The Grammy and Emmy-winning director Bruce Gowers, who has died aged 82 of an acute respiratory infection, enjoyed huge success in American television through his work on high-profile awards shows including the Emmys, the MTV awards, the Academy of Country Music awards and the Comedy awards. He also directed nine series of American Idol: The Search for a Superstar, which brought him an Emmy award in 2009. He masterminded a string of TV specials for music legends including the Rolling Stones, Prince, Fleetwood Mac and Rod Stewart, and oversaw coverage of President Bill Clinton’s inaugural concert at the Lincoln Memorial, which gathered artists from Michael Jackson and Aretha Franklin to Tony Bennett, Bob Dylan and the rapper LL Cool J.
Another standout addition to his CV was Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration (2001), a record of two concerts at Madison Square Garden, New York, peppered with guest stars including Marlon Brando, Liza Minnelli, Ray Charles and Elizabeth Taylor. He won a Grammy for the Huey Lewis long-form video The Heart of Rock’n’Roll in 1986, and a Directors Guild of America award for his work on Genius: A Night for Ray Charles (2004).
