Richard Sylbert

Richard Sylbert (April 16, 1928 – March 23, 2002) was an American production designer and art director, primarily for feature films.

Richard Sylbert
Born(1928-04-16)April 16, 1928
Brooklyn, New York
DiedMarch 23, 2002(2002-03-23) (aged 73)
Los Angeles, California
OccupationActor, producer, scenery painter, production designer, art director, set designer
NationalityAmerican
Spouse
    Carol Godshalk
    ​
    (m. 1951⁠–⁠1967)​
      ​
      (m. 1973⁠–⁠1978)​
        ​
        ​
        (m. 1991⁠–⁠2002)​
        Children5
        RelativesPaul Sylbert (twin brother)

        Early life

        Sylbert was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Samuel and Lily (Lazell) Sylbert, and was the twin brother of Oscar-winning production designer Paul Sylbert. Richard fought in the Korean War[1] and attended the Tyler School of Art at Temple University in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania.[2] His grandfather, Ribac, was a journalist in his native Romania before immigrating to the United States. Sylbert began his career in the early days of television, designing productions of Hamlet (1953) and Richard II (1954) for the Hallmark Hall of Fame.

        Sylbert's first film credit was Patterns (1956), a big screen adaptation of an Emmy Award-winning teleplay by Rod Serling. He went on to design Baby Doll, A Face in the Crowd, The Fugitive Kind, Murder, Inc., Splendor in the Grass, Walk on the Wild Side, Long Day's Journey into Night, The Manchurian Candidate, The Pawnbroker, Lilith, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Graduate, Rosemary's Baby, Catch-22, Carnal Knowledge, Chinatown, Shampoo, Reds, Frances, The Cotton Club, Tequila Sunrise, Dick Tracy, The Bonfire of the Vanities, Carlito's Way, Mulholland Falls, My Best Friend's Wedding, and Trapped. He worked multiple times with directors Roman Polanski, Elia Kazan, Mike Nichols, and Warren Beatty.[3]

        Robert Evans named Sylbert his successor when he relinquished his position as production chief at Paramount Pictures in 1975. Sylbert oversaw The Bad News Bears, Nashville, and Days of Heaven before being replaced in 1978.[1]

        Sylbert was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Art Direction six times and won twice, for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Dick Tracy.[4] He won the BAFTA Award for Best Production Design for Dick Tracy. He was nominated for an Emmy for his production design of the set for the long-running television sit-com Cheers. In 2000 Sylbert was honored with the Art Directors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2002 Sylbert was to have received the Hollywood Film Festival's Life Achievement Award. His widow gave the committee permission to name the award after him in perpetuity and that year it was given to Harold Michelson, his longtime art director and colleague.

        Sylbert died of cancer at the age of 73 at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California. At the time of his death, Sylbert was married to Native American poet Sharmagne Leland-St. John, mother of one of his daughters, Daisy Alexandra Sylbert-Torres, a costume designer and Echo Park boutique owner. He had three sons Douglas, Jon and Mark, by his first wife, Carol Godshalk, and another daughter, Lulu, by writer/actress/production and costume Designer Susanna Moore.

        Film and television credits

        This is the not-entirely complete table of credits that can be sorted by date, title or type of credit.

        Year Title Credit type Notes
        1953 Hamlet Production designer Hallmark Hall of Fame telefeature
        1954 King Richard II Production designer Hallmark Hall of Fame telefeature
        1956 Baby Doll Art director
        1960 Murder, Inc. Production designer
        1961 Splendor in the Grass Production designer
        1961 Young Doctors, The Production designer
        1961 Connection, The Production designer
        1962 Manchurian Candidate, The Production designer
        1962 Long Day's Journey Into Night Production designer
        1962 Walk on the Wild Side Production designer
        1963 All the Way Home Production designer
        1963 East Side/West Side Production designer (1963–1964 TV series)
        1964 Lilith Production designer
        1964 Pawnbroker, The Production designer
        1965 How to Murder Your Wife Production designer
        1966 Grand Prix Production designer
        1966 Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Production designer Academy Award for Best Art Direction (Black-and-White) shared with George James Hopkins
        1967 Graduate, The Production designer
        1968 Rosemary's Baby Production designer
        1969 The April Fools Production designer
        1970 Catch-22 Production designer
        1971 Carnal Knowledge Production designer
        1972 Fat City Production designer
        1973 The Day of the Dolphin Production designer
        1974 Chinatown Production designer Academy Award nominee
        1975 The Fortune Production designer
        1975 Last Hours Before Morning Production designer TV movie
        1975 Shampoo Production designer Academy Award nominee
        1976 Partners Production designer Canadian feature. He was also credited for 1982 film of same title.
        1979 Players Production designer
        1981 Reds Production designer Academy Award nominee for Art Direction-Set Decoration; co-nominee Michael Seirton
        1982 Partners Production designer
        1982 Frances Production designer
        1982 Cheers Production designer (1982–1993 TV series)
        1983 Breathless Production designer
        1984 The Cotton Club Production designer Academy Award nominee
        1986 Under the Cherry Moon Production designer
        1987 "Heartbeat" (video) Production designer Directed by John Nicolella; stars Don Johnson
        1988 Tequila Sunrise Production designer
        1988 Shoot to Kill Production designer
        1990 Dick Tracy Production designer Academy Award for Best Art Direction shared with set decorator Rick Simpson
        1990 The Bonfire of the Vanities Production designer
        1991 Mobsters Production designer
        1993 Carlito's Way Production designer
        1993 Ruby Cairo Production designer
        1996 Blood and Wine Production designer
        1996 Mulholland Falls Production designer
        1997 My Best Friend's Wedding Production designer
        1997 Red Corner Production designer
        2002 Unconditional Love Production designer
        2002 Trapped Production designer

        Bibliography
        • LoBrutto, Vincent (2002). The Filmmaker's Guide to Production Design. New York: Allworth Press. ISBN 978-1-58115-224-1.
        • Sylbert, Richard; Townsend, Sylvia; Leland-St. John-Sylbert, Sharmagne (2006). Designing Movies: Portrait of a Hollywood Artist. Westport, CT: Praeger. ISBN 978-0-275-98690-2.
        • Whitlock, Cathy (2010). Designs on Film: A Century of Hollywood Art Direction. New York: Harper Collins. ISBN 978-0-06-088122-1.

        References
        1. Richard Sylbert bio at VH1.com
        2. Richard Sylbert at FilmReference.com
        3. Richard Sylbert obituary in The Independent, March 28, 2002
        4. "The 63rd Academy Awards (1991) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
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