GRAMMY PRODUCER JOHN COSSETTE DEAD AT 54

Grammy awards producer John Cossette died Tuesday at age 54, barely a year and a half after the death of his father, Pierre Cossette, who created the awards show and was its original producer. The cause of death was not disclosed. John Cossette Productions had also produced awards specials for BET as well as the current Broadway hit, Million Dollar Quartet, about the famous recording session that brought together Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins in December 1956. On the day of Cossette’s death, Elvis Presley Enterprises announced that he had agreed to be one of the judges in this year’s Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest to be held in Memphis on August 11 and 12.