Pierre Cossette

Early Life

Though born in Quebec, Pierre Cossette moved to California in 1928 with his father, Oswald, his mother, Annette Gendron Cossette, and his older sister, Lise. By around 1930, the family had settled in Pasadena. Cossette came from a very modest background. Though his father moved the family to California with dreams of fortune and social advancement, he wound up working at a gas station while Annette ran a rooming house.

Education and Early Career

Pierre Cossette had innate networking talents that served him well in Hollywood and the entertainment industry. He reportedly began his career as a booking agent while still in high school, booking comedian Red Skelton.

Cossette served in the US Army Corps of Engineers for three years during the Second World War. His unit was tasked with building prisoner of war (POW) camps for German prisoners. He often found himself removing the corpses of dead German soldiers and throwing them onto the back of a truck. Throughout the rest of his life, whenever he faced disappointment, he would remind himself, “At least I’m not on the truck.”

After the war, Cossette went to the University of Southern California (USC) under the G.I. Bill. It provided free university education to former service members. He began his career even before he graduated. He put his skills for talent management and production to use in creating a show called the All-College Jamboree at the Hollywood Palladium. The show included performances by Jack Benny, Bing Crosby and George Burns. Cossette graduated from USC with a degree in journalism in 1949.

Career Highlights

Shortly after graduating, Cossette was hired at Music Corporation of America (MCA), the premier music talent company of the era. Cossette initially worked with such entertainers as Jack Benny, Spike Jones, and Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, booking them on the college circuit. Cossette worked his way up to booking major acts, such as Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland, at hotels and casinos. Before long, he was representing MCA in Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe and Reno, Nevada. Cossette booked Ann-Margret’s first nightclub performances and worked as her manager for a time. He also booked shows for the Rat Pack and for Mae West.

In 1962, Cossette produced his first Broadway show, which closed after only eight shows. He returned to Broadway with several successful productions in the 1990s. He also started his own record label — Dunhill Records — which was far more successful. Dunhill was the label for several successful musical acts of the 1960s, including The Mamas & the Papas (see also Denny Doherty), Steppenwolf, The Grass Roots, Johnny Rivers, and Three Dog Night. Cossette sold the label to ABC in 1967.

In the 1960s, Cossette became more involved with television production. This included producing TV series for entertainers and singers such as Glen Campbell, Sammy Davis Jr. and Andy Williams, with whom Cossette had a long professional relationship. Cossette was also involved in the production of several TV movies. He also produced Hollywood’s Diamond Jubilee in 1978. It celebrated Hollywood’s 75th anniversary as a city and unveiled the newly refurbished Hollywood sign.

Grammy Awards Telecast

Pierre Cossette’s biggest achievement came in 1971. He convinced the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, as well as executives at ABC, to broadcast the annual Grammy Awards. This was a difficult proposition, as TV executives were reluctant to give airtime to musicians and singers, many of whom were closely associated with the counterculture and anti-war movements. As Cossette explained in a 1985 interview, “Rock ’n’ roll was not really an acceptable format in the television business in those days. The response was, ‘We don’t want those longhairs with their earrings and spike heels and makeup… on our network.’” There was also a concern that the awards wouldn’t appeal to the general public.

Using $125,000 from the sale of Dunhill Records, Cossette and his business partner Burt Sugarman secured the broadcast rights for the Grammys on the condition that Cossette could book an entertainer who would appeal to suburban, middle-class audiences. His longstanding relationship with Andy Williams provided ABC with a perfectly suitable host. But a major television production wasn’t enough to convince people to actually show up. For the very first Grammy Awards broadcast, Cossette himself had to convince passersby on Sunset Boulevard to come inside and sit in the audience.

Despite initial concerns, the broadcast proved immensely successful. Andy Williams went on to host the first seven editions of the Grammys. Cossette remained executive producer of the telecast until his retirement in 2005. He was also responsible for launching the Latin Grammy Awards in 2000.

Personal Life

Cossette was married to his first wife, Dorothy Foy, until her death in 1982. They had two sons, John and Andrew. John Cossette began working with his father on the Grammy Awards in 1998 and the Latin Grammy Awards in 2000. He was an executive producer on the Grammy Awards broadcast in 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011. Pierre Cossette remarried and had five stepchildren with his second wife, Mary. He also spent a great deal of time over the years at his family’s summer home in Saint-Anicet, Quebec. He died of congestive heart failure at Barrie Memorial Hospital in nearby Ormstown, Quebec, in 2009.

Honours and Awards

Pierre Cossette was nominated for Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Variety or Musical Program in 1970 and again in 1988. He received the 1995 Grammy Trustees Award and the 1984 Television Showmanship Award at the ICG Publicists Awards. He also produced The Will Rogers Follies on Broadway, which won six 1991 Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

Cossette has a star on both Canada’s Walk of Fame and the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He was inducted into both in 2005. He also received a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars in Palm Springs, California, in 2006. His long-time dream to create a museum dedicated to the Grammy Awards and popular music was realized with the opening of the Grammy Museum at the Pierre Cossette Center at LA Live, at Los Angeles’ Staples Center, in 2008.