**Corrected Caption**..Film director and writer Robert Altman, seen in this March 5, 2006 photo at the 78th Annual Academy Awards, in Hollywood, California, passed away in a Los Angeles hospital at the age of 81, on November 20, 2006. Altman, holding his honorary Oscar award, was nominated for five best-director Oscars but never won. (UPI Photo/Gary C. Caskey/FILE)