Gone Too Soon: Stars We Lost in 2008

PEOPLE.com says goodbye to the celebs who left an indelible mark. By Cara Lynn Shultz

SYDNEY POLLACK

A director, actor and producer, Pollack was renowned for his work both onscreen (Eyes Wide Shut, Michael Clayton and The Sopranos) and offscreen (he won the Oscar as director and producer of Out of Africa). After battling cancer for 10 months, the beloved Hollywood fixture died in his Pacific Palisades, Calif., home on May 26 at 73. "Sydney made the world a little better, movies a little better and even dinner a little better," Michael Clayton star George Clooney said. "He'll be missed terribly."