J. Michael Riva

J. Michael Riva
J. Michael Riva
Born	John Michael Riva; June 28, 1948; New York City, U.S.
Died	June 7, 2012 (aged 63); New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Other names	Mike Riva
Occupation	Production designer
Years active	1975–2012
Spouse	Wendy Mickell
Children	4
Parent(s)	Maria Riva; William Riva
Relatives	Marlene Dietrich (grandmother); Peter Riva (brother)
Awards	Primetime Emmy Award

John Michael Riva (June 28, 1948 – June 7, 2012), better known as J. Michael Riva, was an American production designer.

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 six years before attending UCLA.^[1] Married to Wendy Mickell, he had four sons, Jean-Paul, Mikey, Daniel, and Adam.^[1]^[2]^[3]

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.^[1] 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).^[1]^[4]

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.^[1]

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.^[1] Django director Quentin Tarantino commented, "Michael became a dear friend on this picture, as well as a magnificent, talented colleague."^[1]

Filmography

Films

All as production designer unless stated otherwise

Year	Title	Notes
1976	Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks	Art director; credited as Mike Riva
1977	Bad Georgia Road	Art director; credited as Michael Riva
1977	I Never Promised You a Rose Garden	Uncredited
1977	Bare Knuckles	Credited as Michael Riva
1979	Fast Charlie... the Moonbeam Rider	Art director; credited as Michael Riva
1980	Brubaker	Also art director
1980	Ordinary People	Art director
1981	The Hand
1981	Halloween II	Credited as Michael Riva
1983	Bad Boys
1983	Strangers Kiss	Visual consultant; credited as Michael Riva
1984	The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension
1985	The Falcon and the Snowman
1985	The Slugger's Wife	Credited as Michael Riva
1985	The Goonies
1985	The Color Purple
1986	The Golden Child
1987	Lethal Weapon
1988	Scrooged
1989	Lethal Weapon 2
1989	Tango & Cash
1992	Radio Flyer
1992	A Few Good Men
1993	Dave
1994	North
1995	Congo
1998	Hard Rain
1998	Six Days Seven Nights
1998	Lethal Weapon 4
1999	House on Haunted Hill	Visual consultant
2000	Romeo Must Die	Visual consultant
2000	Charlie's Angels
2001	Evolution
2003	Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle
2005	Stealth
2005	Zathura: A Space Adventure
2006	The Pursuit of Happyness
2007	Spider-Man 3	(with Neil Spisak)
2008	Iron Man
2008	Seven Pounds
2010	Iron Man 2
2012	The Amazing Spider-Man	Posthumous release
2012	Django Unchained	Posthumous release

Television

All as production designer unless stated otherwise

Year	Title	Notes
1981	Callie & Son	TV film
1986	Amazing Stories	Director; episode 2.12: "The Eternal Mind"; credited as Michael Riva
1990	Tales from the Crypt	Director; episode 2.18: "The Secret"; credited as Michael Riva
1994	Lily in Winter	Story; TV film
1996	1996 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony	TV special
1999	Tuesdays with Morrie	TV film
2002	The 74th Annual Academy Awards	TV special
2007	The 79th Annual Academy Awards	TV special