Gorgen Ray Aghayan (July 28, 1928 – October 10, 2011) was an American fashion designer and costume designer for the United States film industry. He won an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

and was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for his costume design. From the early 1960s until his death in 2011, Aghayan's partner was fashion designer

Bob Mackie Robert Gordon "Bob" Mackie (born March 24, 1939) is an American fashion designer and costumier, best known for his dressing of entertainment icons such as Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett, Diahann Carroll, Carol Channing, Cher, Doris Day, Marlene D ...

Early life and education

Aghayan was born in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

, Iran, to a wealthy Iranian-Armenian family. Aghayan's mother, widowed when he was young, was a dressmaker for the Pahlavi family. At age 13, Aghayan assisted in designing for the court of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. His first dress design was for

Fawzia Fuad of Egypt Fawzia of Egypt (; 5 November 1921 – 2 July 2013), also known as Fawzia Pahlavi or Fawzia Chirine, was an Egyptian princess who became Queen of Iran as the first wife of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran . Fawzia was the daughter of Fuad ...

, the first wife of the last Shah of Iran. During the 1940s, Aghayan came to California as a young man.

Biography

In the 1950s, Aghayan started working in television costuming in Los Angeles. In 1963–64, Aghayan designed dresses and costumes for

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...

for her musical variety show on CBS. He won an

in 1967 with his partner

for his work in '' Alice Through the Looking Glass (1966 film)''. Aghayan was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Costume Design three times for his work in ''

Gaily, Gaily ''Gaily, Gaily'' (released in the United Kingdom as ''Chicago, Chicago'') is a 1969 American comedy film directed by Norman Jewison. It is a fictionalized adaptation of a 1963 memoir of the same name by Ben Hecht and stars Beau Bridges, Brian K ...

'' in 1970, '' Lady Sings the Blues'' in 1973 and '' Funny Lady'' in 1976. He was also responsible for designing the costumes for the opening and closing ceremonies of the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...

held in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

. Aghayan died on October 10, 2011, at his home in

Los Angeles, California 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 ...

of a

myocardial infarction A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

Personal life

His mother joined Aghayan in California 30 years after his immigration, and just before the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dyna ...

. Aghayan later became the lifetime partner of costume designer Bob Mackie for nearly 50 years. Early in Bob Mackie's career in the 1960s, he was Aghayan's assistant.

References

External links

* * Video: from August 26, 1998 American fashion designers Emmy Award winners 1928 births 2011 deaths American fashion businesspeople LGBT fashion designers Iranian fashion designers Iranian LGBT artists American LGBT people of Asian descent Iranian emigrants to the United States American people of Armenian descent Businesspeople from Tehran Iranian people of Armenian descent American costume designers Iranian costume designers LGBT people from California Armenian LGBT people {{fashion-bio-stub