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SYDNEY POLLACK 3 DAYS OF THE CONDOR, BOBBY DEERFIELD PART 11
SYDNEY POLLACK -- Just a Nice Guy (Rough Draft) By Ira H. Gallen (One time production assistant on Three Days of the
... Condor)It's been over 30 years since I saw Sydney last, he had just finished shooting Tootsie for the day, and came over to my apartment to do an interview for my public access cable show called "The Directors Series" in 1982.
When it looks like he's starting to sweat a little and takes out a handkerchief was that I couldn't keep the air conditioner on and the lights for the camera at the same time. He had just finished shooting Tootsie for the day and before dailies was coming over to do an interview how nice is that.
We had become friends while I was working as a production assistant on "Three Days of the Condor". In fact I had the chance to do a book on Sydney's film career while he was shooting Electric Horseman when Seymour Stern died.
Seymour Stern was the official Biographer of D.W. Griffith and I was one of the few friends the film historian would talk to. So instead of going to Las Vegas to document a soon to be film legend I went to Canada to go through the Stern Archives and save the career of D.W. Griffith a forgotten legend of film.
What made me stand out among other Production Assistants working on Feature films in New York was that I was a Film History Buff. Remember the 1970's & 80's was a time when we had not only no Internet, but no stores to buy videos of old movies and cable was just starting up.So over thirty years ago I started going to flea markets and underground magazines were film collectors bought, sold and traded celluloid film prints. I was very well plugged into the market of Celluloid Film collectors back then. I helped Robert Redford get a bootleg 16mm print of Treasure of Sierra Madre and Bambi. Sydney also knew my obsession with D.W. Griffith and understood why I never went to Las Vegas.
The best way to tell you what kind of guy Sydney Pollack was is that when you watch him sweating at times during my interview was that I couldn't run my air conditioner at the same time I had the lights and camera on for the interview. He also let me come down to the set to shoot for a few days to shoot.
I was hoping to send him a copy of my play on D.W. Griffith as well as surprising him with a 35mm Film Reel of Out-takes from Three Days of the Condor I had saved after working in the Editing Room. I kept a diary working on Condor and my teachings from Sydney I'll have to look at one day. All I can say to his brother Bernie and Bob Redford is thanks for the memories and Sydney was just a really nice guy.
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