Sydney Pollack

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Birth Name: Sydney Irwin Pollack

Born: 1 July 1934 Died: 26 May 2008

Country of origin: United States

Height: 6' 0"

Relationship Status: Married

Partner: Claire Griswold

Lists

197 votes

The Idiot's Guide To Famous (Classic) Filmmakers (85 items)
list by Severin Severin

Published 12 years ago

14 comments

109 votes

Directors' Favorite Actors/Actresses (94 items)
list by Stehako

Published 7 years, 5 months ago

14 comments

98 votes

Gone, but not forgotten (1954 items)
list by Agent Kermit D. Fonz

Published 5 months ago

10 comments

81 votes

Stanley Kubrick: Quotes (35 items)
list by Moon River

Published 12 years, 5 months ago

7 comments

74 votes

Collaborating again and again (19 items)
list by Moon River

Published 12 years, 6 months ago

11 comments

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Description: 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 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. Their son, Steven Pollack, died in a plane crash on November 26, 1993, in Santa Monica, California. Their daughter, Rebecca Pollack, served as vice president of film production at United Artists during the 1990s. Their youngest daughter, Rachel Pollack, was 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. 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.

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

In 2000, Sydney Pollack was honored with 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 the Los Angeles suburb of Pacific Palisades, California. ... (more)

Tags: Actor (17), Director (7), Oscar Winner (6), American (5), Male (4), Jewish (3), Born 1934 (3), Died 2008 (3), Producer (3), Deceased (2), US Army (2), Cancer (2), The Interpreter (1), Democrat (1), The Firm (1), Random Hearts (1), Sabrina (1), Tootsie (1), Consultant (1), Out Of Africa (1)

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TV

Most popular

Top rated

Most recent

1. The Sopranos (1999)

Rating:

8.4

1696 Watched

2. Will & Grace (1998)

Rating:

6.6

1793 Watched

3. Frasier

Rating:

6.7

1452 Watched

4. King of the Hill (1997)

Rating:

6.3

1426 Watched

5. The Twilight Zone

Rating:

8.2

845 Watched

View all Sydney Pollack TV (39 more)

Movies

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Most recent

1. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

Rating:

3030 Watched

2. Death Becomes Her (1992)

Rating:

6.4

1700 Watched

3. Tootsie (1982)

Rating:

6.9

1088 Watched

4. The Interpreter (2005)

Rating:

6.1

912 Watched

5. Michael Clayton (2007)

Rating:

6.8

838 Watched

View all Sydney Pollack movies (25 more)

Movies directed by

Most popular

Top rated

Most recent

1. Tootsie (1982)

Rating:

6.9

1088 Watched

2. The Interpreter (2005)

Rating:

6.1

912 Watched

3. The Firm (1993)

Rating:

6.5

945 Watched

4. Out of Africa (1985)

Rating:

6.9

583 Watched

5. Sabrina (1995)

Rating:

5.8

520 Watched

View all Sydney Pollack movies (16 more)

TV directed by

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Top rated

Most recent

1. The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1962)

Rating:

8.1

42 Watched

2. The Fugitive (1963-1967)

Rating:

8.4

29 Watched

3. Wagon Train

Rating:

8.1

18 Watched

4. American Masters

Rating:

8.8

17 Watched

5. Dr. Kildare (2002)

Rating:

8.3

10 Watched

View all Sydney Pollack TV (10 more)

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Agent Kermit D. Fonz added this to a list 5 months ago

Gone, but not forgotten (1954 person items)

Leo added this to a list 1 year, 5 months ago

Filmmakers Interviewed on Later with Bob Costas (31 person items)

henrik4075 added this to a list 1 year, 7 months ago

My Favorite Performances of 1999 (Male) (25 person items)

" Victor Ziegler - Eyes Wide Shut "Listen, Bill. Nobody killed anybody. Someone died. It happens all the time. Life goes on. It always does, until it doesn't. But you know that, don't you?" "

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nicolee added this to a list 5 years, 1 month ago

Every Best Director Winner (71 person items)

"1985-Out of Africa"

cyrax36 added this to a list 5 years, 2 months ago

Top Grossing Directors (200 person items)

Agent Kermit D. Fonz voted for an image 5 years, 10 months ago

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Oscars 2016 (1986) (28 movies items)

"Lenny Abrahamson (Room)"

Stehako added this to a list 7 years, 5 months ago

Directors' Favorite Actors/Actresses (94 person items)

"Robert Redford - This Property is Condemned (1966) - Jeremiah Johnson (1972) - The Way We Were (1973) - Three Days of the Condor (1975) - The Electric Horseman (1979) - Out of Africa (1985) - Havana (1990) "

darthjoker12 added this to a list 7 years, 8 months ago

Oscars 2016 (1976) (28 movies items)

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