Costume Designer Ray Aghayan Dies at 83

Ray Aghayan, a costume designer whose works were seen on such stars as Judy Garland, Lucille Ball, Barbra Streisand and more, died on Tuesday in Los Angeles. He was 83 and also known as the longtime partner of Bob Mackie.

Aghayan worked closely with his former assistant Bob Mackie, the lauded designer who has receieved 31 Emmy Award nominations. Aghayan himself was a joint recipient of the first Emmy for costume design in 1967 - one of nine Emmy nominations - and two Academy Award nominations among many accolades including a career achievement award from the Costume Designers Guild.

On Broadway, Aghayan was a 1970 Tony nominee for APPLAUSE, in addition to designing Carol Channing's costumes in LORELEI and costuming ON THE TOWN, THE EGG, and more.

The Tehran native also lent his talents for 'The Judy Garland Show', 'Carol Channing and Pearl Bailey: On Broadway', 'An Evening with Fred Astaire' and its sequel, and more during his career, which spanned more than four decades on both stage and film.

Photo: Ray Aghayan (L) with Bob Mackie; Jeff Frank/ZUMA Press