Sydney Pollack

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American filmmaker and actor whose work includes "The Slender Thread," 1965, "The Scalphunters," 1968, "They Shoot Horses Don't They," 1969 and "The Way We Were," 1973. His movies have earned 43 Academy Award nominations, including four for Best Picture. Pollack won an Emmy for directing in 1966 and in 1985 he won Best Director and Best Picture Award for "Out of Africa." His dad was a professional boxer before he became a pharmacist in Lafayette, IN. At 17, just out of high school, Sydney went to New York and signed up to study acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse. He soon became a protégé of the legendary teacher and coach, Sanford Meisner. Pollack calls Meisner the most influential person in his life in terms of his thinking about drama and about life itself. Everything he does is from the point of view of acting. A painstaking craftsman, he's known for being relentless and meticulous. Pollack was teaching acting in New York when director John Frankenheimer brought him to Hollywood as a dialogue coach on the film "The Young Savages," starring Burt Lancaster. Then Lew Wasserman had him observe TV shows on the lot at Universal Studios. After about four months he directed a segment of "Shotgun Slade," the start of his directing career. From 1960 to 1965 Pollack directed 80 shows, including episodes of "The Defenders," "The Fugitive," "Ben Casey," and "Naked City." He won an Emmy for directing in 1966. His first feature film was "The Slender Thread," 1965, with Anne Bancroft and Sidney Poitier. His old acting buddy, Robert Redford, has appeared in seven other Pollack films, including "Jeremiah Johnson," 1972, "The Way We Were," 1973, "Three Days of the Condor," 1975, "Electric Horseman," 1979, "Out of Africa," 1985 and "Havana," 1990. "Havana" didn't get the reviews he'd hoped for but his next film, "The Firm," with Tom Cruise was one of the top money-makers of 1993. Pollack is married to the former Claire Griswold and they have two daughters, Rebecca and Rachel, both in the entertainment business. Their son, Steven, died at age 34 during a training flight as a pilot. About nine months after receiving a diagnosis of cancer, the actor/director died on May 26, 2008 in Los Angeles. He was nearing his 74th birthday. Link to Wikipedia biography