New York (AP) —When Bob Mackie was 11, his uncle asked what he wanted to be when he grew up. He didn’t hesitate. Broadway costume designer. The Southern California boy had never been to New York, but he was obsessed with the “color, excitement, and charm” of film and show business.
A famous celebrity costume designer tells the story of his career in his new coffee table book, The Art of Bob Mackie. A book by authors Frank Vlastonic and Laura Ross will be published on Tuesday.
Mackie didn’t have to go across countries. His first job after graduating from college was Paramount Pictures in 1961 as a freelancer sketching costumes for movies. His talent and work ethic quickly helped the land work on television, where he teamed up with Carol Burnett. McKee’s design for her variety show drew attention for her colorful sequins and camping style.
Mackie has won three Oscar nominations and nine Emmy Awards while designing for celebrities such as Elton John, Diana Ross, Pink, and his ultimate muse, Sher.
Published on Tuesday, the book is full of McKee’s original sketches and hundreds of photographs to help tell the story of his illustrious career.
Mackie told The Associated Press about his own icon and musical character design. Answers have been edited for brevity and clarity.
AP: This book looks back on your costume career. How do you feel when you see it?
MACKIE: I have been in a costume designers union for 60 years. It’s a long time. It’s a lot of costumes. And that surprised me a little. And when I saw Sher turned 75, I met her when she was 22, which really surprised me! So you know, you just do what you do.
AP: One of your early sketches turned into the very famous dress Marilyn Monroe wore.
MACKIE: She was asked by President Kennedy to sing “Happy Birthday” at Madison Square Garden. So she called (designer) Jean-Lewis and said, “Can you make me one of the see-through dresses, like Marlene Dietrich?” And he was doing it for her Las Vegas acts and stuff. So he asked me to sketch, and he showed me what he wanted. And I sketched and wore it as close as possible to Marilyn Monroe. Then I hadn’t heard about it for a long time. And a few weeks later, suddenly, there are all these pictures on a piece of paper she is wearing this dress and singing to the president.
AP: How did you approach the costume design for The Carol Burnett Show?
MACKIE: It’s great because you can really laugh before you open your mouth. I love costume design. It’s the most fun because you’re helping. You really are part of a team that helps you create stories, showing who the woman is, who the man is, and where he came from. And are they chic or confused? who are they? That’s the fun part.
AP: Perhaps your most iconic design is the “Gone with the Wind” spoofed “curtain rod dress” from “Carol Burnett”. Why did this happen?
MACKIE: Her name was “Starlet” in our version. She went to the window, lowered the green velvet curtain, and dragged up the stairs. And of course, that also happens in real movies. So it was already interesting to me. And suddenly they pasted it into a sketch, and I had to do something interesting, and I thought. How is it different? And that was the best I could do and it was a hit. Thank God, it was a hit, and it got every second or more laughter than ever. It was a lot of fun. And it’s now in the Smithsonian.
AP: At some point, were you designing both Carol Burnett and Cher costumes at the same time?
MACKIE: I had a great time. Carol was in one studio, Sher was in another, and there was only a men’s room with two doors, one from each studio. And from time to time, Sher went into the men’s room and said, “I’m passing through the men!” And she will just run through and they will all be very nervous with the urinals. There was always a lot of laughter and it was a good theater show business. Both shows were very interesting and very different from each other in their own way. However, the two women loved each other and often exchanged appearances.
AP: There is a picture in your book that escorted Sher to the Met Gala in 1974.
MACKIE: Sher appears in a dress … and it was very nice. And people wore cocktail dresses and trouser jumpsuits or something. They dressed up, but nothing like it is now. And, of course, the dressed shale reminded everyone, “Oh, maybe I should dress up a little more.” But suddenly people are wearing something that looks like they’ve seen the old. Her shot … and “What can I wear that would get as much attention?” And the same dress appeared on the cover of Time magazine a few months later, and it was huge.
AP: You also designed a memorable dress for Sher to wear in Oscar in 1986.
Mackie: The first crazy thing she wore was a big Mohawk headdress when she awarded Don Ameche the Best Supporting Actor Award. And then I said to her, “Are you afraid to upstage this award-winning person?” And she says, “Oh, they won’t care, he’ll be fine.” Well, the next day, her photo was published in all newspapers nationwide and became very famous. I remember people were scared at first. They said, “Well, it’s not fashion.” She was so gorgeous, and she is still. Then why?
AP: You won the Tony Award in 2019 for designing a costume for “The Cher Show” in an instant. How was your experience?
MACKIE: I had to go to the Tony Awards, win the award, give a little speech … and that was awesome. And there was a guy who played me on the show — he had a blonde wig and a funny suit and he was great. He was probably a little more flashy than I was. But it was a Broadway musical, so it was okay.
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Bob Mackie’s book looks back on a glittering costume career | Entertainment
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