Bob Mackie’s Death Certificate Reveals Shocking New Details About His Final Days

Bob Mackie, the celebrated fashion designer known for the eye-popping gowns and costumes worn by Cher, Carol Burnett and many other stars, sustained an injury in a fall just days before he died on September 14 in a Palm Springs hospital.

via: People

The legendary costume and fashion designer died at age 87 in Palm Springs, Calif. on Sept. 14. A representative for the designer previously told PEOPLE that he died of pneumonia, and now a death certificate reveals that he had also suffered an injury in a fall prior to his death.

The certificate, which was obtained by Us Weekly on Friday, Oct. 9, lists Mackie’s immediate cause of death as a subarachnoid hemorrhage and blunt head trauma, and it also states that he had suffered a fall at his longtime design director’s home three days before his death.

Mackie fell and sustained an injury at the home of his design director, Joseph McFate, on Sept. 11, Us Weekly reported, citing the death certificate. Mackie later died at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, with pneumonia as his official cause of death, per the outlet.

In a statement shared with PEOPLE, a rep for Mackie confirmed that he had been staying at McFate’s guest house prior to his death. The rep also clarified that the designer had pneumonia prior to his fall on Sept. 11.

“A healthcare professional was with him when he fell,” Mackie’s rep said. “He was also suffering from pneumonia both before and after his hospitalization.”

Mackie’s team announced his death in an Instagram post on Sept. 14.

“It is with a heavy heart that we share the news that Mr. Bob Mackie passed away today,” the team shared alongside a photo of the late designer. “He lived his 87 years to the fullest, fulfilling his dream of being a Fashion and Costume Designer, which is all he ever wanted to do.”

“His genius and extraordinary designs will live on forever, continuing to bring beauty into this world,” Mackie’s team concluded.

Born in 1939 in the suburbs of Los Angeles, Mackie was perhaps Hollywood’s most famous costume designer, best known for his collaborations with Cher over the years.

In addition to the “Believe” singer, he worked with dozens of stars, including Carol Burnett, Tina Turner, Barbra Streisand, Diana Ross, Liza Minnelli, Ann-Margret and Bette Midler. In more recent years, he collaborated with the likes of Sabrina Carpenter, Miley Cyrus and more.

Mackie was a 32-time Emmy nominee and nine-time winner — taking home trophies for his work with Cher, Burnett and Diana Ross — and a three-time Academy Award nominee for his work on Lady Sings the Blues, Funny Lady and Pennies From Heaven.

In 2002, he was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame, and in 2019, he won a Tony for The Cher Show, a jukebox musical about the titular singer’s life — which also featured a fictionalized version of Mackie, who hosts a fashion show in the production.

“I always knew what I wanted to do,” Mackie told PEOPLE in 2021. “But I knew I was in trouble when my parents gave me a catcher’s mitt for Christmas. Then my good aunt gave me a jewelry-making kit. I made a few pairs of earrings, and that was that.”

Mackie is survived by his granddaughter Alyssa Townsend, his great-granddaughters Kyla and Keira Townsend and his former wife Lulu Porter.