John Cossette, 54, Grammy Awards Producer

Today ends as it began, with the announcement that someone I knew has died. John Cossette, 54, was the son of legendary producer Pierre Cossette. John worked with his father for years producing the Grammys, then took the reins when Pierre was too ill to work. Pierre passed away last year, and now John, way too early, has followed him. I had dinner with John last fall, ironically, at Elaine’s with Elaine Kaufman. John was very excited that his first Broadway musical, “Million Dollar Quartet,” had done so well. He had a lot of plans for more shows, and to follow in the footsteps of Pierre, who’d received a Tony Award for “The Will Rogers Follies.” What a shame. Condolences to John’s wife and daughters. As for the Grammys, I suppose they will now fall entirely to Ken Ehrlich, who was Pierre’s protege.