J. Michael Riva

John Michael Riva (June 28, 1948–June 7, 2012), known professionally as J. Michael Riva, was an American production designer. He was born in Manhattan to William Riva, a Broadway set designer, and Maria Elisabeth Sieber, a German-born actress and daughter of Marlene Dietrich. Riva had three brothers: John Peter, John Paul, and John David. He attended the prep school Institute Le Rosey in Switzerland for six years before enrolling at UCLA. He was married to Wendy Mickell, with whom he had four sons: Jean-Paul, Mikey, Daniel, and Adam.

Riva had a long and distinguished career as an art director and production designer on a variety of films, including the 1985 film *The Colour Purple*, for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Art Direction. His other notable 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. Riva also served as 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 79th Academy Awards.

Riva suffered a stroke on June 1, 2012, in New Orleans, Louisiana, while working on the set of *Django Unchained*. He died in a hospital there on June 7, 2012, at the age of 63. Quentin Tarantino, the director of *Django Unchained*, remarked, "Michael became a dear friend on this picture, as well as a magnificent, talented colleague."