Director Bruce Gowers of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody video and American Idol dies

18 January 2023 , 00:48

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Bruce Gowers has died aged 82

Bruce Gowers has died at the age of 82 of an acute respiratory infection.

The prolific and ground breaking Emmy-winning director of music videos died in Santa Monica on Sunday, his family members have said.

Among his many elite videos included the original video for Queen's iconic 1975 tune, Bohemian Rhapsody. His production in which the band members' faces were shown against a dark background as they sang in harmony helped to firmly establish their place as one of the biggest groups of the decade.

It has since been mimicked in a number of videos and skits.

Other music videos he directed included the Rolling Stones' Hot Stuff, Michael Jackson' s She's Out of My League and Fleetwood Mac's Landslide.

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Bruce Gowers directed Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody (EMI Records)

Bruce was also the director of 234 episodes of hit stateside talent show American Idol, working on the production between 2002 and 2011.

His time working on the competition saw him earn five Grammy nominations, winning once in 2009 for outstanding directing on a variety, music or comedy series.

Other award nominations included an Emmy for the same award for his work on Fleetwood Mac: The Dance.

Earlier on in his career in 1985, he was also nominated alongside the editors of The Fifth International Guinness Book of World Records for outstanding videotape editing for a limited series or a special.

Bruce won an Emmy Award in 2009 (WireImage)

Other specials he worked on included comedy productions for the likes of Eddie Murphy, Billy Crystal, Jerry Seinfeld and Robin Williams.

He also produced music specials for stars such as Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears.

The Scottish-born director also won a number of MTV and DGA Awards and worked on the production for ceremonies too, including The Primetime Emmy Awards, The Billboard Awards and The MTV Video Music Awards.

The longtime resident of Malibu, having moved stateside in the '70s, is survived by his writer-producer wife of 23 years Carol Rosenstein, as well as his daughter and grandchildren.

Jamie Roberts