Sydney Pollack

Sydney Irwin Pollack (July 1, 1934 – May 26, 2008) was an American film director, producer, and actor. Known for directing commercially and critically acclaimed studio films, he received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards and two Primetime Emmy Awards, in addition to nominations for three Golden Globe Awards and six BAFTA Awards in a career spanning more than 40 years.

Pollack won the Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture for Out of Africa (1985). He was also nominated for Academy Awards for Best Director for They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969) and Tootsie (1982). Pollack's other notable films include This Property Is Condemned (1966), Jeremiah Johnson (1972), The Way We Were (1973), The Yakuza (1974), Three Days of the Condor (1975), Absence of Malice (1981), The Firm (1993), and Sabrina (1995).

Pollack produced and acted in Michael Clayton (2007). Other films he produced include The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989), Presumed Innocent (1990), Sense and Sensibility (1995), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Iris (2001), Cold Mountain (2003) and The Reader (2008). Pollack also acted in Tootsie (1982), Robert Altman's The Player (1992), Woody Allen's Husbands and Wives (1993), and Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut (1999).