Ross made his feature directing debut with "Goodbye Mr. Chips" (1969), a musical remake of the 1939 classic, and then directed Streisand in her first non-singing role in "The Owl and the Pussycat" (1970, also his first movie as producer). He hit his stride in the 70s with the delirious Woody Allen vehicle "Play It Again Sam" (1972), served the wit of the Anthony Perkins-Stephen Sondheim script for the mystery "The Last of Sheila" (1973) and the Sherlock Holmes pastiche "The Seven Per-Cent Solution" (1976), culminating in a string of five film (and two stage) collaborations with writer Neil Simon, beginning with the screen adaptation of "The Sunshine Boys" (1975), which starred George Burns and Walter Matthau. Ross returned to his dancing roots with an acclaimed study of the ballet world written by Arthur Laurents, "The Turning Point", one of five movies he co-produced with his wife Nora Kaye, a former prima ballerina who died of cancer in 1987. The critical and box-office success of "Steel Magnolias" (1989) and "Boys on the Side" (1995) only enhanced his image as a director of great emotional depth in tune with his feminine side.