# 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.
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. 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 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 | |