By Steve Gorman
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hollywood filmmaker Sydney Pollack,
who won a pair of Academy Awards for the epic romance "Out of
Africa" and earned praise for acting stints in films including
"Tootsie" and "Michael Clayton," died on Monday after a battle
with cancer, his spokeswoman said. He was 73.
During a varied career spanning almost half a century,
Pollack directed such stars as Barbra Streisand and Robert
Redford in "The Way We Were," Tom Cruise in "The Firm" and
Dustin Hoffman in "Tootsie." Redford starred in seven of his
films, including "Out of Africa," alongside Meryl Streep.
Pollack died at his home in the coastal Los Angeles suburb
of Pacific Palisades at about 5 p.m. local time. He was
diagnosed with cancer about 10 months ago, but doctors were
never able to determine the primary source of the disease, said
spokeswoman Leslee Dart.
At the time of the diagnosis, he was directing the HBO
movie "Recount," but left the project to seek medical
treatment. The political drama about the controversial Florida
presidential vote in 2000 premiered on the cable network on
Sunday.
The tall, curly-haired Indiana native, who started out as
an acting coach and TV director, focused on producing and
acting in later years.
He received a best picture Oscar nomination this year for
producing the George Clooney legal thriller "Michael Clayton,"
in which he had a supporting role as an attorney. He is
featured in the newly released romantic comedy "Made of Honor"
as actor Patrick Dempsey's serial-dating father.
HAMMER IN THE FOREHEAD
Pollack's final directing efforts were the 2005 thriller
"The Interpreter," starring Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn, and
the 2006 documentary "Sketches of Frank Gehry," about the famed
architect.
