Iranian of the Day

New York Times: Ray Aghayan designed his first dress, at 13, for a member of the royal court of the shah of Iran, which at the time employed his mother as a couturier, a sort of in-house designer for the personal and ceremonial needs of the Reza Pahlavi family. Mr. Aghayan and Mr. Mackie received Oscar nominations for “Funny Lady,” with Barbra Streisand and James Caan, above, and “Lady Sings the Blues,” with Diana Ross. Mr. Aghayan, who died on Monday in Los Angeles, spent most of the rest of his life designing clothing for another house of royals, the one in Hollywood, as the costume designer for stars like Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand, Diana Ross and Julie Andrews. He was 83. His death was confirmed by his longtime partner, Bob Mackie, who began his career as Mr. Aghayan’s assistant before becoming a legendary designer to his own roster of Hollywood stars. Mr. Aghayan (pronounced ah-gah-YAHN) was in frail health for several years and recently had a heart attack, Mr. Mackie said. Mr. Aghayan was nominated for the Academy Award three times, and in 1967 he and Mr. Mackie shared the first Emmy ever awarded for costume design, for their partnership in the TV movie “Alice Through the Looking Glass.” >>>