Sydney Pollack

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Sydney Pollack

Born July 1, 1934 (1934-07-01) (age 73)
Flag of Indiana Lafayette, Indiana, United States
Spouse(s) Claire Griswold (married in 1958; 3 children)

Sydney Pollack (born July 1, 1934)[1] is an Academy Award-winning American film director, producer and actor. He has directed over 21 films and 10 television shows, acted in over 30 films or shows, and produced over 44 films. Pollack is best known for directing films Out of Africa (Academy Awards, 1985), Tootsie (1982), Three Days of the Condor (1975), The Way We Were and Jeremiah Johnson (1972), along with newer films The Interpreter (2005), Sabrina (1995 film), The Firm (1993) and Havana. He has appeared in over 15 films, including The Interpreter (2005), Eyes Wide Shut (1999), Husbands and Wives (1992), The Player and The Electric Horseman (1979). Most recently he appeared opposite George Clooney in Michael Clayton.

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Pollack was born in Lafayette, Indiana to a family of Jewish immigrants from Russia,[2] the son of Rebecca (née Miller) and David Pollack, a professional boxer and pharmacist.[1] His parents divorced when he was young and his mother, an alcoholic, died at the age of 37 when Pollack was sixteen.[3] His brother is the costume designer, producer and actor Bernie Pollack. Pollack has been married to Claire Griswold, a former student of his, since 1958. They had three children,Rachel Pollack, Rebecca Pollack and Steven Pollack (who died in a plane crash in 1993).

Pollack studied with Sanford Meisner at The Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City from 1952 to 1954. He later taught acting there from 1954 to 1959 before embarking on his acting career. He then moved behind the camera to direct and produce. His directing career began in the 1960s with episodes of TV series such as The Fugitive and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. He won the Academy Award for Directing for Out of Africa (1985). Pollack had previously been nominated for Best Director Oscars for They Shoot Horses, Don't They? and Tootsie.

While directing Tootsie, his rows with Dustin Hoffman became well known. Eventually Hoffman began pushing the idea that Pollack play the role of his agent and Pollack reluctantly agreed. Their off-screen relationship added authenticity to their scenes in the movie, most of which feature them arguing. Pollack has since taken on more acting roles in addition to producing and directing. He appeared as himself in the Documentary One Six Right, describing his joy of owning and piloting his Citation X jet aircraft.

As a character actor, Pollack has subsequently appeared in films such as A Civil Action, Changing Lanes, and Eyes Wide Shut, as well as his own, including Random Hearts and The Interpreter. He also appeared in Woody Allen's Husbands and Wives as a New York lawyer undergoing a midlife crisis. He had a recurring guest star role on the NBC sitcom Will & Grace, playing Will Truman's (Eric McCormack) unfaithful but loving father, George Truman. In 2007, Pollack made guest appearances on the HBO TV series The Sopranos and Entourage as well as an appearance on NBC's "Just Shoot Me.

Pollack received the first annual Extraordinary Contribution to Filmmaking award from the Austin Film Festival October 21, 2006.

In the 2002 Sight and Sound Directors' poll, Pollack revealed his top-ten films: Casablanca, Citizen Kane, The Conformist, The Godfather Part II, La Grande Illusion, The Leopard, Once upon a Time in America, Raging Bull, The Seventh Seal, and Sunset Blvd.[4]

  1. ^ a b http://www.filmreference.com/film/41/Sydney-Pollack.html
  2. ^ http://film.guardian.co.uk/interview/interviewpages/0,6737,774328,00.html
  3. ^ http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800012314/bio
  4. ^ "BFI: How the directors and critics voted"


Preceded by
Miloš Forman
for Amadeus		 Academy Award for Best Director
1985
for Out of Africa		 Succeeded by
Oliver Stone
for Platoon
v • d • e
Films directed by Sydney Pollack

The Slender Thread (1965) • This Property Is Condemned (1966) • The Scalphunters (1968) • Castle Keep (1969) • They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969) • Jeremiah Johnson (1972) • The Way We Were (1973) • The Yakuza (1975) • Three Days of the Condor (1975) • Bobby Deerfield (1977) • The Electric Horseman (1979) • Absence of Malice (1981) • Tootsie (1982) • Out of Africa (1985) • Havana (1990) • The Firm (1993) • Sabrina (1995) • Random Hearts (1999) • The Interpreter (2005) • Sketches of Frank Gehry (2005)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Pollack"
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