About Bob Mackie
Bob Mackie was born in Monterey Park, California, on March 24, 1939. He studied at Pasadena City College and the Chouinard Art Institute, then left school in 1961 to work in Hollywood as a costume sketch artist, for designers including Jean Louis and Edith Head. Working for Jean Louis, he drew the sketch for the beaded gown Marilyn Monroe wore in 1962 to sing "Happy Birthday, Mr. President."
In 1963 the designer Ray Aghayan hired him for "The Judy Garland Show." Aghayan became his partner in life and in work, and in 1967 they shared an Emmy, Mackie's first. From 1967 to 1978 Mackie designed the costumes for all eleven seasons of "The Carol Burnett Show," including the curtain-rod gown from the show's "Gone with the Wind" parody, which is now at the Smithsonian. From 1971 he dressed Cher on "The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour," and went on dressing her for decades, from the 1974 Met Gala to the 1986 Academy Awards.
He dressed Dolly Parton too, including the butterfly gown she wore in the 1979 special "Dolly & Carol in Nashville." His costumes for Diana Ross in "Lady Sings the Blues," shared with Ray Aghayan and Norma Koch, brought the first of his three Oscar nominations. He won nine Emmys, entered the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 2002, and in 2019 received the CFDA's Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award and a Tony for the costumes of "The Cher Show."
When Dolly Parton died in August 2026, he wrote that she "was a joy and pleasure to dress." He died in Palm Springs, California, on September 14, 2026, at 87.
A Life in Time
- 1939: Born on March 24 in Monterey Park, California
- 1961: Leaves the Chouinard Art Institute to work as a Hollywood costume sketch artist
- 1962: Sketches the beaded gown Marilyn Monroe wears to sing "Happy Birthday, Mr. President," for designer Jean Louis
- 1963: Ray Aghayan hires him for "The Judy Garland Show"
- 1967: Wins his first Emmy, shared with Aghayan; "The Carol Burnett Show" begins
- 1971: "The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour" begins, with Cher in his designs
- 1972: "Lady Sings the Blues," with Diana Ross, brings his first Oscar nomination, shared with Ray Aghayan and Norma Koch
- 1974: Arrives at the Met Gala with Cher, who wears his sheer beaded gown
- 1976: The curtain-rod gown for Carol Burnett's "Gone with the Wind" parody
- 1979: Designs Dolly Parton's butterfly gown for "Dolly & Carol in Nashville"
- 1986: Dresses Cher for the Academy Awards, in a black feathered headdress
- 2002: Inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame
- 2019: Receives the CFDA's Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award and a Tony for "The Cher Show"
- 2026: Pays tribute to Dolly Parton in August; dies in Palm Springs on September 14, at 87
Connected lives
- Elton John · Stage costumes
- Bette Midler · Worked together many times
- Cher · Designer for five decades
- Ray Aghayan · Partner in life and work
- Marilyn Monroe · "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" sketch
- Judy Garland · The Judy Garland Show
- Dolly Parton · Dressed her · the 1979 butterfly gown
- Diana Ross · Lady Sings the Blues
- Carol Burnett · The Carol Burnett Show
- Jean Louis · Sketch artist
- Edith Head · Sketched for her