David Mugar, force behind Boston July 4th celebration, dies

BOSTON (AP) — The businessman and philanthropist who transformed the Boston Pops July Fourth concert and fireworks show from a small local event into a nationally televised extravaganza has died. David Mugar’s family said he died Tuesday night. He was 82. No cause of death was provided. The city’s free July Fourth concert started in 1929, but by the mid-1970s its popularity and crowds had dwindled. Mugar suggested to his longtime friend Boston Pops conductor Arthur Fiedler that the show add cannon fire, church bells, fireworks over the Charles River, and a rendition of Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture.” The show’s popularity soared and today it draws about 500,000 people.