Sydney Pollack

Sydney Irwin Pollack was born July 1, 1934, and spent more than 40 years moving between the director's chair, the producer's office, and occasional acting roles. His first Oscar nomination for Best Director came with They Shoot Horses, Don't They? in 1969; another followed for Tootsie in 1982, where he also played on-screen. He won both Best Director and Best Picture for Out of Africa in 1985. The films in between and after — The Way We Were, Three Days of the Condor, The Firm, Sabrina — were the kind of mid-budget studio pictures that played wide and held attention. As a producer he backed Se…