Coming into his own as a director in the age of television, his canon once he began directing films is astonishing:

M*A*S*H
McCabe & Mrs. Miller
The Long Goodbye
Nashville
3 Women
Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean
The Player
Short Cuts
Cookie's Fortune
Gosford Park
A Prairie Home Companion

And those were just the ones I liked. Even his misfires (Popeye, Pret-a-Porter, Dr. T & the Women, HealtH, A Wedding) were always interesting, always so very, very human. And has anyone done better traditional political satire than "Tanner"? (S. Colbert owes a lot to Tanner.)

He will be missed, as will his thumbing his nose at the Hollywood establishment, and all other establishment.
The Academy is breathing a sigh of relief today even as it mourns...they finally gave him an honorary Oscar just this year, after snubbing him (five nominations, no wins) his entire career.

Rest in Peace, Mr. Altman...and thanks for entertaining us and making us think.