Richard Sylbert

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

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 and attended the Tyler School of Art at Temple University in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. His grandfather, Ribac, was a journalist in his native Romania before immigrating to the United States.

Career 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. His 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.

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. 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 sitcom Cheers. In 2000, Sylbert was honored with the Art Directors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2002, Sylbert was to receive 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, with his first wife, Carol Godshalk, and another daughter, Lulu, with writer Susanna Moore. Lulu acted as a child, playing Paul Le Mat's half-alien daughter in Strange Invaders.

Film and television credits Year Title Credit type Notes 1953 Hamlet Production designer Hallmark Hall of Fame telefeature1954 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 The Young Doctors Production designer 1961 The Connection Production designer 1962 The Manchurian Candidate 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 The Pawnbroker 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 The Graduate 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 the 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 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