Legendary music and film fashion and costume designer Bob Mackie died Monday at the age of 87. His team confirmed his passing on his official Instagram page. The cause of death is still unconfirmed.
“It is with a heavy heart that we share the news that Mr. Bob Mackie passed away today,” the post announced. “He lived his 87 years to the fullest, fulfilling his dream of being a Fashion and Costume Designer, which is all he ever wanted to do. His genius and extraordinary designs will live on forever, continuing to bring beauty into this world.”
Born in 1939 in Monterey Park, California, Mackie is best known for designing iconic costumes for musical stars like Cher, Elton John, Diana Ross and Barbra Streisand. He was raised throughout most of his youth by his maternal grandparents after his parents divorced when he was just two years old. He eventually began living with his father after he moved to Rosemead, California, where he attended Rosemead High School.
Mackie left Chouinard Art Institute early after he was hired to sketch for Frank Thompson at Paramount Studios. He spent part of the early 1960s working at the studio as an assistant designer under Ray Aghayan. He scored his first big break when Mitzi Gaynor hired him to create the costumes for her Las Vegas Revue. He continued to be a go-to collaborator for Gaynor over the years and raked in Emmys for his contributions to her 1976 and 1978 TV specials.
He became even more well-known in the Hollywood scene in the late 1960s and through the late 1970s for his work as the costume designer for “The Carol Burnett Show,” which asked him to design upwards of 50 costumes a week. It was on the set of that iconic sketch variety series that Mackie met Cher. He went on to serve as the costume designer for “The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour” and continued to design pieces for the star in the decades that followed.
He scored his one and only Tony win in 2019 for designing the costumes for “The Cher Show,” a musical take on its subject’s life which actually featured a fictionalized version of Mackie himself. Over the course of his career, he nabbed a whopping 32 Emmy nominations and nine wins. In 2002, he was also formally inducted into the Television Hall of Fame.
While Mackie is best known for his television and stage work, he did land three Oscar nominations in 1982, 1976 and 1973 for his work on “Pennies From Heaven,” “Funny Lady” and “Lady Sings the Blues.”
Mackie married singer, actress and acting teacher LuLu Porter in March 1960. They had a son, Robin, together before they divorced in 1963. Porter and Mackie remained close after their divorce. Their son Robin died at the age of 33 in 1993 of an AIDS-related illness.
In 1963, Mackie began a relationship with fellow costume designer Ray Aghayan, whom he met while he was working as Aghayan’s assistant at Paramount Studios. They remained together until Aghayan’s death in 2011.
