The director of one of the funniest and heartwarming films starring Dustin Hoffman, Tootsie (1982) lost his battle with cancer on Monday. He was 73.
Born in Lafayette, Indiana, to a family of Jewish immigrants from Russia, Sydney Pollack fell in love with theatre when he was in high school. From there, he enrolled in the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater in New York.
After studying under Sanford Meisner and later becoming Meisner's assistant, Pollack began his long distinguished career as a filmmaker as well as an actor.
His career peaked in the 1970s and 1980s with films like The Way We Were (1973) and Jeremiah Johnson (1972). Later, he made interesting movies like Havana (1990, with Robert Redford) and The Interpreter (2005, with Nicole Kidman).
Just last year, the filmmaker played Marty Bach opposite George Clooney in Michael Clayton. Besides acting in it, Pollack also co-produced the film, which received seven Oscar nominations, and a best actor nod for Clooney.
'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. He will be missed terribly,' The Associated Press quoted Clooney's statement as saying.
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