Oscar-winning director Sydney Pollack passed away Monday afternoon in his Pacific Palisades home in Los Angeles after a nine-month bout with cancer. According to his publicist, Leslee Dart, the 73-year-old Hollywood mainstay was surrounded by family at the time.
Also an occasional actor, Pollack's career reached its apex during the 1970s and 1980s. He achieved success with his gender-bending film "Tootsie" and the period drama "Out of Africa," and worked with some of Hollywood's best actors, including George Clooney.
"Sydney made the world a little better, movies a little better and even dinner a little better. A tip of the hat to a class act," Clooney said in a statement from his publicist.
"He'll be missed terribly," Clooney added.
Other A-list actors Pollack worked with include Sally Field and Paul Neman ("In Absence of Malice"), Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn ("The Interpretor"), Robert Mitchum ("The Yakuza"), Tom Cruise ("The Firm"), Robert Redford ("Three Days of the Condor" and "The Way We Were") and Barbra Streisand ("The Way We Were").
"Having the opportunity to know Sydney and work with him was a great gift in my life," Field said in a statement. "He was a good friend and a phenomenal director and I will cherish every moment that I ever spent with him."
In his later years, Pollack spent more time in front of the camera. He appeared in the films "Husbands and Wives," "The Player," "Death Becomes Her," "Eyes Wide Shut" and "Made of Honor." He also played Will's father on "Will & Grace" and made appearances on "The Sopranos," "Frasier" and "Mad About You."
Pollack is surved by his wife, Claire; two daughters, a brother and six grandchildren, according to MSNBC. His son Steven died in a 1993 plane crash.
