Sheeplovr]

he was more than his movies to me
i've seen him talk about film
in so many things
he was so interesting
i really respected him so so much

and didnt evne know he was sick and just always hoped he had something else in him before his time was done

im so bummed out

damn

[CJJames]

Horrible news. He will be missed greatly. From cnn.com buddays....

:down:

Director Sydney Pollack dies of cancer
Academy Award winning director was 73

He died at his home in Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles, his agent says

"Sydney made the world a little better," says actor George Clooney

His most notable film was "Out of Africa," which won two Oscars

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Academy Award-winning director Sydney Pollack, who achieved commercial and critical success with the gender-bending comedy "Tootsie" and the period drama "Out of Africa, has died. He was 73.

Pollack died of cancer Monday afternoon at his home in Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles, surrounded by family, said agent Leslee Dart. He had been diagnosed with cancer about nine months ago, said Dart.

Pollack, who often appeared on the screen himself, worked with and gained the respect of Hollywood's best actors in a long career that reached prominence in the 1970s and 1980s.

"Sydney made the world a little better, movies a little better and even dinner a little better. A tip of the hat to a class act," actor George Clooney said in a statement issued by his publicist. Watch how Pollack's career spanned decades »

"He'll be missed terribly," Clooney said.

Last fall, Pollack played Marty Bach opposite Clooney in "Michael Clayton," a drama that examines the life of a fixer for lawyers. The film, which Pollack co-produced, received seven Oscar nominations, including best picture and a best actor nod for Clooney.

Pollack was no stranger to the Academy Awards. In 1986, "Out of Africa" a romantic epic of a woman's passion set against the landscape of colonial Kenya, captured seven Oscars, including best director.

Over the years, several of his other films, including "Tootsie" and "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" got several nominations, including best director nods.

Pollack's last screen appearance was in "Made of Honor," a romantic comedy currently in theaters, where he played the oft-married father of star Patrick Dempsey's character.

In recent years, Pollack produced many independent films with filmmaker Anthony Minghella and the production company Mirage Enterprises.

The Lafayette, Indiana, native was born to first-generation Russian-Americans.

In high school, he fell in love with theater, a passion that prompted him to forgo college and move to New York and enroll in the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater.

"We started together in New York and he always excelled at everything he set out to do, his friendships and his humanity as much as his talents," Martin Landau, a longtime close friend of Pollack's and an associate from the Actor's Studio, said through spokesman Dick Guttman.

Studying under Sanford Meisner, Pollack spent several years cutting his teeth in various areas of theater, eventually becoming Meisner's assistant.

After appearing in a handful of Broadway productions in the 1950s, Pollack turned his eye to directing.

Pollack is survived by his wife, Claire; two daughters, Rebecca and Rachel; his brother Bernie; and six grandchildren.

[Reephdweller]

This sucks, I was a big fan of his. Absence of Malice, The Way we Were, The Firm, just to name a few, as well as his acting work. Rest in peace.

[Dan G]

I liked his explanation and examples he used when discussing why widescreen is better than full screen.

<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/mcEtFcgfonY&hl=en&rel=0"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mcEtFcgfonY&hl=en&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>

[hexy68]

RIP Mr Pollack...."Michael Clayton" was a great movie...he'll be missed :sad:

[Rockvillejoe]

This sucks, I was a big fan of his. Absence of Malice, The Way we Were, The Firm, just to name a few, as well as his acting work. Rest in peace.

totally agree. the guy seemed to be without pretense. his interview on R&F only supported this. he was one of the best directors of the late 20th century, and a very believable actor. regardless of what the pretentious, out of touch, elitist, critics said. pollack knew how to hook you in and keep you from looking at at your watch during his movies.

on occasion when i channel surf, there he is, acting on tv shows way beneath his acting pedigree. but he got it. it was about acting, and he obviously enjoyed to act as much as direct. regardless of the venue.

from lame brain sitcoms, to the sopranos, ironically in the role as a prisoner/oncologist, friend/medical advisor of johnny sac, or recently in michael clayton, the guy was totally believable in whatever role he was playing.

he falls into the same category as another actor who died seemingly way before his allotted time. that being roy scheider. it's really scary when you acknowledge that the fact these guys were in their prime time seemingly yesterday, and gone today.

i hope mr b replays that great pollack interview. i usually don't give 2 shits about someone i don't really know passing, especially in show business, but pollack was different. he really was an everyman with a gift to tell entertain and tell stories.

[pennington]

Toot-Toot-Tootsie goodbye.

Seventy-three is too young today. I agree with others, I liked his acting.

R.I.P.

[ralphbxny]

I herd this Today. Sorry to see it! RIP Sid!

[Dan G]

Turner Classic Movies have adjusted their programming schedule for tonight so they can play 4 of Sydney Pollack's films.

All times are est.

8:00 PM The Slender Thread (’65) (his directorial debut)
10:00 PM Three Days of the Condor (’75)
12:00 AM Tootsie (’82)
2:00 AM Jeremiah Johnson (’72)

[Mike Teacher]

he directed They Shoot Horses, Dont They? and really isnt that enough?

What an awesome movie. Most 'horror' movies dont approach this level of true-life human sideshow.

Brutal, dark movie. Exactly the kind I love.