# Sydney Pollack dead of cancer at 73 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 27, 2008, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sydney-pollack-dead-of-cancer-at-73/450713 "2008-05-27T01:56:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sydney-pollack-dead-of-cancer-at-73/450713/1 "2008-05-27T01:56:00Z")
[Sydney Pollack dead of cancer at 73](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/obit_sydney_pollack) What a damned shame. He was a fine directer, a very good actor and a producer of many fine films too. He may have had some iffy titles on his resume, but there are lots of gems there too. As Director (I’m not including TV work in any of these lists): Sketches of Frank Gehry (2005) The Interpreter (2005) Random Hearts (1999) Sabrina (1995) The Firm (1993) Havana (1990/I) Out of Africa (1985) Tootsie (1982) Absence of Malice (1981) The Electric Horseman (1979) Bobby Deerfield (1977) Three Days of the Condor (1975) The Yakuza (1974) The Way We Were (1973) Jeremiah Johnson (1972) They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (1969) Castle Keep (1969) The Swimmer (1968) (uncredited) The Scalphunters (1968) This Property Is Condemned (1966) The Slender Thread (1965) As Producer: The Reader (2008) (filming) (producer) Margaret (2008) (completed) (producer) Recount (2008) (TV) (executive producer) Leatherheads (2008) (executive producer) The No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency (2008) (TV) (executive producer) Michael Clayton (2007) (producer) Breaking and Entering (2006) (producer) Catch a Fire (2006) (executive producer) Sketches of Frank Gehry (2005) (executive producer) The Interpreter (2005) (executive producer) Forty Shades of Blue (2005) (executive producer) In the Name of Love (2003) (executive producer) Cold Mountain (2003) (producer) The Quiet American (2002) (executive producer) Heaven (2002) (executive producer) Iris (2001/I) (executive producer) Birthday Girl (2001) (executive producer) Blow Dry (2001) (executive producer) Up at the Villa (2000) (executive producer) The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) (executive producer) … aka The Mysterious Yearning Secretive Sad Lonely Troubled Confused Loving Musical Gifted Intelligent Beautiful Tender Sensitive Haunted Passionate Talented Mr. Ripley (USA: complete title) Random Hearts (1999) (producer) Poodle Springs (1998) (TV) (executive producer) Sliding Doors (1998) (producer) Bronx County (1998) (TV) (executive producer) Sabrina (1995) (producer) Sense and Sensibility (1995) (executive producer) Flesh and Bone (1993) (executive producer) Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993) (executive producer) The Firm (1993) (producer) “Fallen Angels” (1993) TV Series (executive producer) (unknown episodes) A Private Matter (1992) (TV) (executive producer) Leaving Normal (1992) (executive producer) Dead Again (1991) (executive producer) King Ralph (1991) (executive producer) Havana (1990/I) (producer) White Palace (1990) (executive producer) Presumed Innocent (1990) (producer) The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989) (executive producer) Bright Lights, Big City (1988) (producer) Out of Africa (1985) (producer) Sanford Meisner: The American Theatre’s Best Kept Secret (1985) (executive producer) Songwriter (1984) (producer) Tootsie (1982) (producer) Absence of Malice (1981) (producer) Honeysuckle Rose (1980) (executive producer) Bobby Deerfield (1977) (producer) The Yakuza (1974) (producer) (I had to keep the complete title of The Talented Mr. Ripley intact). As Actor: Made of Honor (2008) … Thomas Bailey Sr. Michael Clayton (2007) … Marty Bach Avenue Montaigne (2006) … Brian Sobinski The Interpreter (2005) (uncredited) … Jay Pettigrew Changing Lanes (2002) … Stephen Delano The Majestic (2001) (voice) … Studio Executive Random Hearts (1999) … Carl Broman Eyes Wide Shut (1999) … Victor Ziegler A Civil Action (1998) … Al Eustis Husbands and Wives (1992) … Jack Death Becomes Her (1992) (uncredited) … E.R. Doctor The Player (1992) … Dick Mellon Tootsie (1982) (uncredited) … George Fields The Electric Horseman (1979) (uncredited) … Man who makes pass at Alice War Hunt (1962) … Sgt. Owen Van Horn I hope this will cause a light to shine on his very first feature film as an actor, [War Hunt](http://www.dvdtalk.com/dvdsavant/s826hunt.html) (it was also Robert Redford and Tom Skerrit’s first feature), which should be much better-known than it is, considering it starred so many future names (also Gavin McLeod, Charles Aidman and John Saxon). RIP man, RIP. Damn. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sydney-pollack-dead-of-cancer-at-73/450713/2 "2008-05-27T02:09:17Z")
Damn. Many were the days I came home form a tough night at work, tossed _Tootsie_ in the VCR, and fast-forwarded to the scene between Michael Dorsey and his agent (played by Pollack; “If you want to send a steak back, Michael Dorsey is a name”), and took comfort in the fact that I wasn’t the only one who “didn’t fit in” because they cared about doing things right. What an awesome scene. RIP and thanks, Sydney. ---
**Author:** ![Indyellen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/indyellen/32/4176_2.png) [@Indyellen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indyellen)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sydney-pollack-dead-of-cancer-at-73/450713/3 "2008-05-27T02:22:39Z")
Well, _shit_. It’s been a BAD week for celebrities. The world is a less creative place. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sydney-pollack-dead-of-cancer-at-73/450713/4 "2008-05-27T02:22:43Z")
That is a great scene. I was surprised to find out that he was uncredited in that movie. His long-suffering agent was a very memorable character. Pollack didn’t act anywhere near enough. He was so good! I’m glad that Michael Clayton did well because his Marty was a very memorable character in that too. As one reviewer put it, paraphrasing, ‘Pollack’s character could make genocide seem reasonable.’ 73 may seem old, but he looked so vital and healthy in Michael Clayton. I literally gasped when I saw the headline on Yahoo News. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sydney-pollack-dead-of-cancer-at-73/450713/5 "2008-05-27T02:25:21Z")
Damn. We just saw him a few months ago in Michael Clayton. Looked older, but we were unaware he was suffering from cancer. RIP, Sydney. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sydney-pollack-dead-of-cancer-at-73/450713/6 "2008-05-27T02:25:56Z")
Shame that his last film is the critically drubbed “Made of Honor” rather than “Michael Clayton”. But there are [worse](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080731/) final films as an actor. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sydney-pollack-dead-of-cancer-at-73/450713/7 "2008-05-27T03:39:36Z")
Wow…just got done watching Recount which he exec’d produced. Nuts. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sydney-pollack-dead-of-cancer-at-73/450713/8 "2008-05-27T03:57:08Z")
According to the blurb I just read, Hoffmann had to beg and wheedle to get him to play the agent in Tootsie, and he hadn’t been in front of the camera in 20 years. Now I love Tootsie, and I think some of the ‘small’ players are key to it, Pollack included. It’s hard to imagine it without him (or Murray). Thanks Sidney, RIP ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sydney-pollack-dead-of-cancer-at-73/450713/9 "2008-05-27T04:14:03Z")
[QUOTE=outlierrn] According to the blurb I just read, Hoffmann had to beg and wheedle to get him to play the agent in Tootsie, and he hadn’t been in front of the camera in 20 years. Now I love Tootsie, and I think some of the ‘small’ players are key to it, Pollack included. It’s hard to imagine it without him (or Murray). Thanks Sidney, RIP [/QUOTE] Ebert also mentions that in his obit [here](http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080526/PEOPLE/289171214). Wasn’t Bill Murray uncredited in that film, too? ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sydney-pollack-dead-of-cancer-at-73/450713/10 "2008-05-27T04:14:58Z")
Sucks. “Out of Africa” is one of my all time favorites. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sydney-pollack-dead-of-cancer-at-73/450713/11 "2008-05-27T04:18:00Z")
Interesting tidbit about Hoffman. According to [this nice obit](http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/26/movies/26cnd-pollack.html?_r=2&hp&oref=slogin&oref=slogin) in the New York Times (well, nice except for the failure to mention War Hunt, where he freakin’ MET Robert Redford), he and Hoffman clashed on the set. Yes, Bill Murray was also uncredited in Tootsie. I’m glad Pollack got an Oscar for Directing. He was nominated for Best Director 3 times ( **They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?** , **Tootsie** and **Out of Africa** , which he won). ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sydney-pollack-dead-of-cancer-at-73/450713/12 "2008-05-27T04:23:42Z")
I know it’s probably dumb, but I think he was the very best thing in **Death Becomes Her**. His confusion and fear as the E.R. doctor was the funniest part of the whole movie. **They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?** was one of the most depressing, most effective films I have ever seen. I also watched him every week while he was doing TCM’s **The Essentials**. He did a lot to broaden my film education and appreciation… ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sydney-pollack-dead-of-cancer-at-73/450713/13 "2008-05-27T04:31:31Z")
Looking a bit deeper at his Oscar nominations… [QUOTE=Equipoise] He was nominated for Best Director 3 times ( **They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?** , [/QUOTE] That was a [helluva year](http://us.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Academy_Awards_USA/1970)! Nominees for Best Director: **Midnight Cowboy (1969) - John Schlesinger (won the Oscar)** Alice’s Restaurant (1969) - Arthur Penn Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) - George Roy Hill They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (1969) - Sydney Pollack Z (1969) - Costa-Gavras [QUOTE=Equipoise] **Tootsie** [/QUOTE] So was [this year](http://us.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Academy_Awards_USA/1983)! Nominees for Best Director: **Gandhi (1982) - Richard Attenborough (won the Oscar)** Boot, Das (1981) - Wolfgang Petersen (I) E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) - Steven Spielberg (I) Tootsie (1982) - Sydney Pollack Verdict, The (1982) - Sidney Lumet [QUOTE=Equipoise] **Out of Africa** , which he won). [/QUOTE] And wow, [to win](http://us.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Academy_Awards_USA/1986) against this lineup! \*\* Out of Africa (1985) - Sydney Pollack (won the Oscar)\*\* Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985) - Hector Babenco Prizzi’s Honor (1985) - John Huston (I) Ran (1985) - Akira Kurosawa Witness (1985) - Peter Weir ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sydney-pollack-dead-of-cancer-at-73/450713/14 "2008-05-27T16:29:40Z")
[QUOTE=pepperlandgirl] I know it’s probably dumb, but I think he was the very best thing in **Death Becomes Her**. His confusion and fear as the E.R. doctor was the funniest part of the whole movie. [/QUOTE] Not dumb at all–he was the only funny thing about that movie, and I think he was as underrated as an actor as he was (mildly) overrated as a director. Hands down, my favorite parts of _Tootsie_ all have him in it: the Russian Tea Room, the proposal confessions, and the great [first confrontation](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnHqiipcw6g). He always seemed like a really nice, thoughtful guy and the news this morning came as quite a shock. :eek: ☹ RIP. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sydney-pollack-dead-of-cancer-at-73/450713/15 "2008-05-27T16:37:53Z")
[QUOTE=ArchiveGuy] I think he was as underrated as an actor as he was (mildly) overrated as a director. Hands down, my favorite parts of _Tootsie_ all have him in it: the Russian Tea Room, the proposal confessions, and the great [first confrontation](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnHqiipcw6g). [/QUOTE] YOU WERE A TOMATO! A TOMATO DOESN’T HAVE LOGIC! Brilliant. RIP. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sydney-pollack-dead-of-cancer-at-73/450713/16 "2008-05-27T17:31:27Z")
[QUOTE=gaffa] … But there are [worse](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080731/) final films as an actor. [/QUOTE] Without clicking on the link I knew exactly which actor and which movie you were referring to. I’m also a big Pollack fan. I loved one scene he had with John Travolta in _A Civil Action_, as a high priced lawyer trying to intimidate the Travolta character. There is a bit between the two of them about an antique table that is hard to describe but is very memorable. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sydney-pollack-dead-of-cancer-at-73/450713/17 "2008-05-27T18:06:50Z")
I know it’s silly, but I really appreciated the cell-phone commercial he did for the movie theaters. “I’m sorry, is my directing interfering with your telephone call?” ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2008, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sydney-pollack-dead-of-cancer-at-73/450713/18 "2008-05-28T16:26:55Z")
[TCM is showing its tribute to him on June 2](http://www.tcm.com/movienews/index/?cid=202472) 8:00 PM The Slender Thread (’65) (his directorial debut) 10:00 PM Three Days of the Condor (’75) 12:00 AM Tootsie (’82) 2:00 AM Jeremiah Johnson (’72) ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2008, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sydney-pollack-dead-of-cancer-at-73/450713/19 "2008-05-28T16:47:05Z")
They just showed _Condor_ last night (part of a Faye Dunaway tribute), but I didn’t catch if they mentioned his passing in the intro (not sure if they tape those well beforehand or not). ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2008, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sydney-pollack-dead-of-cancer-at-73/450713/20 "2008-05-28T17:15:47Z")
[David Edelstein](http://nymag.com/daily/movies/2008/05/sydney_pollack_one_of_cinemas.html) writes a terrific tribute about how it’s the actor, and not the director, that we’re likely to miss the most. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sydney-pollack-dead-of-cancer-at-73/450713.md?page=2)