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 also taught a course called Film: The Creative Process at Temple University in the Spring of 2014.