Another day in showbiz

The story of an unassuming kid from rural Canada who worked his way to the top of the world of glitz and glamour. He's hunched back in the 30th row of the massive Staples Center, far from the cardboard cut-outs indicating where Britney Spears, Will Smith, U2, and Céline Dion will be sitting for the 44th Annual Grammy Awards. Sporting a baseball cap, sweatpants, sneakers, and an ear-to-ear grin, he looks like an oversized teddy bear. A grandfather of one of the performers? Guess again. Sitting and watching over the proceedings is 78-year-old Pierre Cossette, far better known to all the techs and musicians in the arena as the "Father of the Grammys." Another Day in Showbiz tells the story of an unassuming kid from rural Canada who worked his way to the top of the world of glitz and glamour, transforming the music industry in the process. Cossette, after much wrangling and hair-pulling, convinced the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to let him produce the Grammy Awards on television for the first time in 1971. The Grammys had previously been held in hotels and in front of small crowds, generally consisting of a few performers and their families. Since then, Cossette has transformed the Grammys into an international spectacle with an estimated one billion TV viewers tuning in to witness the gyrations of today's pop sensations. In his insider's look at showbiz, Pierre Cossette touches on more than just the stars, directors, and producers in the industry. Another Day in Showbiz is not just about movies, TV, record companies, or breathtaking stage productions. Cossette's tale is the whole shebang, told from the point of view of a young man who hit the big time in his own style and on his own terms.