Mark Rydell on AllMovie

After attending the Juilliard School of Music, Rydell trained for the stage at New York's Neighborhood Playhouse, then joined the Actors Studio. In the '50s he appeared in several Broadway productions and also worked as a jazz pianist. He also had a prominent role on the TV soap opera "As The World Turns" for six years. He debuted onscreen in Crime in the Streets (1956) but appeared in no other films until 1973. Rydell changed course in mid-career, going to Hollywood to work as a TV director. His big-screen directorial debut was The Fox (1968), following which he directed a number of other films through the '90s. For On Golden Pond (1981) he received a Best Director Oscar nomination. He and director Sydney Pollack formed Sanford, a production company.