# Richard Sylbert

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American production designer and art director (1928–2002)

Richard Sylbert Publicity Photo of Richard Sylbert Born (1928-04-16)April 16, 1928 Brooklyn, New York Died March 23, 2002(2002-03-23) (aged 73) Los Angeles, California Occupation Production designer art director producer Nationality American Years active 1953–2002 Spouse Carol Godshalk ​ (m. 1951⁠–⁠1967)​ Susanna Moore ​ (m. 1973⁠–⁠1978)​ Sharmagne Leland-St. John ​ ​ (m. 1991)​ Children 5 Relatives Paul Sylbert (twin brother)

**Richard Sylbert** (April 16, 1928 – March 23, 2002) was an American [production designer](/source/Production_designer) and [art director](/source/Art_director), primarily for [feature films](/source/Feature_films).

## Early life

Sylbert was born in [Brooklyn, New York](/source/Brooklyn%2C_New_York), to Samuel and Lily (Lazell) Sylbert, and was the twin brother of Oscar-winning production designer [Paul Sylbert](/source/Paul_Sylbert). Richard fought in the [Korean War](/source/Korean_War)[1] and attended the [Tyler School of Art](/source/Tyler_School_of_Art) at [Temple University](/source/Temple_University) in [Elkins Park, Pennsylvania](/source/Elkins_Park%2C_Pennsylvania).[2] His grandfather, Ribac, was a journalist in his native [Romania](/source/Romania) before immigrating to the United States.

## Career

Sylbert began his career in the early days of television, designing productions of *[Hamlet](/source/Hamlet)* (1953) and *[Richard II](/source/Richard_II_(play))* (1954) for the *[Hallmark Hall of Fame](/source/Hallmark_Hall_of_Fame)*. His first film credit was *[Patterns](/source/Patterns_(film))* (1956), a big screen adaptation of an [Emmy Award](/source/Emmy_Award)-winning teleplay by [Rod Serling](/source/Rod_Serling). He went on to design *[Baby Doll](/source/Baby_Doll)*, *[A Face in the Crowd](/source/A_Face_in_the_Crowd_(film))*, *[The Fugitive Kind](/source/The_Fugitive_Kind)*, *[Murder, Inc.](/source/Murder%2C_Inc._(1960_film))*, *[Splendor in the Grass](/source/Splendor_in_the_Grass)*, *[Walk on the Wild Side](/source/Walk_on_the_Wild_Side_(film))*, *[Long Day's Journey into Night](/source/Long_Day's_Journey_into_Night_(1962_film))*, *[The Manchurian Candidate](/source/The_Manchurian_Candidate_(1962_film))*, *[The Pawnbroker](/source/The_Pawnbroker)*, *[Lilith](/source/Lilith_(film))*, *[Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?](/source/Who's_Afraid_of_Virginia_Woolf%3F_(film))*, *[The Graduate](/source/The_Graduate)*, *[Rosemary's Baby](/source/Rosemary's_Baby_(film))*, *[Catch-22](/source/Catch-22_(film))*, *[Carnal Knowledge](/source/Carnal_Knowledge_(film))*, *[Chinatown](/source/Chinatown_(1974_film))*, *[Shampoo](/source/Shampoo_(film))*, *[Reds](/source/Reds_(film))*, *[Frances](/source/Frances_(film))*, *[The Cotton Club](/source/The_Cotton_Club_(film))*, *[Tequila Sunrise](/source/Tequila_Sunrise_(film))*, *[Dick Tracy](/source/Dick_Tracy_(1990_film))*, *[The Bonfire of the Vanities](/source/The_Bonfire_of_the_Vanities_(film))*, *[Carlito's Way](/source/Carlito's_Way)*, *[Mulholland Falls](/source/Mulholland_Falls)*, *[My Best Friend's Wedding](/source/My_Best_Friend's_Wedding)*, and *[Trapped](/source/Trapped_(2002_film))*. He worked multiple times with directors [Roman Polanski](/source/Roman_Polanski), [Elia Kazan](/source/Elia_Kazan), [Mike Nichols](/source/Mike_Nichols), and [Warren Beatty](/source/Warren_Beatty).[3]

[Robert Evans](/source/Robert_Evans_(film_producer)) named Sylbert his successor when he relinquished his position as production chief at [Paramount Pictures](/source/Paramount_Pictures) in 1975. Sylbert oversaw *[The Bad News Bears](/source/The_Bad_News_Bears)*, *[Nashville](/source/Nashville_(film))*, and *[Days of Heaven](/source/Days_of_Heaven)* before being replaced in 1978.[1]

Sylbert was nominated for the [Academy Award](/source/Academy_Award) for [Best Art Direction](/source/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](/source/BAFTA_Award_for_Best_Production_Design) for *Dick Tracy*. He was nominated for an [Emmy](/source/Emmy) for his production design of the set for the long-running television sitcom *[Cheers](/source/Cheers)*. In 2000, Sylbert was honored with the [Art Directors Guild](/source/Art_Directors_Guild) Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2002, Sylbert was to receive the [Hollywood Film Festival](/source/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](/source/Harold_Michelson), his longtime art director and colleague.

Sylbert died of [cancer](/source/Cancer) at the age of 73 at the [Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital](/source/Motion_Picture_%26_Television_Country_House_and_Hospital) in [Woodland Hills, California](/source/Woodland_Hills%2C_California). At the time of his death, Sylbert was married to Native American poet [Sharmagne Leland-St. John](/source/Sharmagne_Leland-St._John), mother of one of his daughters, Daisy Alexandra Sylbert-Torres, a costume designer and [Echo Park](/source/Echo_Park%2C_Los_Angeles) boutique owner. He had three sons, Douglas, Jon and Mark, with his first wife, Carol Godshalk, and another daughter, Lulu, with writer [Susanna Moore](/source/Susanna_Moore). Lulu acted as a child, playing [Paul Le Mat](/source/Paul_Le_Mat)'s half-alien daughter in *[Strange Invaders](/source/Strange_Invaders)*.

## Film and television credits

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 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

## Bibliography

- LoBrutto, Vincent (2002). *The Filmmaker's Guide to Production Design*. New York: Allworth Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-58115-224-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-58115-224-1).

- Sylbert, Richard; Townsend, Sylvia; [Leland-St. John-Sylbert, Sharmagne](/source/Sharmagne_Leland-St._John) (2006). *Designing Movies: Portrait of a Hollywood Artist*. Westport, CT: Praeger. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-275-98690-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-275-98690-2).

- Whitlock, Cathy (2010). *Designs on Film: A Century of Hollywood Art Direction*. New York: Harper Collins. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-06-088122-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-06-088122-1).

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Richard_Sylbert_bio_at_VH1.com_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Richard_Sylbert_bio_at_VH1.com_1-1) [Richard Sylbert bio at VH1.com](https://web.archive.org/web/20090719211531/http://www.vh1.com/movies/person/100470/bio.jhtml)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [Richard Sylbert at FilmReference.com](http://www.filmreference.com/Writers-and-Production-Artists-Sh-Sy/Sylbert-Richard.html)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [Richard Sylbert obituary in *The Independent*, March 28, 2002](http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20020328/ai_n12606695)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Oscars1991_4-0)** ["The 63rd Academy Awards (1991) Nominees and Winners"](http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1991). *oscars.org*. Retrieved August 1, 2011.

## External links

- [Richard Sylbert](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0843129/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier))

- [Richard Sylbert](https://web.archive.org/web/20121022122712/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/participant.jsp?spid=187865/)

- [NY Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/30/movies/richard-sylbert-73-designer-of-oscar-winning-film-sets.html?scp=1&sq=richard%20sylbert&st=cse/)

Awards for Richard Sylbert v t e Academy Award for Best Production Design Interior Decoration (1927–1939) 1927/1928: William Cameron Menzies 1928/1929: Cedric Gibbons 1929/1930: Herman Rosse 1930/1931: Max Rée 1931/1932: Gordon Wiles 1932/1933: William S. Darling 1934: Cedric Gibbons, Fredric Hope 1935: Richard Day 1936: Richard Day 1937: Stephen Goosson 1938: Carl Jules Weyl 1939: Lyle R. Wheeler Black & White / Color (1940–1946) 1940 (bw): Cedric Gibbons and Paul Groesse / (c): Vincent Korda 1941 (bw): Richard Day, Nathan Juran, and Thomas Little / (c): Cedric Gibbons, Urie McCleary, and Edwin B. Willis 1942 (bw): Richard Day, Joseph C. Wright, and Thomas Little / (c): Richard Day, Joseph C. Wright, and Thomas Little 1943 (bw): James Basevi, William S. Darling, and Thomas Little / (c): Alexander Golitzen, John B. Goodman, Russell A. Gausman, and Ira S. Webb 1944 (bw): Cedric Gibbons, William Ferrari, Paul Huldschinsky, and Edwin B. Willis / (c): Wiard Ihnen and Thomas Little 1945 (bw): Wiard Ihnen and A. Roland Fields / (c): Hans Dreier, Ernst Fegté, and Samuel M. Comer 1946 (bw): William S. Darling, Lyle R. Wheeler, Thomas Little, and Frank E. Hughes / (c): Cedric Gibbons, Paul Groesse, and Edwin B. Willis Art Direction–Set Decoration Black & White / Color (1947–1956) 1947 (bw): John Bryan and Wilfred Shingleton / (c): Alfred Junge 1948 (bw): Roger K. Furse and Carmen Dillon / (c): Hein Heckroth and Arthur Lawson 1949 (bw): Harry Horner, John Meehan, and Emile Kuri / (c): Cedric Gibbons, Paul Groesse, Edwin B. Willis, and Jack D. Moore 1950 (bw): Hans Dreier, John Meehan, Samuel M. Comer, and Ray Moyer / (c): Hans Dreier, Walter Tyler, Samuel M. Comer, and Ray Moyer 1951 (bw): Richard Day and George James Hopkins / (c): Cedric Gibbons, E. Preston Ames, Edwin B. Willis, and F. Keogh Gleason 1952 (bw): Cedric Gibbons, Edward Carfagno, Edwin B. Willis, and F. Keogh Gleason /(c): Paul Sheriff and Marcel Vertès 1953 (bw): Cedric Gibbons, Edward Carfagno, Edwin B. Willis, and Hugh Hunt / (c): Lyle R. Wheeler, George Davis, Walter M. Scott, and Paul S. Fox 1954 (bw): Richard Day / (c): John Meehan and Emile Kuri 1955 (bw): Hal Pereira, Tambi Larsen, Samuel M. Comer, and Arthur Krams / (c): William Flannery, Jo Mielziner, and Robert Priestley 1956 (bw): Cedric Gibbons, Malcolm F. Brown, Edwin B. Willis, and F. Keogh Gleason / (c): Lyle R. Wheeler, John DeCuir, Walter M. Scott, and Paul S. Fox 1957–1958 1957: Ted Haworth and Robert Priestley 1958: William A. Horning, E. Preston Ames, Henry Grace, and F. Keogh Gleason Black & White / Color (1959–1966) 1959 (bw): Lyle R. Wheeler, George Davis, Walter M. Scott, and Stuart A. Reiss / (c): William A. Horning (posthumous award), Edward Carfagno, and Hugh Hunt 1960 (bw): Alexandre Trauner and Edward G. Boyle / (c): Alexander Golitzen, Eric Orbom (posthumous award), Russell A. Gausman, and Julia Heron 1961 (bw): Harry Horner and Gene Callahan / (c): Boris Leven and Victor A. Gangelin 1962 (bw): Alexander Golitzen, Henry Bumstead, and Oliver Emert /(c): John Box, John Stoll, and Dario Simoni 1963 (bw): Gene Callahan / (c): John DeCuir, Jack Martin Smith, Hilyard M. Brown, Herman A. Blumenthal, Elven Webb, Maurice Pelling, Boris Juraga, Walter M. Scott, Paul S. Fox, and Ray Moyer 1964 (bw): Vassilis Photopoulos / (c): Gene Allen, Cecil Beaton, and George James Hopkins 1965 (bw): Robert Clatworthy and Joseph Kish /(c): John Box, Terence Marsh, and Dario Simoni 1966 (bw): Richard Sylbert and George James Hopkins / (c): Jack Martin Smith, Dale Hennesy, Walter M. Scott, and Stuart A. Reiss 1967–1980 1967: John Truscott, Edward Carrere, and John W. Brown 1968: John Box, Terence Marsh, Vernon Dixon, and Ken Muggleston 1969: John DeCuir, Jack Martin Smith, Herman A. Blumenthal, Walter M. Scott, George James Hopkins, and Raphaël Bretton 1970: Urie McCleary, Gil Parrondo, Antonio Mateos, and Pierre-Louis Thévenet 1971: John Box, Ernest Archer, Jack Maxsted, Gil Parrondo, and Vernon Dixon 1972: Rolf Zehetbauer, Jurgen Kiebach, and Herbert Strabel 1973: Henry Bumstead and James W. Payne 1974: Dean Tavoularis, Angelo P. Graham, and George R. Nelson 1975: Ken Adam, Roy Walker, and Vernon Dixon 1976: George C. Jenkins and George Gaines 1977: John Barry, Norman Reynolds, Leslie Dilley, and Roger Christian 1978: Paul Sylbert, Edwin O'Donovan, and George Gaines 1979: Philip Rosenberg, Tony Walton, Edward Stewart, and Gary J. Brink 1980: Pierre Guffroy and Jack Stephens 1981–2000 1981: Norman Reynolds and Leslie Dilley (art); Michael D. Ford (set) 1982: Stuart Craig and Robert W. Laing (art); Michael Seirton (set) 1983: Anna Asp (art) 1984: Patrizia von Brandenstein (art); Karel Černý (set) 1985: Stephen B. Grimes (art); Josie MacAvin (set) 1986: Gianni Quaranta and Brian Ackland-Snow (art); Brian Savegar and Elio Altramura (set) 1987: Ferdinando Scarfiotti (art); Bruno Cesari and Osvaldo Desideri (set) 1988: Stuart Craig (art); Gérard James (set) 1989: Anton Furst (art); Peter Young (set) 1990: Richard Sylbert (art); Rick Simpson (set) 1991: Dennis Gassner (art); Nancy Haigh (set) 1992: Luciana Arrighi (art); Ian Whittaker (set) 1993: Allan Starski (art); Ewa Braun (set) 1994: Ken Adam (art); Carolyn Scott (set) 1995: Eugenio Zanetti (art) 1996: Stuart Craig (art); Stephenie McMillan (set) 1997: Peter Lamont (art); Michael D. Ford (set) 1998: Martin Childs (art); Jill Quertier (set) 1999: Rick Heinrichs (art); Peter Young (set) 2000: Timmy Yip (art) 2001–present 2001: Catherine Martin (art); Brigitte Broch (set) 2002: John Myhre (art); Gordon Sim (set) 2003: Grant Major (art); Dan Hennah and Alan Lee (set) 2004: Dante Ferretti (art); Francesca Lo Schiavo (set) 2005: John Myhre (art); Gretchen Rau (set) 2006: Eugenio Caballero (art); Pilar Revuelta (set) 2007: Dante Ferretti (art); Francesca Lo Schiavo (set) 2008: Donald Graham Burt (art); Victor J. Zolfo (set) 2009: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg (art); Kim Sinclair (set) 2010: Robert Stromberg (art); Karen O'Hara (set) 2011: Dante Ferretti (art); Francesca Lo Schiavo (set) 2012: Rick Carter (art); Jim Erickson (set) 2013: Catherine Martin (art); Beverley Dunn (set) 2014: Adam Stockhausen (art); Anna Pinnock (set) 2015: Colin Gibson (art); Lisa Thompson (set) 2016: David Wasco (art); Sandy Reynolds-Wasco (set) 2017: Paul Denham Austerberry (art); Shane Vieau and Jeff Melvin (set) 2018: Hannah Beachler (art); Jay Hart (set) 2019: Barbara Ling (art); Nancy Haigh (set) 2020: Donald Graham Burt (art); Jan Pascale (set) 2021: Patrice Vermette (art) and Zsuzsanna Sipos (set) 2022: Christian M. Goldbeck (art) and Ernestine Hipper (set) 2023: James Price and Shona Heath (art); Zsuzsa Mihalek (set) 2024: Nathan Crowley (art); Lee Sandales (set) 2025: Tamara Deverell (art); Shane Vieau (set) v t e BAFTA Award for Best Production Design 1964–1967 Black and White Ken Adam (1964) Ray Simm (1965) Tambi Larsen (1966) No Award (1967) Colour John Bryan (1964) Ken Adam (1965) Wilfred Shingleton (1966) John Box (1967) 1968–present Ernest Archer, Harry Lange, and Anthony Masters (1968) Donald M. Ashton (1969) Mario Garbuglia (1970) Ferdinando Scarfiotti (1971) Rolf Zehetbauer (1972) Natasha Kroll (1973) John Box (1974) John Box (1975) Geoffrey Kirkland (1976) Danilo Donati and Federico Fellini (1977) Joe Alves (1978) Michael Seymour (1979) Stuart Craig (1980) Norman Reynolds (1981) Lawrence G. Paull (1982) Gianni Quaranta and Franco Zeffirelli (1983) Roy Walker (1984) Norman Garwood (1985) Brian Ackland-Snow and Gianni Quaranta (1986) Santo Loquasto (1987) Dean Tavoularis (1988) Dante Ferretti (1989) Richard Sylbert (1990) Bo Welch (1991) Catherine Martin (1992) Andrew McAlpine (1993) Dante Ferretti (1994) Michael Corenblith (1995) Tony Burrough (1996) Catherine Martin (1997) Dennis Gassner (1998) Rick Heinrichs (1999) Arthur Max (2000) Aline Bonetto (2001) Dennis Gassner (2002) William Sandell (2003) Dante Ferretti (2004) Stuart Craig (2005) Jim Clay, Geoffrey Kirkland, and Jennifer Williams (2006) Sarah Greenwood and Katie Spencer (2007) Donald Graham Burt and Victor J. Zolfo (2008) Rick Carter, Robert Stromberg, and Kim Sinclair (2009) Guy Hendrix Dyas, Larry Dias, and Doug Mowat (2010) Dante Ferretti and Francesca Lo Schiavo (2011) Eve Stewart and Anna Lynch-Robinson (2012) Catherine Martin and Beverly Dunn (2013) Adam Stockhausen and Anna Pinnock (2014) Colin Gibson and Lisa Thompson (2015) Stuart Craig and Anna Pinnock (2016) Paul D. Austerberry, Jeff Melvin, and Shane Vieau (2017) Fiona Crombie and Alice Felton (2018) Dennis Gassner and Lee Sandales (2019) Donald Graham Burt and Jan Pascale (2020) Patrice Vermette and Zsuzsanna Sipos (2021) Florencia Martin and Anthony Carlino (2022) Shona Heath, James Price, and Zsuzsa Mihalek (2023) Nathan Crowley and Lee Sandales (2024) Tamara Deverell and Shane Vieau (2025)

Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND FAST WorldCat National United States France BnF data Israel Artists ULAN FID People Deutsche Biographie Other Yale LUX

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Richard Sylbert](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Sylbert) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Sylbert?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.