Bob Mackie, the costumer and fashion designer known for his work on The Carol Burnett Show and for designing fashions for everyone from Cher to Taylor Swift, died on September 14, 2026, at the age of 87.
Bob Mackie was born on March 24, 1940 in Monterey Park, California. He attended Rosemead High School in Rosemead, California and then Pasadena City College and the Chouinard Art Institute. He started his career as a sketch artist with Jean Louis. It was during this period that he drew the original sketch of the gown work by Marilyn Monroe at President John F. Kennedy's 1962 birthday celebration at Madison Square Garden in New York City. He also worked as a sketch artist with Frank Thompson at Paramount. He worked under designer Ray Aghayan as a novice designer and assistant. He worked with Edith Head on the movies Donovan's Reef (1967) and A New Kind of Love (1963).
Bob Mackie did his first work for television on the special Arthur Freed's Hollywood Melody in 1962. In the Sixties, he worked on such shows as The King Family Show; ABC Stage '67; and The Hollywood Palace. He worked on The Carol Burnett Show from the very beginning in 1967 and stayed with the show for all eleven seasons. He also worked on several TV specials and movies during the decade. He designed costumes for the movie Divorce, American Style (1967). In 1966, he was hired by Mitzi Gaynor to design her costumes for her Las Vegas shows. He would go onto work on several of her TV specials.
In the Seventies, Bob Mackie continued to work on The Carol Burnett Show. He worked on the TV shows Cher; The Sonny & Cher Show;; Carol & Company; and Donny & Marie. He also worked on several TV specials, including the notorious Star Wars Holiday Special. He worked on the movies Lady Sings the Blues (1972) and Funny Lady (1975). On Broadway, he worked on Lorelei; Debbie; and Platinum.
The Eighties saw Bob Mackie work on the TV mini-series Fresno and several TV shows and events, including the 54th Annual Academy Awards. He worked in the movies ...All the Marbles (1981), Pennies from Heaven (1981), and Max Dugan Returns (1983). In the Nineties, he worked on Broadway on The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas Goes Public; Moon Over Buffalo; Putting It Together; and Minnelli on Minnelli. On television he primarily worked on specials and big events, including various Carol Burnett specials and the TV movie Mrs. Santa Claus. On Broadway, he worked on the special benefit Bernadette Peters: A Special Concert for Broadway Barks Because Broadway Cares.
The Naugths into the Teens saw Bob Mackie work in television on the TV movie Putting It Together (based on the Broadway show), specials featuring Cher and Diahann Carroll, and and the game show Wheel of Fortune. In 2018, he worked on Broadway on The Cher Show.
Bob Mackie was known for his over-the-top fashions. Indeed, he was known as "the King of Sequins." At the same time, his costumes were always appealing to the eye. And Bob Mackie was nothing if not versatile. Others might look to his work with Cher, The Supremes, Mitzi Gaynor and so on, but to me the height of his career was his work on The Carol Burnett Show. On the show, he proved he could design nearly anything. He not only designed evening gowns, but everyday clothing worn by characters in sketches and costumes for the musical guests on the show. He designed the famous curtain rod dress for the "Went with the Wind" Gone with the Wind parody, which could well be his best known work. He also designed the overly tight skirts for Mrs. Wiggins (Carol Burnett), the secretary of Mr. Tudball (Tim Conway) and the dowdy clothes worn by Eunice Higgins in "The Family" sketches. Quite simply, Bob Mackie was not only creative, but he had a sense of humour that came through on The Carol Burnett Show.
Beyond being a great costume and fashion designer, Bob Mackie simply seemed like a various nice man. He not only appeared at the TCM Classic Movie Festival, but multiple times on the channel itself. He always amiable, down-to-earth, and, despite his accomplishment, entirely humble. He also had a wonderful sense-of-humour and a youthful energy that many half his age would find envious. In the end, Bob Mackie wasn't just a remarkable designer, but an all-around great human being.
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