CFL legend calling it quits

TORONTO - Veteran CFL quarterback Damon Allen is calling it quits.

A league source requesting anonymity said Tuesday the Toronto Argonauts quarterback has decided to retire after 23 seasons. The source added Allen will make it official at a news conference Wednesday. The source said Allen will remain with the Argos in an unspecified role, but added it's very unlikely Allen will join head coach Rich Stubler's staff.

Dan Lawson, Allen's longtime agent, politely offered no comment when asked if his client had indeed decided to call it a career.

Allen, 44, had maintained as early as last week that he intended to attend training camp and compete for the starter's job.

However, the harsh reality was he would have gone into camp third on the depth chart behind newly acquired Kerry Joseph and veteran Michael Bishop, both of whom signed new deals with the Argos in the off-season.

Allen, a San Diego native, will leave the CFL as pro football's career passing leader with 72,381 yards. The younger brother of Pro Football Hall of Famer Marcus Allen played on four Grey Cup-winning teams and in 2005, he captured the league's outstanding player award.

The six-foot, 190-pound Allen entered the CFL as a free agent with Edmonton in 1985 and also spent time with Ottawa, Hamilton, Memphis and B.C. before the Lions dealt him to Toronto in 2003.

At age 41, Allen led Toronto to a Grey Cup title in '04 against the Lions despite having suffered a fractured tibia earlier in the year. With brother Marcus on hand to watch in Ottawa, Allen captured Grey Cup MVP honours for the third time after completing 23-of-34 passes for 299 yards and one TD. He also ran five times for 10 yards and two TDs.

Allen opened last season as Toronto's starter but was replaced by Bishop in the third quarter of the first game before ultimately dropping to No. 3 on the depth chart behind backup Mike McMahon. Allen later regained the starting job when Bishop was injured and McMahon failed to impress.

However, Allen suffered a toe injury and was ultimately placed on the injured list, giving Rocky Butler the starting job. Allen finished the season 45-of-67 passing for 492 yards and three TDs with no interceptions.

A further sign Allen's time with Toronto had come to an end was the club's blockbuster off-season trade for Joseph, the CFL's outstanding player last year who led Saskatchewan to the Grey Cup.

Allen was a two-sport star at Cal State Fullerton. He led the Titans football team to a pair of Pacific Coast Athletic Association titles but was also a pitcher on the school's baseball team that captured the '84 College World Series. Allen was drafted by Detroit Tigers in '84, the same year that club won the World Series.

Allen never signed with Detroit and instead went to Edmonton in '85. In 1987, Allen replaced injured starter Matt Dunigan in the Grey Cup and captured his first MVP award after leading the Eskimos to victory.

He won his second Grey Cup with Edmonton in 1993 before returning to baseball in '94, signing a deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He reported to spring training that year, but left to resume his CFL career with the Eskimos. Allen also won a Grey Cup with the Lions in 2000.

Despite his gaudy aerial numbers, Allen was hardly the typical strong-armed quarterback. Blessed with quick feet and a knack to sense an oncoming rush, Allen often relied on his legs to get himself out of trouble. In 1991 with Ottawa, Allen ran for 1,036 yards, becoming just the second quarterback in CFL history to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season - Edmonton's Tracy Ham ran for 1,096 yards in 1990.

Allen is the CFL's career rushing leader among quarterbacks with 11,920 yards and third overall behind only Mike Pringle (16,425 yards) and George Reed (16,116).

As Allen got older, he showed a maturity that often comes with experience. Rather than risk injury by running downfield at the first sign of trouble, Allen often used his scrambling ability to evade the rush and give his receivers time to get open downfield. In 2005, Allen threw for a career-high 5,082 yards and completed 64.1 per cent of his passes en route to capturing his only CFL outstanding player award.

The following year, though, Allen suffered a broken finger that force him to miss roughly a month of action. He made football history Sept. 4 in Hamilton when he broke former CFL star Warren Moon's all-time passing record of 70,553 yards.

The historic completion was a shovel pass to Arland Bruce III, who took the ball 29 yards. Play was halted briefly as Allen was honoured on the field by then CFL commissioner Tom Wright.

Earle Hagen, 88: Wrote, whistled 'Andy Griffith' theme

LOS ANGELES–Earle H. Hagen, who co-wrote the jazz classic "Harlem Nocturne" and composed memorable themes for The Andy Griffith Show, I Spy, The Mod Squad and other TV shows, has died. He was 88.

Hagen, who is heard whistling the folksy tune for The Andy Griffith Show, died Monday night at his home in Rancho Mirage, his wife, Laura, said Tuesday. He had been in ill health for several months.

During his long musical career, Hagen performed with the top bands of the swing era, composed for movies and television and wrote one of the first textbooks on movie composing.

He and Lionel Newman were nominated for an Academy Award for best music scoring for the 1960 Marilyn Monroe movie Let's Make Love.

For television, he composed original music for more than 3,000 episodes, pilots and TV movies, including theme songs for That Girl, The Dick Van Dyke Show and Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.

"He loved it," his wife said. "The music just flowed from him, and he would take off one hat and put on another and go on to the next show."

Hagen enjoyed the immediacy of the small screen, he told the American Society of Musicians Arrangers & Composers in 2000.

"It was hard work, with long hours and endless deadlines, but being able to write something one day and hear it a few days later appealed to me," he said. "Besides, I was addicted to the ultimate narcosis in music, which is the rush you get when you give a downbeat and wonderful players breathe life into the notes you have put on paper."

Born July 9, 1919, in Chicago, Hagen moved to Los Angeles as a youngster. He began playing the trombone while in junior high school.

"The school actually furnished him with a tuba and his mother made him take it back," his wife said.

He became so proficient that he graduated early from Hollywood High School and at 16 was touring with big bands. He played trombone with Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey and arranged for and played with Ray Noble's orchestra.

He and Newman wrote "Harlem Nocturne" for Noble in 1939. It has been covered many times since and served as the theme music for Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer television series in 1984.

In 1941, Hagen became a staff musician for CBS but the next year he enlisted in the military.

After the war, he worked as a composer and orchestrator for 20th Century-Fox studios on dozens of movies, including another Monroe classic, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

In the 1950s, he and Herbert Spencer formed an orchestra partnership that also wrote music for television, including scoring the Danny Thomas hit Make Room for Daddy.

Later, he worked as musical director for producer Sheldon Leonard, sometimes working on as many of five shows a week.

One of his more notable TV scoring efforts was for the 1960s adventure series I Spy, starring Bill Cosby and Robert Culp.

Because the show used exotic locations worldwide, Hagen often included ethnic touches in the incidental music, among them hiring Greek musicians to play for some episodes that took place in Greece. On other locations, he collected ethnic music to mix with western music back in Hollywood.

After retiring from TV work in 1986, Hagen taught a workshop in film and television scoring.

He also wrote three books on scoring, including 1971's Scoring for Films, one of the earliest textbooks on the subject. His 2002 autobiography was titled Memoirs of a Famous Composer – Nobody Ever Heard Of.

Besides his wife, Hagen is survived by his sons, Deane and James, both of Palm Desert; stepchildren Rebecca Roberts, of Irvine, Richard Roberts of Los Angeles and Rachael Roberts of Irvine; and four grandchildren. His first wife, Elouise Hagen, died in 2002 following 59 years of marriage.

Backstreet Boys announce 13 Canadian tour dates

The Backstreet Boys, the most successful of the boy bands created by jailed financier Lou Pearlman, are planning a North American tour with 13 Canadian stops.

The band, with four remaining members — Brian Littrell, Nick Carter, Howie Dorough and A.J McLean — announced their tour plans on Tuesday.

Original member Kevin Richardson left the group in 2006 to begin a family.

The Canadian leg of the tour begins July 30 in St. John's, N.L.

The tour will also go to:

Moncton.
Halifax.
Ottawa.
Montreal.
Toronto.
Sudbury, Ont.
Sault Ste Marie, Ont.
Regina.
Calgary.
Edmonton.
Vancouver.
Victoria.

The group was at the peak of its success 10 years ago with their album Backstreet's Back and hit single Quit Playing Games With My Heart.

The Backstreet Boys had a hiatus from 2001 to 2005, while Carter began a solo career.

They are touring in support of their 2007 album, Unbreakable.

"We couldn't wait to get back on stage with a big extravagant show using this material as the base," Carter said in a statement.

"Half of what we do is vocals and harmonies on our albums, but our other role is as entertainers, which we take great pride in."

Pearlman, the producer who launched the band, was last week sentenced to 25 years in jail on fraud charges.

Sharon Stone: Was China quake `bad karma?'

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sharon Stone's "karma" is having an instant effect on her movie-star status in China.

The 50-year-old actress suggested last week that the devastating May 12 earthquake in China could have been the result of bad karma over the government's treatment of Tibet. That prompted the founder of one of China's biggest cinema chains to say his company would not show her films in his theaters, according to a story in The Hollywood Reporter.

"I'm not happy about the way the Chinese are treating the Tibetans because I don't think anyone should be unkind to anyone else," Stone said Thursday during a Cannes Film Festival red-carpet interview with Hong Kong's Cable Entertainment News. "And then this earthquake and all this stuff happened, and then I thought, is that karma? When you're not nice that the bad things happen to you?"

Ng See-Yuen, founder of the UME Cineplex chain and the chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong Filmmakers, called Stone's comments "inappropriate," adding that actors should not bring personal politics to comments about a natural disaster that has left five million Chinese homeless, according to the Reporter.

UME has branches in Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Hangzhou and Guangzhou, China's biggest urban movie markets.

During the brief interview, which has also surfaced on YouTube, Stone also said she cried when she recieved a letter from the Tibetan Foundation asking her to help the quake victims.

"They wanted to go and be helpful, and that made me cry," she said. "It was a big lesson to me that sometimes you have to learn to put your head down and be of service even to people who aren't nice to you."

Stone's words created a swell of anger on the Internet, including at least one Chinese Web site devoted solely to disparaging her comments.

An after-hours phone call and email to a representative for Stone were not immediately returned Tuesday night.

"To Sharon Stone's comment, it's unlikely that we will respond," said a woman who answered the phone at the Foreign Ministry in Beijing. She refused to give her name or position.

According to the Web-based database imdb.com, Stone has at least four movies coming up between now and 2010, including "Streets of Blood," "Five Dollars a Day" and "The Year of Getting to Know Us."

James Bond returns in new novel 'Devil May Care'

LONDON - A catsuited model in stiletto heels strode the deck of a British warship with Royal Navy helicopters roaring overhead. It was not a bout of naval hijinks, but the year's most-hyped literary event — the publication of a new adventure for super-spy James Bond.

The larger-than-life launch Tuesday of the novel "Devil May Care" proves that 100 years after the birth of 007 creator Ian Fleming, the Bond brand is stronger than ever.

A large crowd of journalists and onlookers gathered to watch model Tuuli Shipster, whose silhouette adorns the cover of the book's British edition, bring the first published copies up the River Thames in a military speedboat before unpacking them aboard HMS Exeter, a destroyer moored near Tower Bridge.

"I can remember Uncle Ian's books being delivered wrapped in brown paper and string by a postman on a bicycle," niece Lucy Fleming said as she stood on the destroyer's gunmetal-gray deck. "The Royal Navy has upped the ante a little."

Britain's military appears happy to play up its ties to the fictional spy, who held the rank of Royal Navy commander before going to work for MI6. The navy loaned the Exeter and its 250-strong crew for an elaborate photo opportunity for "Devil May Care," written by Sebastian Faulks and published to mark Fleming's 100th birthday on Wednesday.

The choice of Faulks — a respected literary novelist whose books include the World War I novel "Birdsong" and the French Resistance saga "Charlotte Gray" — has brought the book serious literary attention, while the promise of sex, spying and exotic locales should help it become a best-seller. The hardcover print run in Britain and the United States is reported to be 400,000 copies.

Fleming, a journalist and wartime intelligence officer who died in 1964, wrote 14 James Bond books. Other writers, including Kingsley Amis and John Gardner, continued the series into the 21st century, with mixed results. But Faulks' license to thrill, which coincides with actor Daniel Craig's reinvigoration of the Bond film franchise, has generated a renewed sense of excitement.

"We didn't want a thriller writer," said Lucy Fleming, part of a family group that controls the author's estate. "We wanted someone who would read Ian's books and see how he did it." Faulks, she said, "has thought himself into Ian's mind."

Faulks said he even adopted Fleming's writing pace, churning out 2,000 words a day for six weeks. He says the resulting novel is about 80 percent Fleming in style.

The book's publishers — Penguin in Britain, Doubleday in the United States — are keeping its contents under wraps until it hits stores Wednesday. This much is known: the book has a 1960s Cold War setting; there are locations in Paris, Rome and the Middle East; there is torture and there is romance.

Bond aficionados were optimistic the result would be classic 007.

"Sebastian Faulks is the Daniel Craig of Bond authors," said Ajay Chowdhury, editor of the Bond fan magazine Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. "It's about quality."

Chowdhury was pleased to see a renewed focus on the books, which he said "show a deeper side of Bond."

"The Bond films are high school; the Bond books are university," he said.

This is a big year for Bond. In addition to the Fleming centenary, the latest 007 movie, "Quantum of Solace," is due for release in the fall.

Neither Faulks nor Fleming would speculate on whether "Devil May Care" would itself be filmed.

Faulks said, however, he would not be writing another Bond book.

"One tribute, one centenary, one book," he said.

The Real Ghostbusters - Time-Life to Release Complete Series This Fall!

It's been nearly a month since we posted rumors that The Real Ghostbusters would be coming to DVD this fall, and now we have some great news to share; Time-Life, the company behind the awesome Get Smart and Man From UNCLE sets, will be responsible for The Real Ghostbusters collection coming in the fall.

Our source tells us this will be a massive 26-disc set covering both The Real Ghostbusters and Slimer! And the Real Ghostbusters, the 1988 renaming of the show. With a combined episode count of just over 100 episodes, the 26 discs should have more than enough room for some great bonus material.

This set marks an exciting development: it's the first "complete series" release of an animated program from Time-Life, and it's one of the first times Sony has licensed product to another company. Ghostbusters fans are going to be kept busy soon: first the video game announcement for the fall, and now the animated series on DVD! We'll keep you updated as we get more information.

President says CBC 'could have done better' with songwriters gala

CBC president Hubert Lacroix was grilled by federal MPs on Tuesday over the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame broadcast this spring that did not include prominent francophone artists.

In a presentation to the House of Commons language committee, Lacroix admitted the public broadcaster "could have done a better job under the circumstances."

The 44-minute broadcast of the Songwriters Hall of Fame gala provoked anger in Quebec because it cut out Quebec singer Claude Dubois's performance and acceptance speech.

"This has raised awareness of what we should do to be more sensitive on this issue," Lacroix said.

Cutting of the francophone performer "doesn't help in promoting understanding between cultures," said New Democrat MP Yvon Godin.

He pressed Lacroix over remarks made by Richard Stursberg that the gala broadcast had been cut to appeal to anglophone viewers.

Speaking before the same committee earlier this year, Stursberg said the broadcast was created from an original ceremony lasting three and a half hours and it was cut to target an audience in English Canada.

"He was saying people in English Canada would turn off the channel if a francophone singer came on. This kind of thing hurts us as francophones," Godin said.

Lacroix denied there was any implication that anglophone viewers would turn off the show if a singer performed in French.

There are many other shows on CBC that highlight Canada's linguistic duality, he said, but that was not part of the mandate of the songwriters' gala broadcast.

"As Mr. Stursberg said, the purpose of the 44-minute broadcast was to target an English Canadian audience. That's why it focused on Oscar Peterson and Paul Anka," he said.

He pointed out that Radio Canada, the francophone network, did not air the gala, and that Radio 2 aired it in its entirety.

Lacroix said a cut-down version of the gala has been aired on CBC Television for the past three years. He said the public broadcaster would reconsider how it airs the gala in future.

"If we are going to be doing this type of event, broadcast, we will be more sensitive to issues of diversity," he said.

When pressed by Bloc Québécois MPs, Lacroix refused to speculate how the show would change.

"We've agreed to relinquish our exclusive broadcast rights," he said. "It will be up to the organizers."

MP Raymond Gravel said CBC was failing to fulfil its mandate.

"There were francohones of international calibre on the gala and they were cut," he said. "There's no point in francophones going to the gala next year."

Dubois, who was an inductee into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, called the CBC racist after he learned his performances were excluded from the television version of the Toronto awards.

Shortly after the awards, Stursberg issued a formal apology to all artists whose performances were edited out of the television broadcast.

New Releases, May 27: Usher, Cyndi Lauper, Return to Forever And John Hiatt!

Usher "Here I Stand"

Usher Raymond IV--better known in the entertainment business as just "Usher"--will release his new album a month earlier than initially announced. "Here I Stand" follows 2004's chart-topper "Confessions," which sold some 1.1 million copies during its first week on shelves.

For the new set, Usher worked with some big-name writers and producers, including Jermaine Dupre and Dr. Dre, and called in such guest stars as Beyonce and Jay Z. The first single from "Here I Stand" is "Love in the Club," which is already a radio hit.

* * *
Cyndi Lauper "Bring Ya to the Brink"

Lauper--the original girl who just wants to have fun--returns with a follow-up to 2005's "The Body Acoustic," a work that contained acoustic renditions of past hits. "Bring Ya to the Brink" features the single "Set Your Heart."

The quirky vocalist will also hit the road this summer, leading another edition of the True Colors tour to support the gay-and-lesbian advocacy group Human Rights Campaign. The tour, which also features The B-52's, Rosie O'Donnell and other acts, kicks off May 31 in Boston.

* * *
Return to Forever "The Anthology"

The jazz-rock fusion supergroup made headlines when it announced that it was reuniting for its first tour in 25 years. Return to Forever--featuring keyboardist Chick Corea, bassist Stanley Clarke, guitarist Al Di Meola and drummer Lenny White--will kick off its tour May 29 with the first of two shows in Austin, TX. From there, it will hit more than 30 other North American cities.

The Grammy-winning band will also have something to sell at these shows--this "Anthology" set. The collection features remixed and remastered tracks from the albums "Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy," "Where Have I Known You Before," "No Mystery" and "Romantic Warrior."

* * *
Various artists "Sex and the City: Music From the Original Motion Picture"

HBO's hit comedy TV series is getting a big-screen makeover: "Sex and the City," the motion picture, hits theaters this week. In connection with that highly anticipated film comes this soundtrack, which features tracks by such artists as The Weepies, Jennifer Hudson and Fergie. It also includes some interesting collaborations, such as Al Green teaming with Joss Stone on "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?"

* * *
Al Green "Lay It Down"

The R&B legend is set to drop his highly anticipated new studio album. Green has already been active on the road this spring, playing a few select festivals such as the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage and the Sonoma Jazz +. He'll kick off his headlining tour in earnest with a June 19 show in Toronto.

* * *
More new releases:
The Browns, "The Complete Hits" (Collector's Choice)
The Byrds, "Live at Royal Albert Hall 1971" (Sundazed)
Eliza Gilkyson, "Beautiful World" (Red House)
Buddy Guy, "Breaking Out" (JSP)
John Hiatt, "Same Old Man" (New West)
Ihsahn, "Angl" (Candlelight)
Kataklysm, "Prevail" (Nuclear Blast)
Sam Phillips, "Don't Do Anything" (Nonesuch)
Jenny Scheinman, "Jenny Scheinman" (Koch)
The Smithereens, "Live in Concert--Greatest Hits and More" (Koch)
36 Crazyfists, "The Tide and Its Takers" (Ferret)
Tobymac, "Alive and Transported" (Forefront)
Various artists, "Nigeria 70: Lagos Jump" (Strut)

Soundtracks and scores:
"A Catered Affair (Original Broadway Cast Recording)" (P.S. Classics)
"Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific" (Sony)

Music Review: John Hiatt's new CD among his best

John Hiatt, "Same Old Man" (New West)

John Hiatt's conversational lyrics sound off-the-cuff, which means they likely resulted from many hours of labor. The work was worth it, because "Same Old Man" ranks with the best music of Hiatt's 34-year recording career.

He sings about love in the opening round and love on the ropes, about food and paper cuts and "doppelganger caterwauling." "Same Old Man" is sweet but not sentimental, tuneful, honest and very, very funny.

On his first release since 2005's fine "Master of Disaster," Hiatt produced and engineered himself, and he puts his voice front and center. As always, Hiatt sings like someone straining to complete the final set of the night at the local roadhouse. The raw vocals are a perfect match for such songs as "Hurt My Baby," where pain is palpable as Hiatt delivers the chorus.

He's supported by bass, drums and Luther Dickinson, who plays guitar and mandolin and provides an ideal counterpoint to the vocals by making every note count. Hiatt's daughter, Lilly, contributes lovely harmony on two songs.

Dad delivers his droll lyrics as if they're throwaways, which makes them even better. "I'm a long shot, baby," he sings. "But they do come in." In fact, "Same Old Man" laps the field.

CHECK THIS OUT: On the hilarious opener "Old Days," Hiatt reminisces about his early touring career and crossing paths with John Lee Hooker, Gatemouth Brown and other bluesmen. He concludes the memories aren't that sweet because "I played practically free."

Appreciation: Pollack's smart and complex films

LOS ANGELES - Sydney Pollack had the rare ability to use his acting experience as adeptly behind the camera as he did in front of it.

He won Academy Awards for best picture and best director for the epic "Out of Africa," but the former student of legendary acting teacher Sanford Meisner also turned up on screen in everything from his own productions to television's "The Sopranos" and "Will & Grace."

Think of his scene-stealing performance in 1982's "Tootsie," which he also directed, playing the exasperated agent of Dustin Hoffman's cross-dressing soap star — and that was the first time Pollack had acted on film in 20 years. And of course there was his pull-no-punches supporting role as an old-school lawyer in last year's best-picture nominee "Michael Clayton," which he also co-produced.

Along the way, Pollack, who died Monday of cancer at age 73, used his unique relationship with acting — and Hollywood's finest actors — to craft a career of smart, complex, high-quality films.

Whether they were thrillers like "Three Days of the Condor" and "Absence of Malice," romances like "The Way We Were" and "Out of Africa," or even "Tootsie" — an unusual comedy for a director who clearly had heady ideas — Pollack's movies stirred something within his audiences.

You couldn't just sit there and watch passively; Pollack challenged you to feel, to respond, to walk out a little different than when you walked in.

With typical candor and humor, Pollack joked during a discussion at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival that he enjoyed appearing in other people's films because it was "an excuse to spy on other directors."

"Directors are very territorial," he said. "They're like lions, urinating on every corner of the stage."

And he worked with some of the best: The list of fellow filmmakers who've directed him includes Woody Allen ("Husbands and Wives"), Robert Altman ("The Player") and Stanley Kubrick ("Eyes Wide Shut").

The list of actors he directed, meanwhile, plays like the red carpet on Oscar night: Paul Newman, Meryl Streep, Jane Fonda, Sean Penn, Nicole Kidman, Barbra Streisand and — seven times — Robert Redford. He drew equally strong performances from men and women, and the assured, straightforward nature of his directing style always allowed their work to shine through.

Even his films that weren't exactly commercial successes — "Sabrina" and "Random Hearts," both with Harrison Ford — at least had Pollack's trademark star power.

In all these various vestiges, several traits immediately and repeatedly emerged: intelligence and class.

"Out of Africa" (1985), perhaps Pollack's best-known film, oozed both. The sweeping tale of a woman's tragic love in colonial Kenya earned him both of his Oscars as well as Academy Awards for screenplay, cinematography, score, sound and art direction. It's the kind of complex, classic romance Oscar voters have long favored. But more than two decades later, it still stands up beautifully for both its lush imagery and relevant politics.

In accepting his Academy Award, Pollack was quick to praise the film's star, Streep, who was nominated for best actress but didn't win. "I could not have made this movie without Meryl Streep," Pollack said. "She is astounding — personally, professionally, all ways."

Toward the end of his life, it only made sense for him to team up in a production company with another Oscar-winning director, the late Anthony Minghella, who shared his love for quality material ("The Talented Mr. Ripley," "Cold Mountain"). And fittingly, the last movie Pollack directed paired him with yet another influential figure, architect Frank Gehry, the subject of his 2006 documentary, "Sketches of Frank Gehry."

If this critic had to pick a favorite among Pollack's many films, though, it would be an early one: 1969's "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" It was only his fifth movie, but earned Pollack his first Academy Award nomination for best director. The story of a grueling dance marathon during the Depression helped make a serious actress of Fonda, who was best known at that point for the campy "Barbarella." But while she was clearly the star, the film was a provocative portrait about a cross-section of disparate people who share a dream and struggle to keep it alive.

In the years that followed, Pollack clearly shared his dreams with many superb actors, to wonderful effect.

"Most of the great directors that I know of were not actors, so I can't tell you it's a requirement. On the other hand," Pollack once said, "it's an enormous help."