American costume designer (1939?2024)
Anthea Sylbert
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Publicity photo of Anthea Sylbert
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Born
| (
1939-10-06
)
October 6, 1939
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Died
| June 18, 2024
(2024-06-18)
(aged 84)
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Occupation
| Costume designer
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Years active
| 1967?1999
[1]
[2]
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Spouses
|
(
m.
1985; died 2023)
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Anthea Sylbert
(October 6, 1939 ? June 18, 2024) was an American film producer and costume designer, who was active during the "modern era" of American film. She was nominated twice for
Academy Awards for Best Costume Design
, first at the
47th Academy Awards
for
Chinatown
(1974), and then at the
50th Academy Awards
for her work on
Julia
(1977). In addition, she had more than ten credits as producer or executive producer, including for such works as
CrissCross
(1991) and the television film
Truman
(1995), the latter of which earned Sylbert an Emmy. At the 7th Annual Costume Designers Guild Awards in 2005, Sylbert was an honoree, receiving the Lacoste Career Achievement award for film.
Biography
[
edit
]
| This section
needs expansion
with: any facts from the ample, well-sourced biographical descriptions of A. Sylbert's life that are available in books and journal articles. You can help by
adding to it
.
(
February 2020
)
|
Early life and education
[
edit
]
Anthea Sylbert was born Anthea Giannakouros in Brooklyn, New York,
[1]
on October 6, 1939,
[3]
to parents Nick and Georgia Giannakouros and lived in what has been described as a "close-knit Greek family".
[1]
She had one brother, Thomas. Keenly interested in artistic activities as a child, she is reported to have learned to sew from a grandmother.
[1]
Giannakouros studied art at Barnard College.
[1]
Career
[
edit
]
| This section
needs expansion
with: sourced facts as noted, especially focusing on the costume design (early phase) of her career, followed by the production and managerial (later phases). You can help by
adding to it
.
(
February 2020
)
|
Following her long period of costume design work, Sylbert took on executive production management roles at the vice president level, first at Warner Borothers, then at United Artists, where she was known, in particular, for her skills at conflict resolution when filmmakers were at odds with the studios.
[
when?
]
[1]
After this period, she began a deep partnership with
Goldie Hawn
, beginning with the film
Private Benjamin
(1980).
[1]
Ultimately, the two of them created the Hawn/Sylvebert Movie Company,
[
when?
]
which produced a number of films, including
Protocol
(1984) and
Something to Talk About
(1995).
[1]
Filmography
[
edit
]
The following is Anthea Sylbert's list of credits, primarily as reported by the
British Film Institute
.
[2]
Producing
[
edit
]
- 1999,
If You Believe
[2]
- 1998,
Giving up the Ghost
(teleplay)
[2]
- 1997,
Hope
[2]
- 1995,
Truman
[2]
- 1995,
Something to Talk About
[2]
- 1991,
Deceived
[2]
- 1991,
Crisscross
[2]
- 1990,
My Blue Heaven
[2]
- 1987,
Overboard
[2]
- 1986,
Wildcats
[2]
- 1984,
Protocol
[2]
Costumes and costume design
[
edit
]
- 1978,
F.I.S.T.
[2]
- 1977,
Julia
[2]
- 1976,
The Last Tycoon
[2]
- 1976,
King Kong
[2]
- 1975,
Shampoo
[2]
- 1974,
Chinatown
[2]
- 1974,
The Fortune
[2]
- 1972,
Bad Company
[2]
- 1971,
The Cowboys
[2]
- 1971,
Carnal Knowledge
[2]
- 1969,
The Illustrated Man
[2]
- 1968,
Rosemary's Baby
[2]
Other credits
[
edit
]
- 2008,
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
, on-screen participant
[2]
- 1999,
If You Believe
, writer,
[2]
with
Richard Romanus
[4]
- 1976,
Mikey and Nicky
, visual consultant
[2]
Work on
Chinatown
[
edit
]
| This section
needs expansion
with: any facts from the ample, well-sourced book or journal descriptions of A. Sylbert's role in the making of this film. You can help by
adding to it
.
(
February 2020
)
|
Sylbert worked with
Chinatown
(1974) from its early days after her brother-in-law Richard Sylbert introduced and recommended her to director
Roman Polanski
.
[5]
[
page needed
]
Sylbert was affectionately known in that close-working, small group of accomplished filmmakers as Ant for her penchant for "stringently straight" dark skirts and black turtlenecks.
[5]
[
page needed
]
Sylbert was known to be "utterly unafraid to speak truth, no matter how ugly, to anyone, no matter how powerful".
[5]
[
page needed
]
Her work was described as breaking with the past in its aim at being "not for beauty or for chic” but rather "to amplify character".
[5]
[
page needed
]
Sylbert was nominated for the 1975 Academy Award for Best Costume Design for her work on the film.
[6]
Work on
Julia
[
edit
]
| This section
needs expansion
with: book or journal descriptions of Sylbert's role in the making of this film. You can help by
adding to it
.
(
February 2020
)
|
Sylbert was nominated for the 1978 Academy Award for Best Costume Design for her work on the film
Julia
(1977).
[7]
Awards and recognition
[
edit
]
In addition to the 1975 and 1978 Academy Award nominations for best costume design,
[6]
[7]
Sylbert won an Emmy for her production of
Truman
(1995).
[1]
In 1999, Sylbert and
Richard Romanus
were nominated for Best Original Screenplay by the
Writers Guild of America
for the Christmas film
If You Believe
.
[4]
Sylbert was an honoree at the 7th Annual Costume Designers Guild Awards (in 2005), where she received the Lacoste Career Achievement award for film.
[8]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Sylbert was married to actor and writer
Richard Romanus
from August 1985 until his death in December 2023.
[4]
In 2004, Sylbert and Romanus moved to the Greek island of Skiathos.
[9]
Sylbert died in Skiathos on June 18, 2024, at the age of 84.
[10]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
Rubin, Natasha (2018). "Sylbert, Anthea (1939-)". In Bauer, Laura L. S. (ed.).
Hollywood Heroines: The Most Influential Women in Film History
. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. pp. 88?90.
ISBN
9781440836497
. Retrieved
5 February
2020
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o
p
q
r
s
t
u
v
w
x
y
z
aa
ab
BFI Staff (February 4, 2020).
"Anthea Sylbert?Filmography"
.
BFI.org.uk
. London, GB:
British Film Institute
. Archived from
the original
on December 27, 2017
. Retrieved
5 February
2020
.
- ^
Jay Jorgensen; Donald L. Scoggins (2015).
Creating the Illusion: A Fashionable History of Hollywood Costume Designers
. Philadelphia, PA: Running Press. pp. 318?321.
ISBN
9780762458073
. Retrieved
2022-10-26
.
- ^
a
b
c
Barnes, Mike (2023-12-30).
"Richard Romanus, Actor in 'Mean Streets,' Dies at 80"
.
The Hollywood Reporter
.
Archived
from the original on 2023-12-30
. Retrieved
2024-03-15
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Sam Wasson (2020).
The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood
. New York, NY: Flatiron Books.
ISBN
9781250301833
. Retrieved
2020-02-05
.
- ^
a
b
Academy Staff (April 8, 1975).
"The 47th Academy Awards?1975?Dorothy Chandler Pavilion?Honoring movies released in 1974: Costume Design"
.
Oscars.org
. Beverly Hills, CA: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
. Retrieved
5 February
2020
.
- ^
a
b
Academy Staff (1978-04-03).
"The 50th Academy Awards?1978?Dorothy Chandler Pavilion?Honoring movies released in 1977: Costume Design"
.
Oscars.org
. Beverly Hills, CA: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
. Retrieved
2020-02-05
.
- ^
CDG Staff (5 February 2020).
"7th Annual Costume Designers Guild Awards?Honorees"
.
CostumeDesignersGuild.com
. Retrieved
5 February
2020
.
Lacoste Career Achievement Film: Anthea Sylbert.
- ^
Travis, Emlyn (2023-12-31).
"Richard Romanus, 'Mean Streets' and 'The Sopranos' star, dies at 80"
.
EW.com
.
Archived
from the original on 2023-12-31
. Retrieved
2024-03-15
.
- ^
"Anthea Sylbert, 'Rosemary's Baby,' 'Chinatown' and 'Carnal Knowledge' Costume Designer, Dies at 84"
.
The Hollywood Reporter
. June 18, 2024
. Retrieved
June 19,
2024
.
Additional reading
[
edit
]
- Rubin, Natasha (2018). "Sylbert, Anthea (1939-)". In Bauer, Laura L. S. (ed.).
Hollywood Heroines: The Most Influential Women in Film History
. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. pp. 88?90.
ISBN
9781440836497
. Retrieved
5 February
2020
.
- Jorgensen, Jay & Scoggins, Donald L. (2015).
Creating the Illusion: A Fashionable History of Hollywood Costume Designers
. Philadelphia, PA: Running Press. pp. 318?321.
ISBN
9780762458073
. Retrieved
5 February
2020
.
{{
cite book
}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link
)
- Wasson, Sam (2020).
The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood
. New York, NY: Flatiron Books.
ISBN
9781250301833
. Retrieved
5 February
2020
.
- Gregory, Mollie (2003).
Women Who Run the Show: How a Brilliant and Creative New Generation of Women Stormed Hollywood
. New York, NY: Macmillan. pp. 69, 159?166, 400.
ISBN
9780312316341
. Retrieved
5 February
2020
.
External links
[
edit
]