Sydney Pollack

While teaching at Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre, Pollack met Claire Bradley Griswold, who was a student at the same institute. They got married in 1958 and had three children; a son named Steven and two daughters, Rebecca and Rachel. Steven died in a plane crash in 1993.

By 2007, Pollack’s health began to suffer and he withdrew from work. He died at home on May 26, 2008 from cancer. His body was cremated and ashes were scattered. He was survived by his wife and two daughters.

Sydney Irwin Pollack was born on July 1, 1934 in Lafayette, Indiana. His father, David Pollack, was a pharmacist and a semi-professional boxer and mother, Rebecca (née Miller) was a pianist and a singer. He had a brother; Bernie, who later became a costume designer, actor and producer.

Sydney spent his formative years at South Bend, where the family shifted when he was a child. However, the time was not a happy one. His mother developed emotional problems and became alcoholic. Subsequently, his parents divorced and his mother died when he turned sixteen.

Sydney had his education at South Bend High School. It was here that he first developed an interest in drama. Although his father wanted him to become a dentist, on graduating from school in 1952, he went to New York and enrolled at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre.

From 1952 to 1954, he studied drama with Sanford Meisner, known for his ‘Meisner technique’. To sustain his education, he drove lumber trucks between terms. Later, he also began acting as Meisner’s assistant.

In 1955, Sydney Pollack made his acting debut in a Broadway comedy, ‘The Dark Is Light Enough'. In the following year, he appeared as Shuber in ‘The Army Game’ episode of ‘The Kaiser Aluminum Hour’, a popular television series.

His career was interrupted in 1957 as he was called to perform his two year military service. On being released, he returned to New York and resumed performing in different television series like ‘Playhouse 90’, ‘Armstrong Circle Theatre’, ‘Star time’, ‘The United States Steel Hour’ etc.

Side by side, he began to serve as assistant to Meisner. By that time, he had realized acting was not his strongest point and so he took up teaching as a means of earning his living. At the same time, he continued appearing in different shows.

In 1960, his friend, John Frankenheimer invited him to Los Angeles to work as a dialogue coach for the child actors of his upcoming film. Pollack accepted the offer and shifted to Los Angeles.

While in Los Angeles, Pollack met Burt Lancaster, who encouraged him to try directing. Meanwhile, he kept on appearing for different television series; ‘The Twilight Zone’ (1960) and ‘Have Gun Will Travel’ (1961), being the most significant of them. He also directed a few episodes of these series.

Pollack’s first major work was ‘They Shoot Horses, Don't They?’ (1969). The film, portraying the Depression era, was not only a box office hit, but won numerous nominations and awards. ‘The Way We Are’ (1973) is another of his major works. It is considered one of the greatest romantic movies even to this day.

‘Tootsie’, his 1982 movie is considered to be among his best works. It was the second-highest grossing movie of 1982 after ‘E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial’.

Out of Africa’ is another of his important works. It not only did well in the box office, but also earned eleven Academy nominations, out of which it won in seven categories.