Sydney Pollack is Dead at 73

Published by Jeff Leins on: May 26th, 2008

Actor/director Sydney Pollack died today at the age of 73.

He passed away from metastatic stomach cancer this afternoon at his home in the Pacific Palisades, according to his publicist.

After almost 50 years in the business, he leaves behind a great legacy. Pollack recently delivered an amazing performance in last year’s Oscar-nominated Michael Clayton.

He received Academy Awards for “Best Picture” and “Best Director” for 1985’s Out of Africa. He also directed classic films Tootsie, The Way We Were, and The Firm. Pollack directed 19 films in total which included 12 Oscar-nominated performances.

In August last year, he pulled out of directorial duties on HBO’s TV movie Recount for unspecified health reasons, while still serving as executive producer. The film debuted yesterday.