Bob Mackie | |
---|---|
Born | Robert Gordon Mackie March 24, 1939 |
Alma mater | |
Occupation(s) | Fashion designer, costumier |
Spouse | Lulu Porter (m. 1960;div. 1963) |
Partner | Ray Aghayan (since 1963; died 2011) |
Children | 1 |
Website | www |
Robert Gordon Mackie (born March 24, 1939) [1] is an American fashion designer and costumier, best known for his dressing of entertainment icons such as Cher, Farrah Fawcett, Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett, Diahann Carroll, Carol Channing, Ann-Margret, Bette Midler, Doris Day, Marlene Dietrich, Barbara Eden, Lola Falana, Judy Garland, Mitzi Gaynor, Elton John, Liza Minnelli, Marilyn Monroe, Marie Osmond, Dolly Parton, Miley Cyrus, Dottie West, Diana Ross, Tina Turner, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Barbra Streisand, Donna Summer and Oprah Winfrey among others. He was the costume designer for all the performers on The Carol Burnett Show during its entire eleven-year run. For his work, Mackie has received nine Primetime Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, and three nominations for the Academy Award for Best Costume Design. In April 2023, Mackie was awarded with the inaugural Giving Us Life-time Achievement Award by RuPaul at the RuPaul's Drag Race Season 15 finale. [2]
Mackie was born March 24, 1939, in Monterey Park, California, to Charles Robert Mackie and Mildred Agnes ( née Smith) Mackie. [3] [4] His father worked at Bank of America. [5] He has an older sister. [6] [7]
Mackie was raised in early childhood by his maternal grandparents in Alhambra, California because his parents divorced. By high school he moved to Rosemead, California and lived with his father. [3] He attended Rosemead High School.
Mackie continued his education at Pasadena City College and one-year study at Chouinard Art Institute but left without earning a degree from either school. [3] [8] At Chouinard, Mackie studied under Eva Roberts, the head of the fashion design department. [9] He left Chouinard early because he got his first job sketching for Frank Thompson at Paramount Studios. [3] Between 1960 and 1963, Mackie worked as a novice designer and assistant under designer Ray Aghayan at Paramount Studios. [10]
In 1961, while he was working at Paramount Studios, costumer Edith Head found Mackie. [11]
In Mackie's early career he worked as a sketch artist for French haute couturier Jean Louis, who is noted for crafting stage gowns worn by actress Marlene Dietrich during her career as a cabaret singer. As one of his first assignments, he drew the original sketch of Marilyn Monroe’s dress worn in 1962 at President John F. Kennedy's birthday celebration at Madison Square Garden in New York. [12]
In 1966, Mackie was hired by Mitzi Gaynor to design her new stage show at the Riviera in Las Vegas. Gaynor was the first star client for whom Mackie designed an entire show. He would continue to design for her television specials and live stage shows for the next 50 years. He won two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design for Music-Variety for Gaynor's TV specials Mitzi...Roarin' in the Twenties (1976) and Mitzi...Zings Into Spring (1977).
In 1969, Mackie was hired to design costumes for Diana Ross, The Supremes, and The Temptations in the television special GIT: On Broadway.[ citation needed ] In 1972, he and Aghayan were nominated for Best Costume Design for Lady Sings The Blues , starring Diana Ross. [10] Mackie and Diana Ross continued their collaborative efforts well into the 21st century, with Mackie designing stage costumes for Ross' 2010 More Today Than Yesterday: The Greatest Hits Tour . [13]
Mackie designed costumes for the Las Vegas Strip–based burlesque shows Hallelujah Hollywood, which was inspired by the Ziegfeld Follies and ran at the MGM Grand (now Bally's Las Vegas) from 1974 to 1980, and Jubilee! , which ran from 1981 to 2016. [14] [15] Both productions involve intricate, elaborate costumes.
Images of many of Mackie's design drawings for these productions are available in the "Showgirls" collection from UNLV Libraries Digital Collections. He created the costumes for Cher’s 2008–11 Las Vegas Cher at the Colosseum residency at Caesars Palace, as well as for her 2017 Classic Cher shows in Las Vegas and Washington D.C. [16]
Two of Mackie's best-remembered creations had a humorous aspect. While working on The Carol Burnett Show , he designed a "curtain dress" (complete with a curtain rod across the shoulders) that Carol Burnett wore in "Went with the Wind!", a parody of Gone with the Wind . He designed the exotic ensemble worn by Cher at the March 1986 Academy Awards: black stretch pants, a bejeweled loincloth, knee-high boots, a black chainlink top, and a huge feathered Mohawk headdress that was one and a half times taller than her head. Introduced by Jane Fonda with the words, "Wait'll you see what's gonna come out here". [17] "As you can see," said Cher, "I did receive my Academy booklet on how to dress like a serious actress." [18]
Mackie designed costumes for Whitney Houston, especially splashy evening gowns which she wore for many years during concert tours and award shows. He was often referred to as "the sultan of sequins" or "the rajah of rhinestones", known for his sparkling and imaginative costume designs. He has won nine Emmy Awards for his designs, and he has been nominated three times for an Academy Award. [19] Mackie has said, "A woman who wears my clothes is not afraid to be noticed." [20] [21]
In 1981, Mackie guest-starred as himself on two episodes of the television series The Love Boat . [22] In 2002, Mackie was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame. [23] In more recent years, Mackie has been mainly known as the costume designer for Cher's elaborate outfit during her latest tours, including her latest Here We Go Again Tour . In 2019, Mackie won the Tony Award for Best Costume Design in a Musical for his work on The Cher Show .
More recently, in 2020, Mackie's dresses were featured and worn by television hostess Vanna White over the week of April 27 in the long-running syndicated game show Wheel of Fortune as part of honoring the San Francisco Bay Area. [24]
On March 14, 1960, Mackie married LuLu Porter (née Marianne Wolford), a singer, actress, and later an acting teacher. [25] [26] The couple had a son, Robert Gordon Mackie Jr. (known as "Robin"), [11] the previous year. The couple divorced in 1963. Robin, a makeup artist, died in 1993 at the age of 33 of an AIDS-related illness, predeceasing his parents. [26] [27] [28] [5] [29]
Beginning in 1963, Mackie's significant other was costume designer Ray Aghayan, whom Mackie worked with as an assistant. The two worked together through the 1970s, as well as having separate clients. They remained together until Aghayan's death in 2011. [10]
The Academy Awards are awarded annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Mackie has received 3 nominations.
Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1973 | Lady Sings the Blues | Best Costume Design | Nominated |
1976 | Funny Lady | Nominated | |
1982 | Pennies from Heaven | Nominated | |
The American Choreography Awards honored outstanding choreographers in the fields of feature film, television, music videos, and commercials. Mackie has received 1 honorary award.
Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2001 | Himself | Governor's Award | Honored |
The Costume Designers Guild Awards are awarded annually by the Costume Designers Guild for costume designers in motion pictures, television, and commercials. Mackie has received 1 honorary award.
Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1999 | Himself | Disaronno Career Achievement in Television Award | Honored |
The Emmy Awards are presented at one of the numerous annual American events or competitions that each recognize achievements in a particular sector of the television industry. Mackie has received 1 honorary award and 9 competitive awards from 32 nominations. [36]
RuPaul's Drag Race is a reality competition program hosted by American drag queen RuPaul. The show periodically highlights and celebrates pop culture icons that have influenced LGBTQIA+ culture over the years with their "Giving Us Life-time Achievement Award". Mackie has received one honorary award. [2]
Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2023 | Himself | Giving Us Life-time Achievement Award | Honored |
The Tony Awards are presented annually by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League. Mackie has received 1 award from 1 nomination. [37]
Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2019 | The Cher Show | Best Costume Design in a Musical | Won |
The TV Land Award generally commemorates shows now off the air, rather than in current production. Mackie has received 1 honorary award.
Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2005 | The Carol Burnett Show | Legend Award | Honored |
Carol Creighton Burnett is an American comedian, actress, and singer. Her comedy-variety series, The Carol Burnett Show, which originally aired on CBS, was one of the first to be hosted by a woman. Burnett has performed on Broadway, on television, and in dramatic and comedic film roles. She has received numerous awards and accolades, including seven Golden Globe Awards, seven Primetime Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, and a Grammy Award. Burnett was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005, the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2013, and the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2015.
Thomas Daniel "Tim" Conway was an American actor, comedian, writer, and director. Conway is perhaps best known as a regular cast member (1975–1978) on the TV comedy The Carol Burnett Show where he portrayed his recurrent iconic characters Mister Tudball and the Oldest Man. Over his career he received numerous accolades including five Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1999 and was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 2002.
The Carol Burnett Show is an American variety/sketch comedy television show that originally ran on CBS from September 11, 1967, to March 29, 1978, for 279 episodes, and again with nine episodes in fall 1991. It starred Carol Burnett, Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence, and Lyle Waggoner. In 1975, frequent guest star Tim Conway became a regular cast member after Waggoner left the series. In 1977, Dick Van Dyke replaced Korman but it was agreed that he was not a match and he left after 10 episodes.
The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour is an American variety show starring American pop singers Sonny Bono and Cher, who were married to each other at the time. The show ran on CBS in the United States, and premiered in August 1971. The show was cancelled in May 1974, due to the couple's divorce, but the duo reunited in 1976 for the similarly formatted The Sonny & Cher Show, which ran for two seasons, ending August 29, 1977.
Francesca Marlene de Czanyi von Gerber, known professionally as Mitzi Gaynor, was an American actress, singer and dancer. Her notable films included We're Not Married! (1952), There's No Business Like Show Business (1954), The Birds and the Bees (1956), and South Pacific (1958) – for which she was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical at the 1959 awards.
William Travilla, known professionally as Travilla, was an American costume designer for theatre, film, and television. He is perhaps best known for designing costumes for Marilyn Monroe in eight of her films, as well as two of the most iconic dresses in cinematic history.
Fresno is a 1986 American television comedy miniseries that parodied prime time soap operas of the time such as Falcon Crest, Dallas, and Dynasty. Fresno was directed by Jeff Bleckner. The series featured high production values, including lavish haute couture gowns by leading costume designer Bob Mackie, a main cast including Carol Burnett, Teri Garr, Charles Grodin and Dabney Coleman, and supporting cast including Charles Keating, Pat Corley, Louise Latham, Tom Poston and Henry Darrow. It was noted at the time as being the first American satirical TV comedy to be made in the then-popular miniseries format.
Cher in Concert, also known as the Take Me Home Tour, was the first solo concert tour by American singer-actress Cher. The tour's debut was at Sahara Reno in Reno, Nevada with a huge production and cast put together by Joe Layton, who did the same for Bette Midler's "Clams on a Half Shell" and Diana Ross previously. Cher premiered her one-woman show at the Opera House Theatre June 3 through 19. This is the first time Cher has appeared solo on the nightclub circuit.
Tony Charmoli was an American dancer, choreographer, and director. He began dancing on Broadway in such shows as Make Mine Manhattan but soon began choreographing for television with Stop the Music in 1949. Charmoli then choreographed dance sequences for the popular Your Hit Parade, winning his first Emmy Award in 1956. He went on to direct and choreograph for some of the biggest stars including Dinah Shore, Lily Tomlin, Danny Kaye, Julie Andrews, Cyd Charisse, Shirley MacLaine, Mitzi Gaynor, Lucille Ball, and others. On Broadway, Tony choreographed Ankles Aweigh (1955) and Woman of the Year (1981) with Lauren Bacall. Over his career, he was nominated for fifteen Emmy awards and won three.
Mitzi...Roarin' in the 20s is a 1976 Emmy Award winning television special starring Mitzi Gaynor.
Robert James Banner Jr. was an American producer, writer and director. From 1967 to 1972 he co-produced The Carol Burnett Show.
Gorgen Ray Aghayan was an American fashion designer and costume designer for the United States film industry. He won an Emmy Award and was nominated for an Academy Award for his costume design. From the early 1960s until his death in 2011, Aghayan's partner was fashion designer Bob Mackie.
Diana Eden is a costume designer for the stage, television, and film. She has been nominated for one Primetime Emmy Award and two Daytime Emmy Awards.
"Went with the Wind!" is a comedy sketch featured on the eighth episode of the tenth season of The Carol Burnett Show. It originally aired in the United States on CBS on November 13, 1976, and is a parody of the 1939 American historical drama film Gone with the Wind. The sketch was written by two young writers, Rick Hawkins and Liz Sage. In 2009, TV Guide ranked the sketch #53 on its list of "Top 100 Episodes of All Time".
Mary Virginia Skinner, known professionally as Jenna McMahon, was an American writer, producer, actress and comedian. She was best known for her Emmy Award-winning work as a writer on the variety/sketch comedy program The Carol Burnett Show and for co-creating the television sitcoms It's a Living, The Facts of Life, and Mama's Family along with her writing partner Dick Clair.
Walter Raymond "Ret" Turner was an American costume designer, best known for his dressing of entertainment icons such as Cher, Lucille Ball, Barry Manilow, Neil Diamond, Shirley Booth, Lily Tomlin, Marie Osmond, Dolly Parton, Diana Ross, Billy Crystal, and Jean Stapleton. He had 23 Emmy nominations and five wins.
"Mrs. Wiggins" is a series of comedy sketches featured on The Carol Burnett Show, with one installment airing on Carol Burnett & Company. The Carol Burnett Show introduced the skit series during its ninth season in 1975–76 and continued to air new installments for the remainder of its 11-season run, through its final season in 1977–78. However, the final installment of "Mrs. Wiggins" would not air until August 18, 1979 on a different four-week summer series titled Carol Burnett & Company. This was the only installment of "Mrs. Wiggins" that did not air on The Carol Burnett Show, which had completed its run almost a year and a half earlier on March 29, 1978. All together, there were 19 installments of "Mrs. Wiggins" sketches.
Classic Cher was the third concert residency by American singer-actress Cher. The show is performed in Las Vegas, Oxon Hill, and Atlantic City.
The Cher Show is a jukebox musical with a book by Rick Elice that tells the story of the life and career of Cher, using songs that she performed throughout her career. The part of Cher is played by three actresses: one portraying her in the 1950s and 60s, one for the 1970s, and one for the 1980s and 90s. The three interact with each other and help each other out at various points.
Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love is a television special that premiered on NBC on April 26, 2023, honoring the life and career of comedian and actress Carol Burnett. Burnett is known for her work over 60 years as a female comedian, hosting her variety sketch series The Carol Burnett Show from 1967 to 1978. The tribute includes documentary footage, musical performance, clips from her work in film and television, and pre-taped tributes.
his 33-year-old son, Robin, died of AIDS
Then in March, his 33-year-old son Robin died of AIDS after a long battle with drugs. "I wish everything that happened was a nightmare," says Bob, "and I could open my eyes and wake up and have it be over."
Artist Robin Mackie, son of designer Bob Mackie, died Monday in Los Angeles due to complications from AIDS.