Paul Sylbert (April 16, 1928 – November 19, 2016) was an American Academy Award-winning production designer, art director, and set designer who directed on occasion.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of a dressmaker, Sylbert grew up in the borough's Flatbush neighborhood and graduated from Erasmus Hall High School in 1946.^[1] He fought in the Korean War and attended the Tyler School of Art at Temple University in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania with his identical twin brother Richard.^[2] Early in their careers, they collaborated on Baby Doll and A Face in the Crowd.^[3] Sylbert also attended the Hans Hoffman School of Art and The Actors Studio. He is a veteran of the United States Army and served in Korea. Sylbert was a member of the faculty at the Film and Media Arts department of Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he taught courses in film studies. He also taught a course called Film: The Creative Process at Temple University in the Spring of 2014.

Sylbert died on November 19, 2016, at the age of 88.^[4][1]

Filmography

Television (as designer)

• The Big Story (1951)
• The Home Show (1954)
• The Ira Hayes Story
• John Brown (1960)
• Songs for Sale
• Molly Goldberg
• Ford Theater
• Danger
• Suspense
• Studio One

Feature films (as designer)

• Roogie's Bump (1954)
• Baby Doll (1956)
• The Wrong Man (1956)
• A Face in the Crowd (1957)
• Country Music Holiday (1958)
• The Teenage Millionaire (1961)
• Without Each Other (1962)
• The Tiger Makes Out (1967)
• The Riot (1969)
• Bad Company (1972)
• The Drowning Pool (1975)
• One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
• Mikey and Nicky (1976)
• Heaven Can Wait (1978)
• Hardcore (1979)
• Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
• Resurrection (1980)
• Wolfen (1981)
• Blow Out (1981)
• Without a Trace (1983)
• Gorky Park (1983)
• Firstborn (1984)
• The Journey of Natty Gann (1985)
• Ishtar (1987)
• Nadine (1987)
• The Pick-up Artist (1987)
• Biloxi Blues (1988)
• Fresh Horses (1988)
• Career Opportunities (1989)
• Rush (1991)
• The Prince of Tides (1991)
• Sliver (1992)
• Milk Money (1994)
• Free Willy 2 (1995)
• The Grass Harp (1995)
• Rosewood (1997)
• Conspiracy Theory (1997)
• To End All Wars (2001)

Stage (as designer)

• Susannah (1957)
• Tale for a Deaf Ear (1958)
• Street Scene (1958)
• The Crucible (1959)
• Carmina Buranna (1960)
• Oedipus Rex (1960)
• Festival of Two Worlds, Spoletto, Italy: The Angel of Fire (1959), Lulu (1974)
• The Agon of Gross - Off-Broadway (1952)
• The Making of Moo - Off-Broadway (1956)
• The Four Poster - Theatron Kentrikon, Athens, Greece (1957)
• Two For The Seesaw- Theatron Kentrikon, Athens, Greece (1958)
• The Miracle Worker - Theatron Dionysus, Athens, Greece (1961)
• Night of the Iguana - Coconut Grove Playhouse (1961)
• The Duchess of Malfi - The Mark Taper Forum (1974)

Stage direction

• Oedipus Rex, New York City Opera Company (1960)
• The Four Poster - Theatron Kentrikon, Athens, Greece (1957)
• Two for the Seesaw - Theatron Kentrikon, Athens, Greece (1958)
• The Miracle Worker - Theatron Dionysus, Athens, Greece (1961)

Television direction

• The Defenders (1963)
• The Nurses (1963)
• Mr. Broadway (1964)
• The Reporter (1964)

Commercial direction

• Over 50 spots including Clairol, Dash, Burma Shave, Belvedere Cigarettes, Belmont Park, etc.
• TV Graphics and Group Productions (1965-1968)

Industrial direction

• General Electric (1966)
• New York Telephone Co. (1967)

Feature film direction

• Instant Love - Herbert Richards Productions, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (1963)
• The Steagle - Avco-Embassy Pictures, Inc. (1971)

Writer - film

• The Steagle - Avco-Embassy Pictures, Inc. (1971)
• Nighthawks - Universal Studios (1981)

Writer - books

• Final Cut - The making and breaking of a film, Seasbury Press/Continuum Books (1974)
• 100 Ways to Beat the Blues (contributor), Tanya Tucker, Simon & Schuster (2003)
• Cows: A rumination (contributor), Carl Hileman, Emmis Books (2004)

Awards

• Academy Award - Heaven Can Wait (1978)
• Academy Award Nominee - The Prince of Tides (1992)
• Lifetime Achievement Award - Art Directors Guild (2009)