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IMDbPro

Larry Cohen(1936-2019)

  • Writer
  • Producer
  • Director
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Larry Cohen
Trailer for American Grindhouse
Play trailer2:03
American Grindhouse (2010)
9 Videos
3 Photos
Larry Cohen was born July 15, 1936, in New York, New York, and spent time in Kingston, a small town north of New York City. At a young age, his family moved to the Riverdale section of the Bronx, and he eventually majored in film at the historic City College of New York, from which he graduated in 1963. An independent maverick who got his start in studio-based television, he is best known for inventive low-budget horror films that combine scathing social commentary with the requisite scares and occasional laughs. He was also a major player in the Blaxploitation films of the 1970s. Later in his career, he became a sought-after screenplay writer. Although not very prolific in his screen writing, these works still combine provocative social commentary--but with more conventional storytelling. Sadly, Cohen died of cancer on March 23, 2019.
BornJuly 15, 1936
DiedMarch 23, 2019(82)
BornJuly 15, 1936
DiedMarch 23, 2019(82)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Awards
    • 4 wins & 6 nominations

Photos

Michael Apted, Larry Cohen, and B.B. King in Spies Like Us (1985)
Larry Cohen in Spies Like Us (1985)

Known for

Andy Kaufman, Sam Levene, Richard Lynch, Deborah Raffin, and Sylvia Sidney in God Told Me To (1976)
God Told Me To
6.2
  • Writer
  • 1976
It's Alive (1974)
It's Alive
5.8
  • Writer
  • 1974
It Lives Again (1978)
It Lives Again
5.2
  • Writer
  • 1978
The Ambulance (1990)
The Ambulance
5.9
  • Writer
  • 1990

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Writer

  • Messages Deleted (2010)
    Messages Deleted
    • written by
    • 2010
  • The Gambler, the Girl and the Gunslinger (2009)
    The Gambler, the Girl and the Gunslinger
    • written by
    • TV Movie
    • 2009
  • It's Alive (2009)
    It's Alive
    • screenplay (1974 screenplay)
    • 2009
  • Theater Poster
    Maniac Cop
    • based on characters created by
    • Short
    • 2008
  • Connected (2008)
    Connected
    • original story
    • 2008
  • Elisha Cuthbert in Captivity (2007)
    Captivity
    • screenplay
    • story
    • 2007
  • Cellular: Deleted/Alternate Scenes (2005)
    Cellular: Deleted/Alternate Scenes
    • story
    • Video
    • 2005
  • Kim Basinger, William H. Macy, Jason Statham, and Chris Evans in Cellular (2004)
    Cellular
    • story
    • 2004
  • Forest Whitaker, Katie Holmes, Colin Farrell, and Radha Mitchell in Phone Booth (2002)
    Phone Booth
    • written by
    • 2002
  • The Defenders: Choice of Evils (1998)
    The Defenders: Choice of Evils
    • story
    • teleplay
    • TV Movie
    • 1998
  • Misbegotten (1997)
    Misbegotten
    • screenplay
    • 1997
  • Erika Eleniak and Dale Midkiff in Ed McBain's 87th Precinct: Heatwave (1997)
    Ed McBain's 87th Precinct: Heatwave
    • teleplay
    • TV Movie
    • 1997
  • The Ex (1996)
    The Ex
    • screenplay
    • 1996
  • Invasion of Privacy (1996)
    Invasion of Privacy
    • written by
    • 1996
  • Uncle Sam (1996)
    Uncle Sam
    • written by
    • Video
    • 1996

Producer

  • Traci Lords, Judge Reinhold, and Crystal Bernard in As Good as Dead (1995)
    As Good as Dead
    • producer
    • TV Movie
    • 1995
  • Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence (1992)
    Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence
    • co-producer
    • 1992
  • Robert Davi and Robert Z'Dar in Maniac Cop 2 (1990)
    Maniac Cop 2
    • producer
    • 1990
  • Bette Davis and Barbara Carrera in Wicked Stepmother (1989)
    Wicked Stepmother
    • executive producer
    • 1989
  • Maniac Cop (1988)
    Maniac Cop
    • producer
    • 1988
  • A Return to Salem's Lot (1987)
    A Return to Salem's Lot
    • executive producer
    • 1987
  • It's Alive III: Island of the Alive (1987)
    It's Alive III: Island of the Alive
    • executive producer
    • 1987
  • The Stuff (1985)
    The Stuff
    • executive producer
    • 1985
  • Q: The Winged Serpent (1982)
    Q: The Winged Serpent
    • producer (produced by)
    • 1982
  • Full Moon High (1981)
    Full Moon High
    • producer
    • 1981
  • See China and Die (1981)
    See China and Die
    • producer
    • TV Movie
    • 1981
  • It Lives Again (1978)
    It Lives Again
    • producer (produced by)
    • 1978
  • The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover (1977)
    The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover
    • producer
    • 1977
  • Andy Kaufman, Sam Levene, Richard Lynch, Deborah Raffin, and Sylvia Sidney in God Told Me To (1976)
    God Told Me To
    • producer
    • 1976
  • It's Alive (1974)
    It's Alive
    • producer (produced by)
    • 1974

Director

  • Masters of Horror (2005)
    Masters of Horror
    • Director
    • TV Series
    • 2006
  • Pam Grier, Jim Brown, and Fred Williamson in Original Gangstas (1996)
    Original Gangstas
    • Director
    • 1996
  • Traci Lords, Judge Reinhold, and Crystal Bernard in As Good as Dead (1995)
    As Good as Dead
    • Director
    • TV Movie
    • 1995
  • The Ambulance (1990)
    The Ambulance
    • Director
    • 1990
  • Bette Davis and Barbara Carrera in Wicked Stepmother (1989)
    Wicked Stepmother
    • Director
    • 1989
  • Morgan Fairchild, Billy Dee Williams, John Beck, and Vanity in Deadly Illusion (1987)
    Deadly Illusion
    • Director
    • 1987
  • A Return to Salem's Lot (1987)
    A Return to Salem's Lot
    • Director (directed by)
    • 1987
  • It's Alive III: Island of the Alive (1987)
    It's Alive III: Island of the Alive
    • Director
    • 1987
  • The Stuff (1985)
    The Stuff
    • Director
    • 1985
  • Special Effects (1984)
    Special Effects
    • Director
    • 1984
  • Perfect Strangers (1984)
    Perfect Strangers
    • Director
    • 1984
  • Q: The Winged Serpent (1982)
    Q: The Winged Serpent
    • Director
    • 1982
  • Full Moon High (1981)
    Full Moon High
    • Director
    • 1981
  • See China and Die (1981)
    See China and Die
    • Director
    • TV Movie
    • 1981
  • It Lives Again (1978)
    It Lives Again
    • Director
    • 1978

Videos9

Laurene Landon demo reel  BREAK A LENS!
Demo Reel 11:25
Laurene Landon demo reel BREAK A LENS!
Maniac Cop
Full Movie 3:24
Maniac Cop
American Grindhouse
Clip 3:26
American Grindhouse
The Gambler, The Girl and the Gunslinger
Interview 2:37
The Gambler, The Girl and the Gunslinger
Nightmares in Red, White and Blue: The Evolution of the American Horror Film
Trailer 2:15
Nightmares in Red, White and Blue: The Evolution of the American Horror Film
American Grindhouse
Trailer 2:03
American Grindhouse
Tales From The Script
Trailer 2:24
Tales From The Script
The Gambler, The Girl and the Gunslinger
Trailer 0:44
The Gambler, The Girl and the Gunslinger
Tales from the Script
Trailer 2:23
Tales from the Script

Personal details

Edit
  • Official site
    • Official Site
  • Alternative names
    • Laurence Robert Cohen
  • Height
    • 5′ 10½″ (1.79 m)
  • Born
    • July 15, 1936
    • New York, New York, USA
  • Died
    • March 23, 2019
    • Los Angeles, California, USA(cancer)
  • Spouses
      Cynthia Costas1994 - March 24, 2019 (his death)
  • Children
      Melissa Cohen
  • Relatives
      Ronni Chasen(Sibling)
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Biographical Movie
    • 4 Print Biographies
    • 11 Interviews
    • 1 Article

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Does not use a computer or typewriter to write. Dictates his scripts into a hand-held tape recorder.
  • Quotes
    Life has been good to me. I keep making pictures. Every year I make something. As long as I keep working, I have nothing to complain about. And the films I've made have all had some point to them. Otherwise, I wouldn't have felt they were worth doing. You have to have some direction in which you're headed and a destination which you have to arrive at by the end of the film, so that you feel it was a satisfactory trip. Some kind of personal statement has to be made.
  • Trademark
      A scene shot at his house in Beverly Hills
  • Salary
    • Cellular
      (2004)
      $750,000

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