Sydney Pollack, a Hollywood mainstay who achieved commercial success and critical acclaim with the gender-bending comedy "Tootsie" and the period drama "Out of Africa, has died. He was 73.

Pollack died of cancer Monday afternoon at his home in Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles, surrounded by family, said his publicist, Leslee Dart. He had been diagnosed with cancer about nine months ago, Dart said.

Pollack, who occasionally appeared on the screen himself, worked with and gained the respect of Hollywood's best actors in a long career that reached prominence in the 1970s and 1980s.

Last fall, Pollack played Marty Bach opposite Clooney in "Michael Clayton," a drama that examines the life of fixer for lawyers. The film, which Pollack co-produced, received seven Oscar nominations, including best picture and a best actor nod for Clooney. Tilda Swinton won the Oscar for supporting actress.                                                                                                                         

Pollack's movies frequently had some of Hollywood's best actors: "Absence of Malice" with Sally Field and Paul Newman, "The Yakuza" with Robert Mitchum, "Three Days of the Condor" with Robert Redford, and "The Firm" with Tom Cruise, among others.

In recent years, Pollack produced many independent films with filmmaker Anthony Minghella and a production company Mirage Enterprises.

Pollack is survived by his wife, Claire; two daughters, Rebecca and Rachel; his brother Bernie; and six grandchildren. // Reuters

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