It's not often that the individuals who design costumes for professional musicians get the same kind of attention as the performers who wear them. Michael Travis, a longtime designer for Liberace, is an obvious exception. Travis passed away at the age of 86 in Studio City, CA. He had recently been hospitalized for heart problems.
Travis was already a successful costume designer prior to his meeting with Liberace, having made outfits for the NBC show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, and he earned an Emmy nomination in 1967 for his work with the show.
He had his first stint with Liberace when he was commissioned to make a chauffeur's outfit for the performer to wear onstage. The costume involved blue patches featuring bugle-shaped beads, as well as the rhinestones and jewels that are expected from the pianist. His creations would only get more elaborate: Many weighed more than 100 pounds and one featured mirrors and 1,600 lights, turning the performer into a virtual Christmas tree.
Travis was last in headlines during the lead-up to 2013's television biopic of the performer, titled Behind The Candelabra. Travis was (obviously) a big part of Liberace's career, but there was no reference made to him during the film. The designer alleged that he and producer Jerry Weintraub had nearly 40 years of bad blood between them, all regarding a disagreement over one of John Denver's costumes from a 1976 show. Weintraub's involvement in Candelabra led to Travis being left out.
Travis didn't work solely for Liberace however. His notable work brought him jobs for Dionne Warwick, The Supremes and Wayne Newton.
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