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Oscar-Winning Director Sydney Pollack Dead at 73
Posted by Defamer Hollywood at 12:50 PM on May 27, 2008
Sydney Pollack, the director, producer and actor whose 1985 drama Out of Africa earned him that year's Best Picture and Director Oscars, died today at his home in Pacific Palisades. He was 73. He had suffered from cancer for more than a year, completing his final film — the documentary Sketches of Frank Gehry — in 2005. Pollack worked at the helm of benchmarks in three decades including They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (for which he earned his first Oscar nomination), The Way We Were, Three Days of the Condor and Tootsie. He found his most significant acclaim after directing Meryl Streep and Robert Redford in Out of Africa, going on to work with Tom Cruise (The Firm), Harrison Ford (Sabrina, Random Hearts) and Nicole Kidman (The Interpreter) in the years that followed.
Pollack was an even more prolific producer, sharing credits on nearly four dozen titles including last year's Best Picture nominee Michael Clayton — in which he also acted opposite George Clooney. His other acting credits include Husbands and Wives, Eyes Wide Shut, and most recently, Made of Honor. Pollack was a partner of the late Anthony Minghella in Mirage Productions, which pushed virtually all of the directors' respective projects over the last 10 years as well as the upcoming Kate Winslet film The Reader; it remains to be seen what will happen with Mirage's first-look deal with The Weinstein Company and other projects in development.
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cerebralcat
Posted 3:28 PM 28/5/08
What a great loss. One of the few filmakers who made movies that were intelligent, topical and poignant.
I will always think of him as the last great romantic.
cerebralcat
TheQuestion
Posted 2:00 PM 28/5/08
One of the best. There won't soon be another.
TheQuestion
Miss Anne Thrope
Posted 6:08 AM 28/5/08
Loved him! He had such a comfortable, comforting presence. R.I.P.
Miss Anne Thrope
DrFeelgood
Posted 4:39 AM 28/5/08
His life should be an example to us all.
He was funny, gracious and a genuis.
As an actor he had the same touch as Paul Newman: effortless and real.
Favorite moments:
Husbands and Wives: When he literally drags his date/girlfriend from the party. So real it made me cover my eyes.
Tootsie: Russian Tea Room Scene.
"God I begged you to get therapy"
I remember an interview years ago when he said he always worried about "not having enough plot" in his movies.
Compare that to today when entire films lack any semblence of a plot.
RIP
DrFeelgood
OldTowneTavern
Posted 2:54 AM 28/5/08
He seemed like such a good egg.
And a surprisingly charismatic actor. Loved him in Husbands and Wives, and especially Tootsie:
Michael Dorsey: Sandy thinks I'm gay.
(Pollack): Well, sleep with her.
Michael: I did sleep with her. She still thinks I'm gay.
(Pollack): That's not so good, Michael.
OldTowneTavern
Cape Clod
Posted 2:34 AM 28/5/08
Wasn't he in the last season of The Sopranos? I seem to remember him play a oncologist who was jailed for killing his wife and he gives Johnny Sack false hopes that his lung cancer wasn't as advanced as people were telling him.
Cape Clod
Readsforaliving
Posted 2:27 AM 28/5/08
I first noticed his genius with "Three Days of the Condor." His acting turns were always engaging and authentic. Obviously a man who loved film and left a legacy of truly exceptional work.
Readsforaliving
dango
Posted 2:21 AM 28/5/08
He had a great speaking voice. Authoritative, yet strangely calming.
dango
jeffersonian
Posted 2:14 AM 28/5/08
His performance in Woody Allen's "Husbands and Wives" is one of my all time favorites.
jeffersonian
rudolphdude
Posted 1:50 AM 28/5/08
Sorry... to add. He was one of the last of the previous gen (Clint Eastwood now holds the only membership card) of the "classy" generation that grew up in the 50's cool and never lost sight of what it meant to keep your character intact.
rudolphdude
rudolphdude
Posted 1:48 AM 28/5/08
I saw his name on the list of "news items" on my blackberry. I knew that he probably died but still hoped it was something else newsworthy. (I didn't know he was sick.)
There will NEVER be another Sydney Pollack. One of the good guys in the business.
rudolphdude
Dave J.
Posted 1:47 AM 28/5/08
@regisgoat: What blew me away about his performance in Eyes Wide Shut was how thoroughly he just completely took over the screen whenever he was on it. Seriously, go back and watch the scenes between him and Cruise--Tom just looks like an insignificant lightweight next to him.
Dave J.
spanktastic
Posted 1:39 AM 28/5/08
Great person.
spanktastic
Sweet Panda Love
Posted 1:32 AM 28/5/08
@CourageousCoward: I hope that's his epitaph for real. Well said.
Sweet Panda Love
Sweet Panda Love
Posted 1:32 AM 28/5/08
A guy named Les wants to marry you? What did you say?
I've heard he was a charming and kind man in real life, and on screen he was a delightful actor and obviously a rare directing talent. R.I.P.
Michael...I begged you to get some therapy...
(Tootise is probably my favorite movie.)
Sweet Panda Love
SanFranBetsu
Posted 1:22 AM 28/5/08
Good night, sweet prince.
SanFranBetsu
CourageousCoward
Posted 1:01 AM 28/5/08
Actor. Director. Mensch.
R.I.P.
CourageousCoward
Juancho
Posted 12:44 AM 28/5/08
I too preferred his recent acting work. He was the only worthwhile thing in Changing Lanes.
If you want to see an interesting action/war film, add Castle Keep to your Netflix queue.
Juancho
misterdirk
Posted 11:53 PM 27/5/08
Most people can't even get a poem published in their high-school yearbook. Pollack developed, directed and produced major-league films, a 1/1,000,000 accomplishment, punctuated by his superb acting talents. His double whammy shall be missed, but WHAT A LIFE!
misterdirk
Lala11_7
Posted 11:06 PM 27/5/08
Me and mines had just watched "Michael Clayton" a couple of weeks ago, and I remarked to him that NOBODY did "Sophisticated Snake" quite like Sydney...
He will be missed...
Lala11_7
regisgoat
Posted 9:44 PM 27/5/08
He was a good actor. I believe I preferred him as an actor than as a director. He really gave Eyes Wide Shut a center, for example. Damned shame.
regisgoat
forever1267
Posted 5:19 PM 27/5/08
Some really terrific films he made. He will be missed.
forever1267
LBJeffries
Posted 4:44 PM 27/5/08
Seriously, sad.
They Shoot Horses, Don't They? is a great film, and he was awesome in Tootsie.
LBJeffries
Frecklepup
Posted 4:27 PM 27/5/08
Sydney Pollack was a genius, with a great face. Rest in peace, Sydney.
Frecklepup
heidiho
Posted 3:29 PM 27/5/08
Fucking cancer. I didn't even know he was sick. This is very sad.
heidiho
ortholomeux
Posted 3:10 PM 27/5/08
legend.
r.i.p.
ortholomeux
tmp00
Posted 2:48 PM 27/5/08
He had a great cameo in "Death Becomes Her" with Streep as well..
He'll be missed.
tmp00
hughman
Posted 1:31 PM 27/5/08
he was also Will's father on "Will and Grace" who DIED during the series! he had an affair! on noes!
hughman
frodo2206
Posted 4:47 PM 27/5/08
He was in a soprano episode. he was a doctor in prison for murdering his cheating wife. and her mother i think. he looked at johnny sacks medical charts and said he thought he may live for several more years with the cancer he had. ironic.
frodo2206
Pomalina
Posted 12:23 AM 1/6/08
I saw him leaving the register while I was in line at Whole Foods last year. Didn't look so great, but I was all excited...and when he left I looked at the checker/bagger and said, "Did you see that?! Sydney Pollack!!" And they were like, "Who??"
Sigh.
Pomalina