Sydney Pollack attained a reputation as a filmmaker who collaborated with Hollywood’s A-listers, to make films uniquely describes as both commercially successful and critically acclaimed. His erstwhile collaborators remember Pollack for the great man he was.

He started out as an acting coach in 1950s’ New York City and pursued a directing career in Hollywood in the 1960s, which he would eventually combine with acting and producing, finding his name associated with critical praise early on.

By 1969, aged 35, he had received his first Academy Award nomination, for directing “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?” a drama based on Horace McCoy’s novel of the same name. Of the nine nominations the film received, one was for star Jane Fonda – it was her first as well.

Pollack would persevere in the following decades, directing time-enduring films that have become both sentimental classics and box office toppers (“The Way We Were,” “Tootsie,” “Out of Africa“).

He is credited with having directed 20 films, seven of which starred Robert Redford. The first time he directed Redford was for the 1966 drama “This Property Is Condemned,” which earned co-star Natalie Wood a Golden Globe nomination.

Among Pollack’s 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 and her romance with English big-game hunter Denys Finch Hatton.

Upon learning of his longtime collaborator and friend’s death, Redford said, “Sydney’s and my relationship both professionally and personally covers 40 years. It’s too personal to express in a sound bite.”

Other films Pollack directed Redford in were “Jeremiah Johnson,” “Three Days of the Condor” and “Havana,” the latter co-starring – and keeping with his tradition of casting A-listers - Faye Dunaway and Lena Olin, respectively.

Streisand, who was nominated for best actress in a leading role for her performance in “The Way We Were,” said Pollack “knew how to tell a love story” and was “a great actor’s director because he was a great actor.”

Pollack returned to acting, after a 20-year hiatus, while directing the 1982 comedy “Tootsie.” It starred Dustin Hoffman as a struggling New York actor who comes up with the mischievous plan to pretend he is a woman in order to get acting jobs.

He ended up portraying the agent of Hoffman’s character, at the actor’s insistence, he would later recall. The film’s co-star, Jessica Lange, would receive an Academy Award for best supporting actress. “Tootsie” was also nominated for best picture, best director, best actor and best original screenplay, among others. As if that was not enough, it became the highest grossing comedy of 1982.

A decade later, Pollack 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.”

Tom Cruise, who starred in “Eyes Wide Shut” and was directed by Pollack in “The Firm,” remembers the filmmaker as “unpretentious and never condescending,” “a Renaissance man and a great friend” who shared “what he loved about family, storytelling, food, flying and a great bottle of vino.”

Nicole Kidman, who also starred in the Kubrick thriller and was directed by Pollack in “The Interpreter,” described him in a statement as “elegant, a gentleman, smart and generous, a wonderful actor, a great cook,” and a director who transcended the boundary into being “a mentor and friend.”

Among the last films he appeared in was last fall’s Academy Award highlighted drama “Michael Clayton,” which he also co-produced. Star George Clooney said in a statement: “Sydney made the world a little better, movies a little better and even dinner a little better. He’ll be missed terribly.”

Pollack was also prolific as a producer during the past two decades and made notable choices. 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 afore-mentioned “Michael Clayton.”

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

Sydney Irwin Pollack, born July 1, 1934 in Lafayette, Indiana, passed away at his home in Pacific Palisades, Calif., Monday, May 26, surrounded by his family, Leslee Dart, publicist and friend, said. He had been diagnosed with cancer about nine months ago.

Pollack is survived by his wife, Claire, whom he had been married to since 1958; two daughters, Rebecca and Rachel; his brother Bernie; and six grandchildren. Pollack’s son, Steven, died in a plane crash in 1993.