Pierre Cossette - Archive Interview Excerpt

Pierre Cossette (1923-2009) was interviewed for two hours plus in Los Angeles, CA. This is an excerpt from that interview. For more information please visit emmytvlegends.org Cossette talked about his early career as an agent at MCA, where he quickly gained a reputation for booking clients at colleges across the country. He described his relationship with agency head Lew Wasserman and how Wasserman assigned him to booking clubs in Las Vegas. He spoke about starting his own record label with Lou Adler (and others) called Dunhill records and his independent representation of musical talents, including Ann-Margaret and Jose Felliciano (booking them on such television programs as The Andy Williams Show). He spoke in great detail about his long association as executive-producer of the Grammy Awards from 1971-2005. For the Grammys, he described selling the show to the networks, transferring ownership of the show to NARAS, and working with longtime producer Ken Enrlich and director Walter C. Miller. Additionally, he related behind-the-scenes stories about the show including when host Kenny Rogers came down with laryngitis, his early difficulties booking Billy Joel, and his objection to opening one of the Grammys shows with Alicia Keyes. Throughout the interview, Cossette defined his philosophy of producing and what abilities he felt made him a successful producer. The interview was conducted by Bonnie Datt on June 4, 2008.