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CelebNews@Usmagazine.com! - George Clooney Remembers the Late Sydney Pollack

George Clooney is paying tribute to late director Sydney Pollack, who died of cancer Monday at the age of 73.

"Sydney made the world a little better, movies a little better and even dinner a little better," Clooney — who headlined the Pollack-produced 2007 thriller Michael Clayton — said in a statement to the Associated Press.

"A tip of the hat to a class act," Clooney added. "He'll be missed terribly."

Sally Field — who starred in Pollack's 1981 drama Absence of Malice with Paul Newman — said working with the director was "a great gift in my life.

"He was a good friend and a phenomenal director and I will cherish every moment that I ever spent with him," she added.

Pollack was diagnosed with cancer about nine months ago, his rep said.

He was surrounded by his family at his L.A.-area home when he passed.

He was survived by his wife, Claire; two daughters, Rebecca and Rachel; his brother Bernie; and six grandchildren.

Services will be private, the Los Angeles Times reports.

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