Occupation Costume designer Name Rita Riggs | Role Costume Designer Alma mater University of Arizona | |
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Born September 2, 1930 (age 93) ( 1930-09-02 ) Lead Hill, Arkansas, United States Awards Costume Designers Guild Award for Career Achievement in Television Similar People Alfred Hitchcock, Donald E Thorin, Robert F Boyle, Robert Burks, George Tomasini | ||
Rita riggs archive interview part 1 of 7 tvlegends
Rita Riggs (September 2, 1930 – June 5, 2017) was an American costume designer for film and television. She is probably best known for being the costume designer for Norman Lear sitcoms.
Contents
- Rita riggs archive interview part 1 of 7 tvlegends
- Rita Riggs on designing costumes for Good Times TelevisionAcademycomInterviews
- Early life and education
- Career
- Awards
- References
Rita Riggs on designing costumes for "Good Times" - TelevisionAcademy.com/Interviews
Early life and education
Riggs was born in Lead Hill, Arkansas to J. Almus Riggs and Ida V. Keeling. The family moved to Los Angeles in 1943. After two years at Santa Ana College, Riggs went to the University of Arizona to work under costumer Fairfax Proudfit Walkup.
Career
After an interview at NBC in 1954, CBS hired Riggs the next day and her first assignment was in the costume department for Shower of Stars. She also worked on show such as Climax! and Playhouse 90. Riggs later worked on Alfred Hitchcock Presents usually on the wrap-arounds, which led to her work on the films Psycho, The Birds and Marnie, the latter of two she worked with Edith Head. She also worked on features such as Seconds, Petulia and Yes, Giorgio, and especially Divorce American Style, where she got to meet Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin. This led to her work on All in the Family, for which she and production designer Don Roberts created a sepia "family album" look to the show. Along with All in the Family, she also was the costume designer for Maude, Sanford and Son, Good Times, One Day at a Time, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman and The Jeffersons. Riggs later worked on more films and films for television such as Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years and also the television series 10,000 Days. She died in Los Angeles in 2017 at the age of 86.
Awards
In 2003, Riggs received the Career Achievement Award in Television from the Costume Designers Guild Awards.