Pollack loses cancer battle

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TRAGIC: Oscar-winning director Sydney Pollack has died of cancer.

OSCAR-WINNING director Sydney Pollack has died of cancer, his agent said today.

Leslee Dart said Pollack, 73, died at his Los Angeles home surrounded by his family.

Pollack’s biggest success was the 1985 film Out Of Africa, a romantic epic set in Kenya with Robert Redford and Meryl Streep. It won seven Oscars, including best director and best picture.

His other notable films included the comedy Tootsie starring Dustin Hoffman.

George Clooney, who worked with him on Michael Clayton last year, said today: “Sydney made the world a little better, movies a little better and even dinner a little better. A tip of the hat to a class act.”