The iconic costume designer died at 87 on Monday.

Bob Mackie’s cause of death revealed

The iconic costume designer died at 87 on Monday.

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

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on September 14, 2026 3:43 p.m. ET

Bob Mackie in Los Angeles on Jan. 15, 2026. Credit:

Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty

- Bob Mackie died at 87 on Monday, Sept. 14.

- A representative for the costume designer announced his cause of death.

- Mackie died in Palm Springs, Calif.

Bob Mackie’s cause of death has been announced.

The iconic costume designer died from pneumonia on Monday at 10:40 a.m. in Palm Springs, Calif., a representative told PEOPLE. He was 87.

Mackie’s death was announced on his official Instagram page on Monday morning. “It is with a heavy heart that we share the news that Mr. Bob Mackie passed away today,” the post said. “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.”

The statement concluded, “His genius and extraordinary designs will live on forever, continuing to bring beauty into this world.”

Bob Mackie in Los Angeles in 2010.

Harry Langdon/Getty

After finding success as the costume designer for *The Carol Burnett Show*, Mackie became known for designing dazzling ensembles, which often included shimmering sequins and rhinestones, for pop stars like Cher, Dolly Parton, and Elton John. He also designed Marilyn Monroe’s iconic 1962 naked dress, which the *Some Like It Hot* star wore while serenading President John F. Kennedy with a rendition of “Happy Birthday” at Madison Square Garden in 1962.

That dress made headlines in 2022 when Kim Kardashian wore the garment to the Met Gala. Mackie told EW that he didn’t approve of the reality star’s choice to wear the dress at the time.

“I thought it was a big mistake,” he said in a 2022 interview. “[Marilyn] was a goddess. A crazy goddess, but a goddess. She was just fabulous. Nobody photographs like that. And it was done for her. It was designed for her. Nobody else should be seen in that dress.”

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Mackie recently appeared in a cameo on season 5, episode 7 of *Hacks*. In the episode, titled “Montecito,” Jean Smart’s Deborah Vance tried to find a jumpsuit that Mackie had originally designed for Carol Burnett.

Bob Mackie in New York City on June 3, 2019.

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty

One of Mackie’s best-known designs was Cher’s outfit at the 1986 Oscars, which combined a bedazzled black two-piece ensemble with a feathered mohawk headpiece. The *Moonstruck* star worked with Mackie on numerous occasions, and remembered the first time she met him at a 1977 costume fitting for *The First Nine Months* TV special, during a recent interview with PEOPLE.

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“I see this guy over my shoulder walking in the door, and he’s beautiful. I turned around, and there’s this tall, kind of Adonis-looking guy with curly blonde hair and a suntan,” Cher shared at the time. “And I went, ‘Oh my God, you’re so much younger than I thought you’d be.’ He said, ‘You’re so much thinner than I thought you’d be.’ And it was kind of like that from then on.”

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