Wantagh resident wins Emmy for ‘The Queen’s Gambit’

From the soft keys of a grand piano to the harsh strokes of a violin, Netflix’s popular series “The Queen’s Gambit” manages to capture the essence of the 1950s and ‘60s through sound. Helping to create some of that ambience? Patrick Cicero.

And it’s award-winning ambience, too. The Wantagh resident picked up an Emmy late last year for outstanding sound editing, a victory Cicero de-scribed as “a reflection of the last 20 years” he’s worked in both film and television.

Even with “the hard work that I put in,” the 48-year-old said he didn’t expect to win. He was part of a 10-member team led by Gregg Swiatlowski and Eric Hirsch. They topped the sound work on other limited series like “Fargo” on FX and “WandaVision” on Disney+. Teams like Cicero’s create intensity, fear, love and pain in various scenes through sounds that connect viewers with characters.

“The Queen’s Gambit” was a breakout hit for Netflix, starring Anya Taylor-Joy — an Emmy nominee herself — as Beth Harmon, a young girl who, after losing her mother in a car accident, lands in an orphanage where she develops extraordinary skills for chess — an uncommon passion for young women at the time.

A Rochester native, Cicero majored in communications at SUNY Fredonia, just off Lake Erie, with a concentration in film and television. His passion for sound editing developed after a trip to Los Angeles with his brother Ron in the mid-1990s. Soon after, Cicero found himself on commercials and music videos, sparking his ear for creative sounds.

Working in film, Cicero says, requires dedication, something he learned soon after graduating when he landed a job as a production assistant.

“When you’re a P.A., you’re like the first to get there and the last one to leave,” he said. “It was 70 to 80 hours. We’d get close to 90 hours in one week, at one point, working on a few films.”

But nothing could prepare Cicero for “Queen’s Gambit.” Although much of the miniseries was filmed in 2019, by the time Cicero’s team got to work in post-production, the coronavirus pandemic was in full-swing, forcing all of them to work remotely ahead of the October 2020 Netflix premiere.

Cicero “would never not do enough,” Swiatlowski said. “He always did more than what we could ever dream of, and his work is really impeccable.”

Another fan of Cicero’s work happens to see his many projects at home. In fact, she even shares his last name — not a surprise since Sheri is married to him. She described her husband as “very humble” after winning an Emmy, while she was far more openly ecstatic.

“I was just so incredibly proud,” Sheri said. “I have an Emmy sitting in our living room. How often in your life are you ever going to be around an award that amazing?”

But the Emmy win was also bittersweet for Cicero. He’d lost his father earlier that year.

“I found out a few months later that we were nominated,” Cicero said. “So by winning it, it was a nice cherry on top of a terrible year.”

While Cicero’s sound production team shared the win, it was Hirsch who walked on the Los Angeles stage to accept it. But Cicero gave Hirsch another keepsake of their time on the series — a bobblehead of Beth Harmon as a thank you for letting him be part of the team.

Yet, anyone who asks Hirsch says if anyone should be grateful, it’s him.

“Whenever I start a job, one of my first questions always is, ‘Is Pat available?’” Hirsch said. “When I know the answer is yes, I sort of feel better. I know that, at least, the work that he’s going to do will be … great.”