J. Michael Riva | |
---|---|
Born |
John Michael Riva June 28, 1948 Manhattan, New York, U.S. |
Died | June 7, 2012 New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |
(aged 63)
Cause of death | Stroke |
Nationality | American |
Other names | Michael Riva Mike Riva John Riva John M. Riva J.M. Riva |
Occupation | Production designer |
Years active | 1975-2012 |
Spouse(s) | Wendy Riva (19??-2012; his death) |
Children | 4 Sons |
Parent(s) | William Riva, Maria Elisabeth Riva, née Sieber |
Family |
Marlene Dietrich (grandmother) |
Awards | Primetime Emmy Award |
J. Michael Riva (June 28, 1948 – June 7, 2012) was an American production designer.
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.
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.