Sydney Pollack

Sydney Pollack was an Academy Award-winning director, producer, actor, writer and public figure, who directed and produced over 40 films. Sydney Irwin Pollack was born July 1, 1934 in Lafayette, Indiana, USA, to Rebecca (Miller), a homemaker, and David Pollack, a professional boxer turned pharmacist. All of his grandparents were Russian Jewish immigrants. His parents divorced when he was young. His mother, an alcoholic, died at age 37, when Sydney was 16.

He spent his formative years in Indiana, graduating from his HS in 1952, then moved to New York City.

From 1952-1954 young Pollack studied acting with Sanford Meisner at The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York. He served two years in the army, and then returned to the Neighborhood Playhouse and taught acting.

In 1958, Pollack married his former student Claire Griswold. They had three children.

Three children: a son, Steven Pollack, born in 1959 (died 1993); daughter, Rebecca Pollack, born in 1964; daughter, Rachel Pollack, born in 1969.

Pollack began his acting career on stage, then made his name as television director in the early 1960s.

He made his big screen acting debut in War Hunt (1962), where he met fellow actor Robert Redford, and the two co-stars established a life-long friendship.

Pollack called on his good friend Redford to play opposite Natalie Wood in This Property Is Condemned (1966). Pollack and Redford worked together on six more films over the years.

Their youngest daughter, Rachel Pollack, was born in 1969.

Was the original choice to direct Dirty Harry (1971).

Filmed Aretha Franklin's acclaimed gospel album "Amazing Grace" live in 1972.

Member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1973

He brought a lawsuit against Danish TV after screening Three Days of the Condor (1975) in pan-and-scan in 1991. (April 1997) The court ruled that the pan scanning conducted by Danish television was a 'mutilation' of the film Three Days of the Condor (1975) and a violation of Pollacks 'Droit Moral', his legal right as an artist to maintain his reputation by protecting the integrity of his work. Nonetheless, the court ruled in favor of the defendant on a technicality. [January 1997]

The film The Electric Horseman (1979) was his last scope (2.35 AR) film for a long period. Pollack switched to shooting full frame (soft matte) with a 1.85 intended AR. This was driven by the fear of what damage home video did to widescreen movies with pan-and-scan transfers. His last movie The Interpreter (2005) was shot in scope.

Pollack showed his best as a comedy director and actor in Tootsie (1982), where he brought feminist issues to public awareness using his remarkable wit and wisdom, and created a highly entertaining film, which was nominated for ten Academy Awards. Pollack's directing revealed Dustin Hoffman's range and nuanced acting in gender switching from a dominant boyfriend to a nurse in drag, a brilliant collaboration of director and actor that broadened public perception about sex roles. Pollack also made success in producing such films as The Talented Mr.

His biggest success came with Out of Africa (1985), starring Robert Redford and Meryl Streep. The movie earned eleven Academy Award nominations in all and seven wins, including Pollack's two Oscars: one for Best Direction and one for Best Picture.

President of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1986

Their daughter, Rebecca Pollack, served as vice president of film production at United Artists during the 1990s.

Their son, Steven Pollack, died in a plane crash on November 26, 1993, in Santa Monica, California.

Ripley (1999), The Quiet American (2002) and Cold Mountain (2003).

In 2000, Sydney Pollack was honored with the John Huston Award from the Directors Guild of America as a "defender of artists' rights.

Among the 100 best American love movies ranked by American Film Institute in June, 2002, Pollack is the only director credited with two films near the top of list. His The Way We Were (1973) is ranked #6 and Out of Africa (1985) is ranked #13.

Pollack returned to the director's chair in 2004, when he directed The Interpreter (2005), the first film ever shot on location at the United Nations Headquarters and within the General Assembly in New York City.