BOB MACKIE, American fashion designer, born; Best known for his costumes for Cher and for The Carol Burnett Show. Mackie is also known for his exclusive designs of dress for high-priced Barbie dolls.

Two of Mackie’s best-remembered creations had a humorous element. While working on the The Carol Burnett Show, he designed a “curtain dress” (complete with a curtain rod across the shoulders) that Carol Burnett wore in the Went with the Wind parody. Mackie also designed the garish ensemble worn by Cher at the March 1986 Academy Awards: black stretch pants, a bejeweled loincloth, knee-high boots, a black chain-link top, and a huge feathered Mohawk headdress that was one and a half times taller than her head. Introduced by Jane Fonda with the words, “Wait’ll you see what’s gonna come out here,” Cher was appearing as a presenter after what many considered an Oscar snub (Cher was not nominated for her performance in Mask). “As you can see,” said Cher, “I did receive my Academy booklet on how to dress like a serious actress.”