---
name: "Richard Sylbert"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/richard-sylbert"
fi1m_id: "richard-sylbert"
imdb_id: "nm0843129"
tmdb_id: 12017
wikidata_id: "Q1409480"
roles: ["Production designer"]
born: "16 April 1928"
died: "23 March 2002"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 10
average_fi1m_score: 82
average_over: 10
updated: "2026-10-05T00:34:25.241789+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Richard Sylbert

## Identity

Richard Sylbert

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/richard-sylbert
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** richard-sylbert
- **IMDb ID:** nm0843129
- **TMDB ID:** 12017
- **Wikidata ID:** Q1409480
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Sylbert, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1409480, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0843129/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/12017

Production designer. Born 16 April 1928 in Brooklyn. Died 23 March 2002.

## Details

- **Work:** Production designer
- **Born:** 16 April 1928, Brooklyn
- **Died:** 23 March 2002
- **Active:** 1961–1997
- **Frequently works with:** [Warren Beatty](https://film.one/person/warren-beatty.md), [Al Pacino](https://film.one/person/al-pacino.md), [Dustin Hoffman](https://film.one/person/dustin-hoffman.md), [Jack Nicholson](https://film.one/person/jack-nicholson.md), [John Huston](https://film.one/person/john-huston.md), [Mike Nichols](https://film.one/person/mike-nichols.md), [Robert Evans](https://film.one/person/robert-evans.md), [Robert Towne](https://film.one/person/robert-towne.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 2 Oscars (2 won · 4 nominated)
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1960s 88 (4), 1970s 81 (3), 1980s 70 (2), 1990s 86 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 84 to 78 across 8 titles
- **Score spread:** 6 at 80+, 4 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 7, Thriller 5, Romance 4, Crime 3, Comedy 2, History 1
- **Screen time:** 21 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $426m across 9 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Sylbert, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1409480, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0843129/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/12017

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Chinatown*](https://film.one/film/chinatown.md) (93), [*Carlito's Way*](https://film.one/film/carlitos-way.md) (86), [*Reds*](https://film.one/film/reds.md) (77)
- **Apple TV:** [*Rosemary's Baby*](https://film.one/film/rosemarys-baby.md) (92), [*The Manchurian Candidate*](https://film.one/film/the-manchurian-candidate.md) (88)
- **The Roku Channel:** [*The Graduate*](https://film.one/film/the-graduate.md) (86), [*Fat City*](https://film.one/film/fat-city.md) (73)
- **Tubi:** [*Tequila Sunrise*](https://film.one/film/tequila-sunrise.md) (62)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Richard Sylbert was an American production designer and art director whose career spanned five decades. He worked on more than 40 films, including *Chinatown* (1974), for which he received an Academy Award nomination.

Born in Brooklyn in 1928, Sylbert trained at the Tyler School of Art at Temple University and served in the Korean War. He won two Academy Awards for production design, for *Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?* (1966) and *Dick Tracy* (1990), and was nominated four other times. His credits also include *Rosemary's Baby* (1968), *The Graduate* (1967), *The Manchurian Candidate* (1962), *Carlito's Way* (1993) and *My Best Friend's Wedding* (1997). He collaborated frequently with directors such as Mike Nichols and Roman Polanski. Sylbert died in 2002.

*Sources: latimes.com, nytimes.com, en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (10)

- *Carlito's Way* (1993), Fi1m 86, Production Design, Production design — [page](https://film.one/film/carlitos-way.md)
- *Tequila Sunrise* (1988), Fi1m 62, Production Design, Production design — [page](https://film.one/film/tequila-sunrise.md)
- *Reds* (1981), Fi1m 77, Production design — [page](https://film.one/film/reds.md)
- *Chinatown* (1974), Fi1m 93, Production Design, Production design — [page](https://film.one/film/chinatown.md)
- *Fat City* (1972), Fi1m 73, Production design, Production Design — [page](https://film.one/film/fat-city.md)
- *The Heartbreak Kid* (1972), Fi1m 78, Art Direction — [page](https://film.one/film/the-heartbreak-kid.md)
- *Rosemary's Baby* (1968), Fi1m 92, Production Design, Production design — [page](https://film.one/film/rosemarys-baby.md)
- *The Graduate* (1967), Fi1m 86, Production design, Production Design — [page](https://film.one/film/the-graduate.md)
- *Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?* (1966), Fi1m 86, Production design, Production Design — [page](https://film.one/film/whos-afraid-of-virginia-woolf.md)
- *The Manchurian Candidate* (1962), Fi1m 88, Production Design, Production design — [page](https://film.one/film/the-manchurian-candidate.md)

## Complete filmography (57)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Trapped* (2002), Production Design
- *Unconditional Love* (2002), Production Design
- *Red Corner* (1997), Production Design
- *My Best Friend's Wedding* (1997), Production Design
- *Blood and Wine* (1996), Production Design
- *Mulholland Falls* (1996), Production Design
- *Carlito's Way* (1993), Production Design — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/film/carlitos-way.md)
- *Ruby Cairo* (1992), Production Design
- *Mobsters* (1991), Production Design
- *The Bonfire of the Vanities* (1990), Production Design
- *Dick Tracy* (1990), Production Design
- *Tequila Sunrise* (1988), Production Design — Fi1m 62, [page](https://film.one/film/tequila-sunrise.md)
- *Shoot to Kill* (1988), Production Design
- *Heartbeat* (1987), Production Design
- *Under the Cherry Moon* (1986), Production Design
- *The Cotton Club* (1984), Production Design
- *Breathless* (1983), Production Design
- *Frances* (1982), Production Design
- *Partners* (1982), Production Design
- *Reds* (1981), Production Design — Fi1m 77, [page](https://film.one/film/reds.md)
- *Players* (1979), Production Design
- *Partners* (1976), Production Design
- *The Fortune* (1975), Production Design
- *Shampoo* (1975), Production Design
- *Chinatown* (1974), Production Design — Fi1m 93, [page](https://film.one/film/chinatown.md)
- *The Day of the Dolphin* (1973), Production Design
- *The Heartbreak Kid* (1972), as Art Direction — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/the-heartbreak-kid.md)
- *Fat City* (1972), Production Design — Fi1m 73, [page](https://film.one/film/fat-city.md)
- *Carnal Knowledge* (1971), Production Design
- *Catch-22* (1970), Production Design
- *The April Fools* (1969), Production Design
- *Rosemary's Baby* (1968), Production Design — Fi1m 92, [page](https://film.one/film/rosemarys-baby.md)
- *The Graduate* (1967), Production Design — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/film/the-graduate.md)
- *Grand Prix* (1966), Production Design
- *Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?* (1966), Production Design — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/film/whos-afraid-of-virginia-woolf.md)
- *What's New Pussycat?* (1965), Associate Producer
- *The Pawnbroker* (1965), Production Design
- *How to Murder Your Wife* (1965), Production Design
- *Lilith* (1964), Production Design
- *The Manchurian Candidate* (1962), Production Design — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/film/the-manchurian-candidate.md)
- *Long Day's Journey Into Night* (1962), Production Design
- *Walk on the Wild Side* (1962), Production Design
- *The Connection* (1962), Production Design
- *Splendor in the Grass* (1961), Production Design
- *The Young Doctors* (1961), Production Design
- *Mad Dog Coll* (1961), as Art Direction
- *Murder, Inc.* (1960), as Art Direction
- *The Fugitive Kind* (1960), as Art Direction
- *Wind Across the Everglades* (1958), as Art Direction
- *A Face in the Crowd* (1957), as Art Direction
- *Edge of the City* (1957), as Art Direction
- *Baby Doll* (1956), as Art Direction
- *Crowded Paradise* (1956), as Art Direction · Production Design
- *Patterns* (1956), as Art Direction
- *King Richard II* (1954), Production Design, Art Designer
- *Mandrake the Magician* (1954), as Art Direction
- *Hamlet* (1953), Production Design

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 2 won, 4 nominated

- 1991: Best Production Design (won), for *Dick Tracy*
- 1985: Best Production Design (nominated), for *The Cotton Club*
- 1982: Best Production Design (nominated), for *Reds*
- 1976: Best Production Design (nominated), for *Shampoo*
- 1975: Best Production Design (nominated), for *Chinatown*
- 1967: Best Art Direction, Black and White (won), for *Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/richard-sylbert