Bernadette O’Brien, a costume designer who received an Emmy nomination for her work on an episode of the classic ABC action series “MacGyver,” died in her sleep Monday in Spokane, Wash., according to a family member. She was 90.
Additional credits include “The Exterminator” (1980), “Vice Squad” (1982), “Winners Take All” (1987), “Jake Spanner, Private Eye” (1989), “Carried Away” (1996), “American Tragedy” (2000) and “Dawg” (2002).
After relocating to Los Angeles in 1977, O’Brien made costumes for both films and television shows. She worked on the 1985 film “House,” the 1991 film “For the Boys,” for which Bette Midler received an Oscar nomination, and the 1998 film, “Naked Lies.” O’Brien earned a 1992 Emmy nomination for “MacGyver,” along with Tommy Welsh.
O’Brien, who was a member of the Television Academy and the Costume Designers Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, eventually lived between Bungalow Heaven in Pasadena and the area of Boolavogue in Ireland. In Boolavogue, O’Brien made a business of her lavender farm and threw Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations for the locals.
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Born in Dublin on March 29, 1934, O’Brien grew up sewing and took her skills to the theater scene in Cleveland, Ohio, where she and her husband Jack immigrated to in 1955. O’Brien taught costume design to university students in the area and contributed to the Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival.
O’Brien is survived by daughters Valerie, Kathleen and Patricia as well as ten grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. Her son, John O’Brien, died before her.