Bob Mackie, the costume designer whose sequins, beads and "nude illusion" gowns turned Cher, Diana Ross and Carol Burnett into walking spectacles for six decades, died Monday at 87. According to NBC News, he died of pneumonia at his home in Palm Springs, California.

Nicknamed the "Sultan of Sequins," Mackie built a career on the idea that a costume should be as loud as the performance underneath it. He designed for "The Carol Burnett Show" for 11 seasons, dressed Diana Ross, Tina Turner, Liza Minnelli, Carol Channing, Bette Midler and Elton John, and became most closely associated with Cher, whose barely-there, crystal-drenched gowns he built for nearly every major red carpet and stage appearance of her career.

An era of stage glamour ends

The numbers behind that career are staggering: nine Emmy Awards from 30 nominations, three Oscar nominations, a Tony Award in 2019 for "The Cher Show," and induction into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 2002. He also launched a ready-to-wear label and a line of Barbie dolls in 1982, extending his sequined aesthetic well beyond the stage.

Cher, who wore Mackie's designs for more than 45 years, posted a tribute Monday night that Billboard and other outlets carried in full.

"My dear Bob has gone up to heaven. Knowing him, he's bringing Sequins, Beads, & his sketch pad... Good nite sweet Prince."

She followed with a longer statement calling him "loving, wickedly funny and an absolute genius" and "one of one," adding that "there are going to be some fabulously dressed angels."

Carol Burnett, whose sketch-comedy costumes with Mackie became must-see television in their own right, told ABC News simply, "There was no one like him" when it came to blending fashion and character. Elton John and Barbra Streisand also issued statements praising his work, with John calling Mackie's costumes "works of art" and one of the most legendary designers in Hollywood history.

Mackie's death arrives in the same week Hollywood is already mourning heavily during Emmy season, but his passing marks something distinct from the industry's usual churn: the loss of a figure who quite literally defined how five decades of American television and concert spectacle looked, sparkled and moved. Tribute gowns and sketches are expected to resurface at upcoming award shows as designers pay homage to a man who made maximalism an art form.