actor film director biography Sydney Pollack died

Sydney Pollack (aged 73) was born July 1, 1934 and died May 26, 2008. He was an Academy Award-winning American film director, producer and actor.Sydney Pollack died of cancer on May 26, 2008 at his home in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California surrounded by family. He had been diagnosed with cancer about nine months before his death.
He directed more than 21 films and 10 television shows, acted in over 30 films or shows, and produced over 44 films. Pollack is best known for directing films Out of Africa (Academy Awards, 1985), Tootsie (1982), Three Days of the Condor (1975), The Yakuza (1975), The Way We Were and Jeremiah Johnson (1972), along with newer films The Interpreter (2005), Sabrina (1995), The Firm (1993) and Havana (1990). He appeared in over 15 films, including The Interpreter (2005), Eyes Wide Shut (1999), Husbands and Wives (1992), The Player (1992), and The Electric Horseman (1979). In 2007, he appeared opposite George Clooney in Michael Clayton, a film which he also co-produced. He died of cancer on May 26th, 2008.
Pollack was born in Lafayette, Indiana, to a family of Jewish immigrants from Russia, the son of Rebecca (Miller) and David Pollack, a professional boxer and pharmacist. His parents divorced when he was young and his mother, an alcoholic, died at the age of 37 while Pollack was a student at the Neighborhood Playhouse.
His brother is the costume designer, producer and actor Bernie Pollack.
Pollack was married to Claire Griswold, a former student of his, from 1958 until his death; they had three children, Rachel Pollack, Rebecca Pollack and Steven Pollack, who died in a plane crash in 1993.
As a character actor, Pollack subsequently appeared in films such as A Civil Action, Changing Lanes, and Eyes Wide Shut, as well as his own, including Random Hearts and The Interpreter. He also appeared in Woody Allen's Husbands and Wives as a New York lawyer undergoing a midlife crisis. He had a recurring guest star role on the NBC sitcom Will & Grace, playing Will Truman's (Eric McCormack) unfaithful but loving father, George Truman. In 2007, Pollack made guest appearances on the HBO TV series The Sopranos and Entourage as well as an appearance on NBC's Just Shoot Me.
Pollack received the first annual Extraordinary Contribution to Filmmaking award from the Austin Film Festival October 21, 2006.
As a producer he helped to guide many films that were successful with both the critic and movie audiences, such as The Fabulous Baker Boys, The Talented Mr. Ripley, and Michael Clayton. He formed a production company called Mirage Enterprises with the English director Anthony Minghella (who died just a few months before Mr. Pollack in 2008).
Director Sydney Pollack Filmography
The Slender Thread (1965) director
This Property Is Condemned (1966) director
The Scalphunters' (1968) director
The Swimmer (1968) co-director
Castle Keep (1969) director
They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969) director
Jeremiah Johnson (1972) director
The Way We Were (1973) director
Three Days of the Condor (1975) director
The Yakuza (1975) director/producer
Bobby Deerfield (1977) director/producer
The Electric Horseman (1979) director/actor
Absence of Malice (1981) director/producer
Tootsie (1982) director/producer/actor
Out of Africa (1985) director/producer
Havana (1990) director/co-producer
The Firm (1993) director/producer
Sabrina (1995) director/producer
Random Hearts (1999) director
Sketches of Frank Gehry (2005) director
The Interpreter (2005) director, executive producer, and actor .