Just last week, I watched the documentary KING COHEN, which takes a look at the career of filmmaker Larry Cohen, who has brought us a whole lot of awesome films over the years. With the man and his work still in my thoughts from that viewing, I was shocked to hear the news that Cohen passed away over the weekend. As far as I know, there had been no reports that he was in bad health. The only indication that something might have been going on with him is the fact that he had to cancel a public appearance last week.
Cohen was only 17 when he got his first writing gig in 1958, scripting an episode of the television anthology series Kraft Theatre. He had been writing for film and television for over a decade before he started his directing career with the low budget blaxploitation thriller BONE, which starred Yaphet Kotto and was largely shot in and around his own house.
Working on everything from Westerns and cop shows to blaxploitation movies and horror, Cohen earned over 20 directing credits and more than 80 writing credits. He took the helm on such films as the IT'S ALIVE trilogy, Q THE WINGED SERPENT, and THE STUFF, and his writing credits include the MANIAC COP trilogy, PHONE BOOTH, and CELLULAR.
Cohen's work even earned him the honor of being named one of the "masters of horror", so he directed an episode of the Showtime series Masters of Horror. That episode, which aired in 2006, was actually his last directorial effort, but he earned a handful more writing credits in the years since then.
Born on July 15, 1941, Cohen passed away at the age of 77 on the night of March 23, 2019. He is survived by his wife Cynthia, his ex-wife Janelle, and the five children he and Janelle had together. Our condolences go out to his family, friends, and fans.
It is very sad to see Cohen go, but he left behind a lot of great work for us to continue to enjoy, and it's nice that he and his career were celebrated with the KING COHEN documentary before he passed away.
R.I.P.
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