Film Legend Sydney Pollack Dies of Cancer at 73

[Rasputin]

Oscar-winning director Sydney Pollack died of cancer Monday. He was 73.

Pollack, who was also an actor and producer, was surrounded by family at his home in Pacific Palisades when he passed, according to his publicist Leslee Dart. He was diagnosed with cancer ten months ago and had been undergoing treatment for the disease, she says.

[Rasputin]

[Rasputin]

Tom Cruise has fond memories of his first meeting with film legend Sydney Pollack, who succumbed to cancer Monday at age 73, and admits he will "miss him dearly."

"I first met him while he was in the midst of editing Tootsie (one of the all time classics)," Cruise, who later worked with Pollack in 1993's The Firm, said in a statement released early Tuesday morning. "I'd seen every one of his pictures and he generously took the meeting."

Cruise, who was then an up-and-coming actor, recalled how the famed director – who also was involved in Eyes Wide Shut – took more than six hours to answer all of his questions.

"Throughout the years, unpretentious and never condescending, he shared with me what he loved about family, storytelling, food, flying and a great bottle of vino," Cruise said. "He was a Renaissance man and a great friend. I will miss him dearly."