This article was originally published on Crafting Your Home. A human contributor also wrote and edited the post.
The post Bob Mackie’s Cause of Death Is Confirmed, and Tributes From Cher’s World Are Pouring In first appeared on Crafting Your Home
Just hours after news broke that legendary costume designer Bob Mackie had died at age 87, his representative has now confirmed exactly how the “Sultan of Sequins” passed away. Mackie died of pneumonia on Monday, September 14, at 10:40 a.m. in Palm Springs, California, a representative told People.
The confirmation arrives after Mackie’s official Instagram account announced his death earlier in the day without specifying a cause, leaving fans and longtime collaborators to wait for details about the final chapter of a career that spanned more than six decades and touched nearly every corner of American entertainment.
The Instagram statement that first broke the news captured the scope of what Mackie meant to the people who worked alongside him, describing a man who spent his entire life doing exactly what he set out to do. “It is with a heavy heart that we share the news that Mr. Bob Mackie passed away today,” the post read.
“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.”
Within hours, that post had filled with comments from models, actresses and designers who had crossed paths with Mackie at some point during his extraordinary run through Hollywood, Broadway and beyond.
Friends and Collaborators Flood His Instagram With Memories
Among the first to leave tributes was model Karen Elson, who recalled a personal moment with Mackie rather than focusing solely on his professional legacy. “Rest in peace,” Elson wrote in the comments, according to People. “It was such a pleasure to sit next to you at the Met Gala many years ago. Thank you for the magic you graced us with.”
Fellow model Coco Rocha shared a similarly personal reflection, describing what it was like to actually work alongside Mackie rather than simply admire his work from a distance.
“So sad to hear of the passing of the legendary Bob Mackie,” Rocha wrote. “I had the enormous privilege of not only wearing Bob’s extraordinary creations, but working alongside him and getting to know the wonderful man behind all that glamour.”
Actress Alyssa Milano also added her voice to the outpouring of tributes, framing Mackie’s death as a loss not just for the fashion world but for everyone who had ever watched his work come to life on screen or on stage.
“Sending condolences to all who loved him,” Milano wrote, according to People. “He was one of the best that ever was. And I’m proud to have a collection of his dresses.”
Comments continued to pour in throughout the day from fans, stylists and fellow designers, many of whom described Mackie’s costumes as the kind of work that shaped their understanding of what glamour could look like on a public stage.
Carol Burnett, who worked with Mackie for all 11 seasons of “The Carol Burnett Show” between 1967 and 1978, has long been one of his most vocal admirers, and her praise for him stretches back years before his death.
“He was the best,” Burnett told People in a 2010 interview. “He designed 50 costumes a week for our show.” Mackie felt the same about that partnership, once describing the series in strikingly simple terms during a 2019 interview with WWD, calling it nothing less than “the perfect show.”
That mutual admiration helped define one of the most enduring creative partnerships in television history, with Mackie’s costume work on the series later cited as some of the most influential comedic design ever produced for the small screen.
A Career That Reshaped Fashion Through His Work With Cher
It was on the set of “The Carol Burnett Show” that Mackie first crossed paths with Cher, a meeting that would go on to define both of their careers for decades to come.
He soon began designing for the singer directly, eventually becoming the costume designer for “The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour” when it premiered in 1971.
Their collaboration produced some of the most recognizable looks in pop culture history, and Mackie pointed to one moment as proof of how far-reaching his work with Cher really was.
“Nobody was allowed to even design a halter dress until Cher started wearing them on Sonny & Cher in the ’70s, and then all of a sudden they were in everybody’s collection,” Mackie told People in comments reflecting on the partnership’s lasting influence on mainstream fashion.
Mackie’s career reached far beyond his work with Cher and Burnett, extending into movies, Broadway, ballet, and opera over more than 60 years in the industry.
He got his start in 1961 as a sketch artist working under respected costume designers Edith Head and Jean Louis, before Mitzi Gaynor hired him in 1966 to design costumes for her Las Vegas performances and television specials.
That work caught Burnett’s attention and led producer Joe Hamilton to bring Mackie onto their new television project, setting off the string of collaborations that would come to define his legacy.
Over the following decades, Mackie built relationships with some of the biggest names in entertainment, including Tina Turner, Dolly Parton, Diana Ross, Barbra Streisand and Liza Minnelli, each of whom wore designs that carried his signature blend of sequins, feathers and theatrical flair.
Mackie’s professional honors reflect how widely his influence was recognized across the entertainment industry. He earned nine Emmy Awards over the course of his career, along with three Academy Award nominations for his costume work on “Lady Sings the Blues,” “Funny Lady,” and a third film, honors that placed him among the most decorated costume designers in Hollywood history.
In 2019, Mackie added a Tony Award to that collection for his work on “The Cher Show,” the Broadway musical built around the life and career of the very performer whose look he had helped shape decades earlier.
That win brought his career full circle in a way few designers ever experience, tying together the beginning of his most famous partnership with one of the final major honors of his lifetime.
As tributes continue arriving from across the fashion and entertainment worlds, the picture that has emerged in the hours since Mackie’s death is one of a designer whose influence reached far beyond the garments themselves.
From Karen Elson’s memory of sitting beside him at the Met Gala to Coco Rocha’s recollection of getting to know “the wonderful man behind all that glamour,” the outpouring reflects not just admiration for his work but genuine affection for who he was as a person.
Mackie is remembered by those who knew him as someone who spent his entire life building a legacy defined by generosity as much as talent, one that continues to shape red carpets, stages, and screens even now that his final stitch has been sewn.
Other Posts You Might Like
- Fashion Icon Bob Mackie, the ‘Sultan of Sequins’ Who Dressed Cher, Diana Ross and Elton John, Dies at 87
- Oprah Winfrey Is Turning Vegas Into One Giant ‘AHA’ Moment, And Tickets Are Already Almost Gone
- Sydney Sweeney’s Nearly Naked Betting Ad Just Turned the Olympics Into Her Biggest Critics
If you like what you just read, then subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media.
