Sydney Pollack

Sydney Pollack was an Academy Award-winning director, producer, actor, writer, and public figure who directed and produced over 40 films. Born Sydney Irwin Pollack on July 1, 1934, in Lafayette, Indiana, USA, he was the son of Rebecca (Miller), a homemaker, and David Pollack, a professional boxer who later became a pharmacist. All of his grandparents were Russian Jewish immigrants. His parents divorced when he was young, and his mother, who struggled with alcoholism, died at age 37 when Sydney was 16. He spent his formative years in Indiana, graduating from high school in 1952 before moving to New York City.

From 1952 to 1954, Pollack studied acting with Sanford Meisner at The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York. After serving two years in the army, he returned to the school and became a teacher. In 1958, he married Claire Griswold, one of his former students. The couple had three children: Steven, who died in a plane crash on November 26, 1993, in Santa Monica, California; Rebecca, who served as vice president of film production at United Artists during the 1990s; and Rachel, born in 1969.

Pollack began his acting career on stage and established himself as a television director in the early 1960s. He made his film acting debut in *War Hunt* (1962), where he met Robert Redford, with whom he formed a lifelong friendship. Pollack cast Redford opposite Natalie Wood in *This Property Is Condemned* (1966), and the two collaborated on six more films over the years. His greatest success came with *Out of Africa* (1985), starring Robert Redford and Meryl Streep. The film received eleven Academy Award nominations and won seven, including Pollack’s Oscars for Best Direction and Best Picture.

Pollack demonstrated his strength in comedy and acting in *Tootsie* (1982), a film that addressed feminist issues and was nominated for ten Academy Awards. His direction showcased Dustin Hoffman’s range in a gender-switching role, a collaboration that expanded public understanding of gender roles. Pollack also produced successful films such as *The Talented Mr. Ripley* (1999), *The Quiet American* (2002), and *Cold Mountain* (2003). In 2004, he returned to directing with *The Interpreter* (2005), the first film shot on location at the United Nations Headquarters and within the General Assembly in New York City.

In 2000, Sydney Pollack received the John Huston Award from the Directors Guild of America as a "defender of artists' rights." He died from cancer on May 26, 2008, at his home in Pacific Palisades, California.