Gorgen Ray Aghayan (July 28, 1928 – October 10, 2011) was an American fashion designer and

costume designer A costume designer is a person who designs costumes for a film, stage production or television show. The role of the costume designer is to create the characters' outfits or costumes and balance the scenes with texture and colour, etc. The costum ...

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 television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

and was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

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

Bob Mackie Robert Gordon Mackie (born March 24, 1940) is an American fashion designer and costumier, best known for his dressing of numerous entertainment personalities for television, movies, concerts, and live stage shows. He was the costume designer f ...

Early life and education

Aghayan was born in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

, 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 Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980) was the last List of monarchs of Iran, Shah of Iran, ruling from 1941 to 1979. He succeeded his father Reza Shah and ruled the Imperial State of Iran until he was overthrown by the ...

. 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 I, ...

, 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. Possessing a strong contralto voice, she was celebrated for her emotional depth and versatility across film, stage, and concert performance. ...

for her musical variety show on

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

. He won an

in 1967 with his partner

for his work in ''

Alice Through the Looking Glass (1966 film) ''Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There'' is a novel published in December 1871 by Lewis Carroll, the pen name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, a mathematics lecturer at Christ Church, Oxford, Christ Church, University of Oxford. I ...

''. In 1969, he was the costume consultant on the

41st Academy Awards The 41st Academy Awards were presented on April 14, 1969, to honor the films of 1968. They were the first Oscars to be staged at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles, and the first with no host since the 20th Academy Awards. '' Oliver!'' ...

ceremony, working with show producer/director

Gower Champion Gower Carlyle Champion (June 22, 1919 – August 25, 1980) was an American actor, theatre director, choreographer, and dancer. Early years Champion was born on June 22, 1919, in Geneva, Illinois, as the son of John W. Champion and Beatrice Ca ...

. Aghayan said, "One of the specific assignments Gower has given me for the show is the coordination of a portion of the program featuring dancers in the actual costumes which have been nominated for best achievement in costume design." Aghayan was himself nominated for an

Academy Award for Best Costume Design The Academy Award for Best Costume Design is one of the Academy Awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) for achievement in film costume design. The award was first given in 1949, for films made in 1948 ...

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 ...

'' in 1970, '' Lady Sings the Blues'' in 1973 and ''

Funny Lady ''Funny Lady'' is a 1975 American biographical film, biographical musical film, musical comedy-drama film and the sequel to the 1968 film ''Funny Girl (film), Funny Girl''. The film stars Barbra Streisand, James Caan, Omar Sharif, Roddy McDowa ...

'' 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 commonly 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 ...

held in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Aghayan was the producer of the 1985 television drama Consenting Adult based on Laura Z. Hobson's novel about a teenage boy (played by

Barry Tubb Barry York Tubb (born February 13, 1963) is an American actor and director. He has worked in both television and film between 1983 and 2014. Early life Tubb was born in Snyder, Texas, in 1963. He won the state bull-riding championship at age 15 ...

) coming out to his parents (played by

Marlo Thomas Margaret Julia "Marlo" Thomas (born November 21, 1937) is an American actress, producer, author, and social activist. She is best known for starring on the sitcom ''That Girl'' (1966–1971) and her Children's television series, children's franc ...

and

Martin Sheen Ramón Gerard Antonio Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. His work spans over six decades of television and film, and his accolades include three Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and ...

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

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

of a

myocardial infarction A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

Personal life

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

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...

. Aghayan later became the lifetime partner of costume designer

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 Primetime Emmy Award winners 1928 births 2011 deaths American businesspeople in fashion LGBTQ fashion designers Iranian fashion designers Iranian LGBTQ artists American LGBTQ 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 LGBTQ people from California {{fashion-bio-stub