Happy Birthday to Tony-winning costume designer Bob Mackie, born March 24, 1939, in Monterey Park, Calif. He graduated from Rosemead H.S. in 1957 and attended Pasadena City College, then Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles, but he left his studies before earning a degree to begin his career in 1961 as a sketch artist for Hollywood costume designers Edith Head, Jean Louis, and Ray Aghayan, who became his life partner.
Mackie met with early success in TV, earning his first Emmy nomination for the 1965 Danny Thomas special The Wonderful World of Burlesque and his first Emmy win the following year for Alice Through the Looking Glass, which you can watch below.
In 1966, Mitzi Gaynor hired him to design her Las Vegas show, and he did her costumes for the next 50 years, winning Emmys for her TV specials Mitzi … Roarin’ in the 20’s (1976) and Mitzi … Zings into Spring (1977). Below is a clip from the first.
After seeing Gaynor’s Las Vegas show, Carol Burnett hired him for her TV series. He not only stayed for the show’s entire run but also designed for Burnett’s other shows, winning Emmys for Mama’s Family (1983), Carol & Company (1990), and Men, Movies & Carol (1994). Among his most famous creations for Burnett is the “curtain dress” in the 1976 “Went with the Wind!” sketch, which you can see below.
In 1969, Mackie earned an Emmy nod for the costumes of the TV special G.I.T. on Broadway, which you can watch below. It marked the beginning of his relationship with Diana Ross, which continued from his Oscar-nominated work on Lady Sings the Blues (1972), through his Emmy-nominated work on An Evening with Diana Ross (1976), to her greatest hits tour, More Today Than Yesterday (2010).
Mackie’s most celebrated costumes may be those for Cher, which have brought him Emmy nods for The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour (1971), The Sonny & Cher Show (1976), Cher (1975), Cher … and Other Fantasies (1979), and Cher … at the Mirage (1990) as well as Emmy wins for Cher: Live in Concert from Las Vegas (1997) and Cher: The Farewell Tour (2003). He also designed her ensemble for the 1986 Academy Awards, which you can see below, and costumes of her Broadway musical The Cher Show (2018), which brought him Tony and Drama Desk awards.
Mackie’s other notable work includes Oscar nominations for Funny Lady (1975) and Pennies from Heaven (1981), Emmy nominations for Ann-Margret: Hollywood Movie Girls (1980), Neil Diamond … Hello Again (1986), The 60th Annual Academy Awards (1988), Gypsy (1994), Mrs. Santa Claus (1996), and Blue Suede Shoes: Ballet Rocks! (1997) as well as Drama Desk nominations for The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public (1994) and Pete ’n’ Keely (2000) and induction into the Television Hall of Fame (2002). Below is a highlight reel of Mackie creations, featuring Mitzi Gaynor, Ann-Margret, Carol Burnett, Cher, Elton John, and Bette Midler.