Academy Award winning filmmaker Sydney Pollack, whose varied body of work includes “Out of Africa,” “The Way We Were,” “Tootsie” and “Three Days of the Condor,” passed away Monday, aged 73.

Sydney Irwin Pollack, born July 1, 1934 in Lafayette, Indiana, passed away at his home in Pacific Palisades, Calif., Monday, surrounded by his family, Leslee Dart, publicist and friend, said. He had been battling cancer. Dart said he had been diagnosed with cancer about nine months ago, reports the Associated Press.

Pollack’s career spanned a worthy four-decades, a time during which he perfected himself as director, producer and actor.

He studied as an actor and later taught acting in New York City in the 1950s, and then moved to the West Coast. He embarked on a directing career in the 1960s, with episodes of TV series such as “The Fugitive” and “Alfred Hitchcock Presents.”

He would eventually direct 20 films, seven of which starred Robert Redford.

Among the critically acclaimed collaborations with Redford, “The Way We Were,” co-starring Barbra Streisand, and “Out of Africa,” co-starring Meryl Streep, earned multiple Academy Awards.

Pollack received two golden statuettes in 1985 for “Out of Africa,” for best director and best picture. The drama was based on the 1937 autobiography of Danish author Isak Dinesen (pseudonym of Karen Blixen), which chronicled her experiences in Kenya during the early part of the 20th century as well as her romance with English big-game hunter Denys Finch Hatton.

Other films he made with Redford were “Jeremiah Johnson,” “Three Days of the Condor” and “Havana,” the latter co-starring Faye Dunaway and Lena Olin, respectively.

His first best director nomination came in 1969, for “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?” which starred Jane Fonda.

Pollack received another best director Oscar nomination for the 1982 comedy “Tootsie,” starring Dustin Hoffman as a struggling actor who pretends to be a woman in order to get acting jobs.

It was during the filming of “Tootsie” that Pollack returned to acting, after a 20-year hiatus, as he ended up portraying the agent of Hoffman’s character. A decade later, he would begin making frequent appearances in films.

He co-starred in movies such as the Woody Allen-directed drama “Husbands and Wives,” Stanley Kubrick’s “Eyes Wide Shut” and last year’s Academy Award contender, “Michael Clayton.”

He did not shun television either, with guest appearances on “Will & Grace,” “The Sopranos” and “Entourage.”

Pollack was also prolific as a producer during the past two decades and made the choicest of picks. He produced 1995’s “Sense and Sensibility,” directed by Ang Lee from a screenplay by Emma Thompson; the 1999 Anthony Minghella film “The Talented Mr. Ripley”; Richard Eyre’s 2001 biopic of Iris Murdoch, “Iris,” and the 2007 drama “Michael Clayton.”

His last producing project was the HBO made-for-TV movie “Recount,” about the 2000 Presidential election in the United States.

Pollack is survived by his wife Claire, whom he had been married to since 1958; daughters Rebecca and Rachel; his brother Bernie; and six grandchildren.