Bruce Gowers, a prolific and pioneering music video director whose work included the much-anticipated video for Queen’s 1975 “Bohemian Rhapsody,” died Sunday in Santa Monica, California, of an acute respiratory infection. He was 82.
A winner of multiple Emmy, Grammy, MTV and DGA awards as a director and producer, Gowers has spanned hundreds of major television events, episodes and awards including the Primetime Emmy Awards, Billboard Awards, and MTV Awards for eight seasons american idolfor which he won the Emmy for Best Musical Variety Director in 2009.
Gower’s 1975 video for “Bohemian Rhapsody,” which featured the band members’ faces against a dark background as they sang four-part harmonies, helped establish both the rock band as one of the biggest of the decade and music videos as a powerful promotional tool for the recording industry.
Gowers went on to direct popular music videos for music icons such as Prince (“1999”), the Rolling Stones (“Hot Stuff”), Michael Jackson (“She’s Out Of My Life”), John Mellencamp (“Hurts So Good”) and Fleetwood Mac ( “Landslide”), among many others.
A co-creator of the long-running hit nursery rhymes Children’s music video series, Gowers was born in New Kilbride, Scotland, graduated from the Latymer School and then attended the BBC Training College. He began his career at the BBC, learning the business from scratch as a cable puller, cameraman and production manager. These positions were followed by staff producing/directing positions at Rediffusion and London Weekend Television.
Gowers moved to the United States in the 1970s. He met his 23-year-old wife, writer/producer Carol Rosenstein, while filming Rod Stewart’s music video “Tonight’s the Night.”
Among his accolades, Gowers won a DGA Award for TV Special in 2004 Genius: A Night for Ray Charles, a Grammy for “Heart of Rock and Roll” by Huey Lewis and the News and an MTV Award for “Bohemian Rhapsody”. Among his many Emmy and DGA nominations was one for Fleetwood Mac: The Dance in 1997.
In addition to his wife, Gowers, a longtime resident of Malibu, California, is survived by daughter Katharine Polk, son Sean Gowers, and grandchildren Sean Jr., Robert, Charlotte, and Layla. He is also survived by his former wife Charlene and was predeceased by his first wife Jacqueline.
A memorial service is planned. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made on behalf of Gowers to World Central Kitchen and Southern California Bulldog Rescue.