Rita Riggs (September 2, 1930 – June 5, 2017) was an American costume designer for film and television. She is probably best known for being the costume designer for Norman Lear sitcoms.

Early life and education

Riggs was born in Lead Hill, Arkansas to J. Almus Riggs and Ida V. Keeling. The family moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

in 1943. After two years at

Santa Ana College Santa Ana College is a public community college in Santa Ana, California. History In 1915, Santa Ana Junior College opened its doors to 25 students as a department of Santa Ana High School. It was the second community college founded in Oran ...

, Riggs went to the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

to work under costumer Fairfax Proudfit Walkup.

Career

After an interview at

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

in 1954,

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

hired Riggs the next day and her first assignment was in the costume department for ''

Shower of Stars ''Shower of Stars'' (also known as ''Chrysler Shower of Stars'') is an American variety television series broadcast live in the United States from 1954 to 1958 by CBS. The series was broadcast in color which was a departure from the usual CBS pr ...

''. She also worked on show such as ''

Climax! ''Climax!'' (later known as ''Climax Mystery Theater'') is an American television anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was hosted by William Lundigan and later co-hosted by Mary Costa. It was one of the few CBS progra ...

'' and '' Playhouse 90''. Riggs later worked on '' Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' usually on the wrap-arounds, which led to her work on the Hitchcock films '' Psycho'', and - alongside

Edith Head Edith Head (October 28, 1897 – October 24, 1981) was an American costume designer who won a record eight Academy Awards for Best Costume Design between 1949 and 1973, making her the most awarded woman in the Academy's history. Head is cons ...

- '' The Birds'' and ''

Marnie ''Marnie'' is an English crime novel, written by Winston Graham and first published in 1961. It has been adapted as a film, a stage play and an opera. Plot ''Marnie'' is about a young woman who makes a living by embezzling her employers' funds, ...

''. She also worked on features such as '' Seconds'', ''

Petulia ''Petulia'' is a 1968 British-American drama film directed by Richard Lester and starring Julie Christie, George C. Scott and Richard Chamberlain. The film has a screenplay by Lawrence B. Marcus from a story by Barbara Turner and is based on ...

'', '' Yes, Giorgio'', and ''

Divorce American Style ''Divorce American Style'' is a 1967 American film, directed by Bud Yorkin and starring Dick Van Dyke, Debbie Reynolds, Jason Robards, Jean Simmons, and Van Johnson. Norman Lear produced the comedy satire and wrote the script, based on a story by ...

'', where she first worked for Norman Lear and

Bud Yorkin Alan David "Bud" Yorkin (February 22, 1926 – August 18, 2015) was an American film and television producer, director, screenwriter, and actor. Biography Yorkin was born in Washington, Pennsylvania, to Jewish parents. He earned a deg ...

. This led to her work on ''

All in the Family ''All in the Family'' is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS for nine seasons, from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. Afterwards, it was continued with the spin-off series ''Archie Bunker's Place'', which picked up where ''All in ...

'', for which she and production designer Don Roberts created a sepia "family album" look to the show. Along with ''

'', she also was the costume designer for '' Maude'', '' Sanford and Son'', '' Good Times'', '' One Day at a Time'', ''

Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman ''Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman'' is an American satirical soap opera that aired in daily weeknight syndication from January 1976 to July 1977. The series follows the titular Mary Hartman, an Ohio housewife attempting to cope with various bizarre ...

'' and ''

The Jeffersons ''The Jeffersons'' is an American sitcom television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, to July 2, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. ''The Jeffersons'' is one of the longest-running sitcoms in history, ...

''. Riggs later worked on more films and films for television such as '' Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years'' and also the television series '' 10,000 Days''. She died in Los Angeles in 2017 at the age of 86.

Awards

In 2003, Riggs received the Career Achievement Award in Television from the Costume Designers Guild Awards.

References

External links

* *
Rita Riggs interview
with the

Costume Designers Guild The Costume Designers Guild, Local 892, is a union of professional costume designers, assistant costume designers, and illustrators working in film, television, commercials and other media. The CDG is not an employment agency, it is a labor union. ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riggs, Rita 1930 births 2017 deaths American costume designers People from Boone County, Arkansas