Sydney Pollack: 1934-2008

Director and actor Sydney Pollack poses for the press before a tribute award for his career in film before the screening of his film "Sketches of Frank Gehry" at the 32nd American Film Festival in Deauville, Normandy, France, Sept. 8, 2006. Pollack, diagnosed with cancer about nine months ago, died Monday, May 26, 2008, surrounded by family, at his home in Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles. He was 73.

Dustin Hoffman, right, in the title role of "Tootsie," appears in a scene with the movie's director and producer, Sydney Pollack at the Russian Tea Room in New York. Pollack, the Academy Award-winning director and Hollywood mainstay who achieved commercial success and critical acclaim with the gender-bending comedy and the period drama "Out of Africa, died of cancer May 26, 2008. He was 73.

Director and actor Sydney Pollack poses with his award at the 32nd American Film Festival in Deauville, France on Sept. 9, 2006. Pollack won Academy Awards for best picture and best director for the epic "Out of Africa," but the former student of legendary acting teacher Sanford Meisner also turned up on screen in everything from his own productions to TV's "The Sopranos" and "Will & Grace."

Director Sydney Pollack, right, directs actor Paul Newman through a scene from "Absence of Malice," in December 1981. The list of actors he directed plays like the red carpet on Oscar night: Newman, Sally Field, Meryl Streep, Jane Fonda, Sean Penn, Nicole Kidman, Barbra Streisand and - seven times - Robert Redford.

Actress Meryl Streep and director Sydney Pollack arrive for the screening of the film "The Devil Wears Prada" at the 32nd American Film Festival in Deauville, Normandy, France, Sept. 9, 2006.

Award winning film director Sydney Pollack listens to a student's question at Harvard university in Cambridge, Mass., on July 17, 1993. Unlike many other top directors of his era, Pollack was also a film and TV actor himself, and he used this unique position to forge a relationship with Hollywood's elite stars and create some of the most successful films of the 1970s and '80s.

Director Sydney Pollack, center, makes a hand print in the block of clay that will be sealed in the Croisette after the 39th film festival in Cannes, France on May 10, 1986. Anne Marie Dupuy, mayor of Cannes, third right, and Mr. Spadaro, mayor of Beverly Hills, Calif., pose alongside Pollack, who died of cancer Monday, May 26, 2008, at his home in Pacific Palisades, Calif.

Actor Robert Redford, left, and director Sydney Pollack, second from left, talk with pianist Arthur Rubinstein and on May 8, 1972. Pollack first met Redford when they acted in 1962s low-budget "War Hunt," and would go on to play a major role in making Redford a star.

Director Sydney Pollack arrives for the screening of the film "Quand J' etais Chanteur," at the 59th International film festival in Cannes, southern France, May 26, 2006. Pollack died of cancer Monday, May 26, 2008, at his home in Pacific Palisades, Calif., according to his agent. He was 73.

Director Sydney Pollack speaks during a master class interview at the 59th International film festival in Cannes, southern France, May 25, 2006. In 2007, he appeared opposite George Clooney in "Michael Clayton," which he also co-produced. His last screen appearance was in "Made of Honor," a 2008 romantic comedy, where he played the oft-married father of star Patrick Dempsey's character.

Director Sydney Pollack holds his Emmy award at the Primetime Emmy Awards at the Hollywood Palladium, Calif., May 22, 1966. The actor-turned-director won for outstanding directorial achievement for drama or televison series for "The Game." On television, Pollack had an occasional recurring role on the NBC sitcom "Will & Grace" and appeared in the "The Sopranos," "Frasier" and "Mad About You."

Sydney Pollack holds his two Oscars at the Academy Awards in Los Angeles on March 25, 1986. Pollack won best director for "Out of Africa," which he also produced and won best picture of the year. Pollack was quick to praise the Meryl Streep, who was nominated for best actress but didn't win. "I could not have made this movie without Meryl Streep. She is astounding - personally, professionally, all ways."

Director and actor Sydney Pollack mingles with co-stars and then husband-and-wife actors Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, at the premiere of their thriller, "Eyes Wide Shut," July 13, 1999, in Los Angeles.

Actress Nicole Kidman, left, and director Sydney Pollack arrive at the German premiere of "The Interpreter" in Berlin April 13, 2005. Whether they were thrillers like "Three Days of the Condor" and "Absence of Malice," romances like "The Way We Were" and "Out of Africa," or even "Tootsie" - an unusual comedy - Pollack's movies stirred something within his audiences.

From left, Robert Redford, his wife, director Sydney Pollack and his wife arrive for the Cannes Film Festival in 1972. Pollack died on May 26, 2008, at 73. He is survived by his wife, two daughters, a brother and six grandchildren.