Cause of death Stroke Name J. Riva Movies Lily in Winter Years active 1975-2012 Parents William Riva, Maria Riva | Occupation Production designer Spouse Wendy Riva (m. ?–2012) Nationality American Role Production Designer | |
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Full Name John Michael Riva Born June 28, 1948 ( 1948-06-28 ) Manhattan, New York, U.S. Other names Michael RivaMike RivaJohn RivaJohn M. RivaJ.M. Riva Children Daniel Riva, Adam Riva, Jean-Paul Riva, John Michael Riva Jr. Similar People Maria Riva, Peter Riva, Dan Lebental, Pilar Savone, Fred Raskin | ||
Remembering j michael riva the production design of django unchained
J. Michael Riva (June 28, 1948 – June 7, 2012) was an American production designer.
Contents
- Remembering j michael riva the production design of django unchained
- Early and personal life
- Career
- Death
- Films
- Television
- References
Early and personal life
John Michael Riva was born in Manhattan, to William Riva, a Broadway set designer, and Maria Elisabeth Sieber, a German-born actress and the daughter of Marlene Dietrich. Riva had three brothers (John Peter, John Paul and John David). Riva attended the prep school Institute Le Rosey in Switzerland for 6 years before attending UCLA. He and his wife Wendy Riva had two sons Daniel and Adam. He had a son by a previous marriage, John Michael (Mikey) Riva Jr. and an adopted son Jean-Paul Riva from his first marriage.
Career
Riva had a long and prestigious career as an art director and production designer on numerous films, including the 1985 film The Color Purple, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Art Direction. Other credits include The Goonies (1985), Lethal Weapon (1987), A Few Good Men (1992), Spider-Man 3 (2007), Iron Man (2008) and Iron Man 2 (2010).
His final films, The Amazing Spider-Man and Django Unchained, were released posthumously. He was the production designer for the opening ceremony of the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, as well as for the 74th and 79th Academy Awards in 2002 and 2007, respectively. He won a Primetime Emmy Award for his work on the latter.
Death
Riva suffered a stroke on June 1, 2012, in New Orleans, Louisiana, during production of Django Unchained. He died in a hospital there on June 7, 2012, at age 63. Django director Quentin Tarantino commented, "Michael became a dear friend on this picture, as well as a magnificent, talented colleague. Every member of our 'Django' crew family is devastated by this tragic loss as we persevere on his wonderful sets."
Films
