Biography
J. Michael Riva was an American production designer. Born John Michael Riva on 28 June 1948 in Manhattan, New York, he died on 7 June 2012 in New Orleans, Louisiana, aged 63. He was the grandson of actress Marlene Dietrich; his father, William Riva, was a Broadway set designer and his mother, Maria Riva, was an actress.
Riva worked as a production designer on numerous films over four decades. His credits include The Goonies (1985), Lethal Weapon (1987), A Few Good Men (1992), Spider-Man 3 (2007), Iron Man (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010) and The Amazing Spider-Man (2012). He received an Academy Award nomination for art direction on The Color Purple (1985) and won a Primetime Emmy Award for his work on the 79th Academy Awards in 2007. He also designed the opening ceremony of the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and the 74th Academy Awards in 2002.
Riva suffered a stroke on 1 June 2012 while working on Django Unchained (2012) and died in hospital six days later. The film, along with The Amazing Spider-Man, was released posthumously.
