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Larry Cohen

2019-03-25T07:06:16Z

2601:601:4600:BA0:51E9:23E8:A5FA:D67E: Fake edits typos

{{Other people}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2013}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Larry Cohen
| image = Larry Cohen 2010.jpg
| caption = Cohen in October 2010
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1941|7|15}}
| birth_place = [[Manhattan]], [[New York]] U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2019|3|24|1941|7|15}}
| death_place = [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], U.S.
| occupation = Producer, film director, writer
| alma_mater = [[City College of New York]]
| relatives = [[Ronni Chasen]] {{small|(sister)}}
}}
'''Lawrence G. Cohen''' (July 15, 1941 – March 24, 2019) was an American film producer, director, and screenwriter, best known as a [[B-movie]] [[auteur]] of [[Horror fiction|horror]] and [[science fiction film|science-fiction]] films — often containing a [[police procedural]] element — during the 1970s and 1980s. After that, he concentrated mainly on screenwriting, including ''[[Phone Booth (film)|Phone Booth]]'' (2002), ''[[Cellular (film)|Cellular]]'' (2004) and ''[[Captivity (film)|Captivity]]'' (2007). In 2006, Cohen returned to the directing chair for [[Mick Garris]]' ''[[Masters of Horror]]'' TV series (2006); he directed the episode "[[Pick Me Up (Masters of Horror)|Pick Me Up]]".<ref name="Cohen, Larry 2011">Cohen, Larry, Filmography, Internet Movie Database, [accessed] April 4, 2011.{{unreliable source?|date=April 2015}}</ref>

==Early life==
Cohen was born July 15, 1941,{{sfn|Singer|1989|p=75}}{{sfn|Fischer|1991|p=189}} in [[Washington Heights, Manhattan]].<ref name="DVD bio">"Biography of Larry Cohen,” ''The Stuff'' (1985). DVD. Englewood, Colorado: Anchor Bay/Starz Entertainment, 2000.</ref> His sister [[Ronni Chasen]] was a publicist who worked with him beginning early in his film career. He moved to the [[Riverdale, Bronx|Riverdale]] section of [[the Bronx]] in New York City at an early age, and he later majored in [[film studies]] at the [[City College of New York]].

He exhibited a voracious appetite for films as a child, visiting the movie theaters at least twice a week, and most of them being [[double feature]]s, the young Cohen managed to consume at least four movies a week. He was a fan of the [[hardboiled|hard-boiled]] and [[film noir]] movies that featured actors such as [[Humphrey Bogart]] and [[James Cagney]]; films that were penned by the likes of [[Raymond Chandler]] and [[Dashiell Hammett]]. Cohen was especially a fan of director [[Michael Curtiz]], whose films include ''[[The Adventures of Robin Hood (film)|The Adventures of Robin Hood]]'', ''[[Casablanca (film)|Casablanca]]'', and ''[[Dodge City (1939 film)|Dodge City]]''.

His own career in film began during the 1950s when he worked for [[NBC]] television network: it was while working at [[NBC]] that he learned how to produce [[teleplays]] and, shortly after, began writing his own television scripts. He created the TV series ''[[The Invaders]]'' and also scripted episodes of ''[[The Defenders (1961 TV series)|The Defenders]]'' and ''[[The Fugitive (TV series)|The Fugitive]]''.<ref>Layne, Brian, ''Larry Cohen Interview'' in ''Films in Review'', p. 1, December 21, 2009</ref>

==Career==
===Early work; television===
Cohen began his career as a writer for well-known television series, concentrating his efforts on – but not limiting them to – the crime and detective [[genres]]. He penned several episodes of ''[[The Defenders (1961 TV series)|The Defenders]]'' (1964) – which starred [[E.G. Marshall]] – one episode of the ''[[Espionage (TV series)|Espionage]])'' (1964), and episodes of ''[[The Fugitive (TV series)|The Fugitive]]'' (1964–65). Other writing credits during the 1950s and 1960s included the [[fantasy]]-suspense [[anthologies]] ''[[Kraft Television Theatre]]'' (1958) and ''[[Kraft Suspense Theatre]]'' (1965), the espionage TV series ''[[Blue Light (TV series)|Blue Light]]'' (1966) starring [[Robert Goulet]] and ''[[Coronet Blue]]'' (1967) starring [[Frank Converse]], and the science fiction TV series, ''[[The Invaders]]'' (1967–1968). In 1966 he wrote the screenplay to the [[Western (genre)|western]] film ''[[Return of the Seven]]'' (also known as ''Return of the Magnificent Seven''), a sequel to the 1960 film ''[[The Magnificent Seven]]'' which saw the return of [[Yul Brynner]] as [[gunslinger]] Chris Adams. Four episodes he wrote for ''Blue Light'' were edited together to create the theatrical film ''[[I Deal in Danger]]'', released in December 1966.<ref name="ctva">{{cite web|url=http://ctva.biz/Europe/BlueLight.htm|title=CTVA Europe - "Blue Light"|website=ctva.biz}}</ref> He also created the [[western (genre)|western]] TV series ''[[Branded (TV series)|Branded]]'' (1965–1966)<ref name="Cohen, Larry 2011"/> and was the co-creator with [[Walter Grauman]] of ''Blue Light''.<ref name="ctva"/>

===1970s===
Although Cohen continued to write TV and film scripts during the 1970s – such as ''[[Columbo (TV series)|Columbo]]'' – he further turned his hand to directing. His directorial debut was the comedy film ''[[Bone (1972 film)|Bone]]'' starring [[Yaphet Kotto]], a.k.a. ''Beverly Hills Nightmare'', ''Dial Rat for Terror'' and ''Housewife''. In 1974 he directed the [[horror film]] ''[[It's Alive (1974 film)|It's Alive]]'', about a mutant monster baby that embarks on a killing spree. The film – an initial commercial failure – was re-released with a new and sharper advertisement campaign; it went on to earn over $7 million for [[Warner Bros.]] and spawn two sequels.<ref name="Litwak, Mark 1986 p. 251">Litwak, Mark (1986). Reel Power: The Struggle for Influence and Success in the New Hollywood. New York: William Morrow & Co.. p. 251. {{ISBN|0-688-04889-7}}.</ref>

Cohen followed-up ''It's Alive'' with the science fiction-[[serial killer]] film ''[[God Told Me To]]'' (1976), in which a New York detective investigates a spate of killings by apparently random people who say that God told them to commit the crimes. He would concentrate his work predominantly within the [[Horror film|horror]] genre throughout the 1970s and 1980s, often incorporating elements of crime, [[police procedural]], and science fiction with scathing social commentary.<ref name="Cohen, Larry 2011" />

Cohen created the ''It's Alive'' series in 1974 when he made the film ''[[It's Alive (1974 film)|It's Alive]]''. The film was eventually a moderate success – after a re-vamped advertising campaign<ref name="Litwak, Mark 1986 p. 251"/> – and went on to spawn two sequels, ''It's Alive II: It Lives Again'' (1978) and ''It's Alive III: Island of the Alive'' (1987).<ref>''It's Alive'', dir. Cohen, Larry, Internet Movie Database, [accessed] April 4, 2011.{{unreliable source?|date=April 2015}}</ref><ref>''It Lives Again'', dir. Cohen Larry, IMDB, [accessed] April 5, 2011.{{unreliable source?|date=April 2015}}</ref><ref name="It's Alive III 2011">''It's Alive III: Island of the Alive'', dir. Cohen, Larry, IMDB, [accessed] April 5, 2011.{{unreliable source?|date=April 2015}}</ref>

''It's Alive'' (1974) tells of a young couple, Frank and Lenore Davis, who give birth to a mutated baby. The doctors and nurses at the hospital attempt to end the life of the deformed child but it instead kills them and escapes. A police manhunt ensues as the fleeing mutation leaves dead bodies in its wake. Frank sees the child just as [[Dr. Frankenstein]] saw his monster and assists the police.

The emphasis in ''It's Alive'' is on chemicals in the ecosystem and experimental prescription drugs that can be harmful to unborn babies. The score for ''It's Alive'' was composed by [[Bernard Herrmann]], famous for his contributions to many [[Alfred Hitchcock]] films, including ''[[Psycho (1960 film)|Psycho]]'', ''[[North by Northwest]]'', and ''[[Vertigo (film)|Vertigo]]''. In fact, the welling strings, horn arrangements and harp glissandos throughout the film prefigure the soundtrack to Herrmann's final film score two years later for "Taxi Driver". The cast includes [[John P. Ryan]], [[Sharon Farrell]], [[James Dixon]], and [[Andrew Duggan]].<ref>''It's Alive'', dir. Cohen, Larry, Internet Movie Database, [accessed] April 6, 2011.{{unreliable source?|date=April 2015}}</ref>

''It Lives Again'' (1978) picks up where the first one ended. More mutated babies are appearing around the country. Frank has now joined a renegade mob who are attempting to stop the government from killing these strange mutations. The emphasis in ''It Lives Again'' is on accepting one's child, even if it is born with deformities or disabilities. The score is again provided by [[Bernard Herrmann]]. The cast includes [[John P. Ryan]], [[James Dixon]], [[Andrew Duggan]], and [[Frederic Forrest]].<ref>''It Lives Again'', dir. Cohen Larry, IMDB, The Internet Movie Database, [accessed] April 6, 2011.{{unreliable source?|date=April 2015}}</ref>

===1980s===
During the 1980s, Cohen directed, produced, and scripted a number of low-budget horror films, many of which featured actor [[Michael Moriarty]]. The first was ''[[Q (film)|Q]]'' – a.k.a. ''Q: The Winged Serpent'' (1982) — about an [[Aztec]] god known as [[Quetzalcoatl]] (the Winged Serpent) resurrected and nesting atop the [[Chrysler Building]]. The film is set in New York City, as was typical for Cohen, and sees two police detectives investigating a spate of killings in the city. The cast is headed by Moriarty and co-stars [[David Carradine]], [[Candy Clark]], [[Richard Roundtree]], and James Dixon (another Cohen regular).

Cohen's next project with Moriarty was ''[[The Stuff]]'' (1985) in which an [[Extraterrestrial life|alien]] substance of sorts is found bubbling out of the ground. The Stuff is marketed at the general public, which rapidly becomes addicted to it. David "Mo" Rutheford, an industrial [[saboteur]], played by [[Michael Moriarty]], is hired to investigate the origins of the Stuff and to then destroy the product. The film co-stars [[Danny Aiello]], [[Brian Bloom]], [[Scott Bloom]], [[Andrea Marcovicci]], [[Patrick O'Neal (actor)|Patrick O'Neal]], and [[Paul Sorvino]]. ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' regular [[Garrett Morris]] plays Charlie W. Hobbs a.k.a. Chocolate Chip Charlie, a [[junk food]] [[Magnate|mogul]] who assists Mo with his investigation. Cohen cast Moriarty in ''It's Alive 3: Island of the Alive'' (1987)—the third part of the ''Alive Trilogy''—and again in ''[[A Return to Salem's Lot]]'' (1987), the unofficial sequel of [[Stephen King]]'s novel and TV [[miniseries]] ''[[Salem's Lot (1979 TV miniseries)|Salem's Lot]]''. Cohen finished the 1980s with ''[[Wicked Stepmother]]'' (1989), in which the late [[Bette Davis]] made her last appearance.<ref name="Cohen, Larry 2011" />

===1990s===
Cohen began the 1990s with his film ''[[The Ambulance]]'' (1990) starring [[Eric Roberts]]. The film is set in New York City and is focused on Josh Baker (Roberts), an aspiring comic book artist, who investigates a string of disappearances: people who are picked up by a mysterious ambulance never reach the city hospital. ''[[The Ambulance]]'' features [[cameo appearance|cameos]] by [[Stan Lee]], [[Larry Hama]] and [[Jim Salicrup]] of [[Marvel Comics]]. He would direct only two other films during the 1990s, one being the [[Blaxploitation]] film ''[[Original Gangstas]]'' (1996), featuring [[Ron O'Neal]], [[Pam Grier]], and [[Fred Williamson]]. For most of the decade, Cohen concentrated on writing. He penned the remainder of the [[William Lustig]] ''Maniac Cop'' Trilogy – he had previously scripted ''[[Maniac Cop]]'' in 1988 – that features [[Robert Z'Dar]] as undead Maniac Cop, Matt Cordell, and [[B-Movie]] horror actor [[Bruce Campbell]]. He then provided the story of the third adaptation of [[Jack Finney]]'s 1955 science-fiction novel ''[[The Body Snatchers]]'', a tale of [[Extraterrestrial life|alien]] invasion and [[paranoia]]: ''[[Body Snatchers (1993 film)|Body Snatchers]]'' was directed by [[Abel Ferrara]] and starred [[Forest Whitaker]]. Throughout the decade Cohen was further involved in various TV projects including ''[[NYPD Blue]]'' and the [[Ed McBain]]-inspired ''87th Precinct: Heatwave''. He also served as producer on the [[John Candy]] comedy ''[[Delirious (1991 film)|Delirious]]'' (1991).<ref name="Cohen, Larry 2011"/>

===2000s–2019===
Cohen's output after the 1990s was less prolific and concentrated solely on scriptwriting, except for a brief return to directing with the ''[[Masters of Horror]]'' episode "[[Pick Me Up (Masters of Horror)|Pick Me Up]]" (2006). His first project, ''[[Phone Booth (film)|Phone Booth]]'' (2002), became involved in a Hollywood bidding war, the script eventually ending up in the hands of [[Joel Schumacher]].<ref>Aames, Ethan, Interview with Joel Schumacher: Phone Booth in Cinema Confidential online magazine, p.1, March 4, 2003.</ref> ''Phone Booth'' was a commercial success with an estimated budget of $13 million and a worldwide gross of $98 million.<ref>''Phone Booth'', 2002, Box Office Budget, Internet Movie Database, Estimated Figures, [accessed] April 7, 2011.{{unreliable source?|date=April 2015}}</ref> The film starred [[Colin Farrell]], [[Katie Holmes]], [[Kiefer Sutherland]], and [[Forest Whitaker]]; it was produced by [[David Zucker (filmmaker)|David Zucker]].

His next film, another [[Action film|action]]-crime [[Thriller (genre)|thriller]] titled ''[[Cellular (film)|Cellular]]'' (2004), also featured phones and, like ''Phone Booth'', it was a modest commercial success with an estimated budget of $25 million and a gross worldwide return of $50 million.<ref>''Cellular'', 2004, Internet Movie Database, Estimated Figures, [accessed] April 7, 2011.{{unreliable source?|date=April 2015}}</ref> ''Cellular'' starred [[Kim Basinger]], [[Chris Evans (actor)|Chris Evans]], [[William H. Macy]], and [[Jason Statham]]. ''Cellular'' was later re-made as ''[[Connected (film)|Connected]]'' (2008), Cohen being credited with the story. He then scripted the [[Horror film|horror]]-thriller films ''[[Captivity (film)|Captivity]]'' (2007) and ''[[Messages Deleted]]'' (2009); however, both films fared poorly on a critical and commercial level.<ref>''Captivity'', 2007, Internet Movie Database, Estimated Figures, [accessed] April 7, 2011.{{unreliable source?|date=April 2015}}</ref><ref>''Messages Deleted'', 2009, Internet Movie Database, Estimated Figures, [accessed] April 7, 2011.{{unreliable source?|date=April 2015}}</ref> Cohen nevertheless received acclaim for the above-mentioned ''[[Pick Me Up (Masters of Horror)|Pick Me Up]]'', which he directed for the [[Mick Garris]] TV series ''[[Masters of Horror]]'' (2006). The episode was written by [[splatterpunk]]-[[Horror fiction|horror]] author [[David Schow]], and starred Cohen regular [[Michael Moriarty]].<ref name="Cohen, Larry 2011"/>

{{See also|Cast of Characters vs. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen lawsuit}}
In 2003, Cohen, together with production partner [[Martin Poll]] was at the center of a lawsuit against [[20th Century Fox]], claiming the company had intentionally [[plagiarism|plagiarized]] a [[screenplay|script]] of theirs titled ''Cast of Characters'' in order to create the [[Sean Connery]]-starring ''[[The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (film)|League of Extraordinary Gentlemen]]'' film in 2003. According to the [[BBC]], the lawsuit alleged 'that Mr Cohen and Mr Poll pitched the idea to Fox several times between 1993 and 1996, under the name ''Cast of Characters''.'<ref name="CT">"Gentlemen lands Fox in $100 million lawsuit," September 27, 2003. ''Calcutta Telegraph''.</ref><ref name="BW">"Producer and Writer File $100 Million Lawsuit Against 20th Century-Fox," September 25, 2003. ''Business Wire''.</ref><ref name="BBC1">{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/3141720.stm |title=Studio sued over superhero movie |date=September 26, 2003 |publisher=BBC |accessdate=May 16, 2008 |deadurl=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/5XrcV3T8s?url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/3141720.stm |archivedate=May 16, 2008 |df= }} on 2008-05-16.</ref> ''The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'' was an adaptation of the 1999 published comic book series by [[Alan Moore]] and artist [[Kevin O'Neill (comics)|Kevin O'Neill]].<ref>Moore, Alan, & O'Neill, Kevin, ''The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'', Issue 1., [[Wildstorm]] / [[DC Comics]], copyright 1999.</ref>

In 2006, Cohen was included in the ''[[Masters of Horror]]'' TV anthology, which also included – but was not limited to – writers and directors as diverse as [[Dario Argento]], [[Clive Barker]], [[John Carpenter]], [[Richard Chizmar]], [[Don Coscarelli]], [[Wes Craven]], [[David Cronenberg]], [[Joe Dante]], [[Guillermo Del Toro]], [[Ernest Dickerson]], [[Stuart Gordon]], [[James Gunn (filmmaker)|James Gunn]], [[Sam Hamm]], [[Tom Holland (director)|Tom Holland]], [[Tobe Hooper]], [[Lloyd Kaufman]], [[Mary Lambert (director)|Mary Lambert]], [[John Landis]], [[Joe R. Lansdale]], [[Bentley Little]], [[H.P. Lovecraft]], [[Joe Lynch (director)|Joe Lynch]], [[William Lustig]], [[Peter Medak]], [[Lucky McKee]], Kat O' Shea, [[Robert Rodriguez]], [[Eli Roth]], [[David Schow]], and [[Tim Sullivan (director)|Tim Sullivan]]. It was created by [[Mick Garris]] for the [[Showtime (TV network)|Showtime]] cable network.<ref>''Masters of Horror'' Cast & Crew page, ''Internet Movie Database'', [accessed] April 5, 2011.{{unreliable source?|date=April 2015}}</ref> Cohen's contribution was the segment ''[[Pick Me Up (Masters of Horror)|Pick Me Up]]'',<ref>''Pick Me Up'', ''Masters of Horror, Internet Movie Database, [accessed], April 5, 2011.{{unreliable source?|date=April 2015}}</ref> based on a short story by [[David Schow]], who also wrote the [[teleplay]].<ref>Schow, David J., Filmography, Writer, Internet Movie Database, [accessed] April 5, 2011.{{unreliable source?|date=April 2015}}</ref> It stars [[Fairuza Balk]] and Cohen regulars [[Laurene Landon]] and [[Michael Moriarty]]. ''Pick Me Up'' is the story of woman traveling on a bus that has broken down along a stretch of lonely two-lane [[blacktop]]. Enter two [[serial killers]]: Wheeler (Moriarty), a driver who picks up [[hitchhiker]]s with the sole intent of killing them – and – Walker (Warren Kole), a [[hitchhiker]] who accepts lifts in order to find ''his'' victims. The two killers pair up and inventively murder all the passengers on the bus, save for Stacia (Balk), who has since gone her own way. Stacia eventually winds up in the middle of a serial killer [[wikt:turf war|turf war]], a war over which killer will get her first.<ref>Cohen, Larry & Garris, Mick, ''Pick Me Up'', from ''Masters of Horror'', Anchor Bay Entertainment, 2006.</ref> ''Pick Me Up'' signaled a brief return to the director's chair for Cohen.

Joseph Rusnak remade Cohen's ''[[It's Alive (2009 film)|It's Alive]]'' in 2009.<ref>''It's Alive'' (2008), dir. Rusnak, Joseph, The Internet Movie Database, [accessed] April 7, 2011.{{unreliable source?|date=April 2015}}</ref> Still awaiting a score on [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the existing reviews are also very poor.<ref>''It's Alive'' (2009), [[Rotten Tomatoes]], [accessed] April 6, 2011.</ref> Even Cohen admitted that the remake was dreadful<ref>Berrett, Simon, ''An Interview with Larry Cohen, Creator of ''The Invaders'' and So Much More'' in ''Celebrity News'', May 20, 2008.</ref> and states: 'It's a terrible picture. It's just beyond awful'.<ref name="filmsinreview.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.filmsinreview.com/2009/12/21/larry-cohen-interview/|title=LARRY COHEN INTERVIEW - Films In Review|website=Films In Review}}</ref> Cohen offered his 1974 script but remarks that it was completely ignored: "I would advise anybody who likes my film to cross the street and avoid seeing the new enchilada."<ref name="filmsinreview.com"/>

==Death==
Cohen died on March 24, 2019 in [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], at the age of 77 he died from a lack of milk for a long period of time. <ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/larry-cohen-dead-alive-hell-up-harlem-writer-director-was-77-1185759|title=Larry Cohen, Writer-Director of 'It's Alive' and 'Hell Up in Harlem,' Dies at 77|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=March 24, 2019|accessdate=March 25, 2019|author=Koseluk, Chris}}</ref>

==Critical response==
Critical response to Cohen's work has been extremely varied, reviews ranging from good to poor.

Cohen's [[science fiction film|science fiction]] [[Horror film|horror]] film and [[satirical]] social commentary ''[[The Stuff]]'' (1985) garnered mixed reviews, often being compared to [[Jack Finney]]'s ''[[The Body Snatchers]]'' novel and the 1958 film ''[[The Blob]]''. It has a moderate ''fresh'' rating of 63% on [[Rotten Tomatoes]].<ref>Cohen Larry, ''The Stuff'' rating at ''Rotten Tomatoes'' Web site, [accessed] April 5, 2011.</ref> The ''Apollo Movie Guide'' remark that ''The Stuff'' works on a purely visceral level and that it further achieves a tongue-in-cheek social parody of a society that cannot help buying into the latest craze. Although ''Apollo'' praise the juxtaposition of Cohen's clever screenplay and [[Michael Moriarty]]'s performance, it states that the film is no classic. It does, however, award the film a modest Apollo Rating of 77/100.<ref>Weinberg, Scott, Stuff, The, ''Intelligent Reviews Online'' in ''Apollo Movie Guide'', accessed April 5, 2011.</ref> The ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'', on the other hand, sees ''The Stuff'' as a widely ambitious movie that fails mainly due to distracting glitches and a lack of plausibility: "What we have here are a lot of nice touches in search of a movie." ''Chicago Sun-Times'' rating: 1 1/2 stars out of 5.<ref>Ebert, Roger, ''The Stuff'' in ''Chicago Sun-Times'', August 26, 1985.</ref> ''Bloody Disgusting'' nevertheless awarded ''The Stuff'' 3 stars out of 5, pointing out both the good and the bad: "[I]t's smart, it's relevant and it has some bad acting. [It should be] enjoyed for all the wrong and some of the right reasons that it is not just a horror movie, but a very honest and important movie as well."<ref>Stuff, The, ''Blood-Disgusting'' online zine, [accessed] April 5, 2011.</ref>

His [[fantasy film|fantasy]] [[Horror film|horror]] ''[[Q (film)|Q]]'' a.k.a. ''Q: The Winged Serpent''' (1982) has a [[Rotten Tomatoes]] rating of 61%.<ref>''Q'' rating at ''Rotten Tomatoes'' website, [accessed] April 5, 2011.</ref> ''[[TV Guide]]'' praise Cohen for his intelligence, creativity and originality and further comment that '[Cohen] successfully combines a ''film noir'' crime story with a good old-fashioned ''giant monster'' movie' and that '[[Michael Moriarty]] turns in a brilliant performance as Jimmy Quinn [...]'.<ref>''Q'', ''TV Guide'', March 28, 2007.</ref> Horror author and movie critic, [[Kim Newman]], praises Cohen's plot originality and canny use of characters in ''[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]]'', pointing out the director's use of an oddball as lead – Jimmy Quinn – who would ordinarily be a secondary character or warrant solely a cameo appearance; Newman also explains how Cohen has relegated all the usual plot devices – in movies such as ''King Kong'' – to the background.<ref>Newman, Kim, ''Q'', in ''Empire Magazine'', June 22, 2005.</ref> Alternatively, the ''[[Chicago Reader]]'', although viewing Cohen's monster movie as 'cheesy' and 'fun', ultimately condemns the movie as being 'curiously disengaged and sloppy'.<ref>Graham, Pat, ''Q'' review in ''Chicago Reader'', [accessed] April 5, 2011.</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'', following the film's opening day at the [[Rivoli Theater (Indianapolis, Indiana)|Rivoli Theater]], had just 'a few words – only a very few – about ''Q'', offering a brief neutral synopsis and a couple of quotes.<ref>Maslin, Janet, ''Q Mayhem and Horror'' in ''The New York Times'', October 8, 1982.</ref> ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' are more favourable, focusing on Cohen's 'wild' and 'bizarre' – albeit realistic – efforts: ''Q'' has great fun mixing realistic settings with political satire and a wild yarn'. They go on to say that the film belongs to both Moriarty and the Monster.<ref>''Q: The Winged Serpert'', ''Variety'' magazine, posted: Thu., Dec 31, 1981, 11:00pm PT, [accessed] April 5, 2011.</ref>

''[[It's Alive (1974 film)|It's Alive]]'', the first part of Cohen's [[Horror film|horror]] trilogy featuring a mutated baby that kills its prey when trapped or frightened, holds a rating of 67% on [[Rotten Tomatoes]], one of the highest rated Cohen films from the latter. Focusing on the social context of the film at the time, ''The Film Journal'' points out that ''It's Alive'' 'carries a potent mix of both suspense and social critique [...] [i]nvoking such taboo subjects as abortion as early as 1974'. As well as being apt at providing 'suspense', ''The Film Journal'' acknowledge Cohen's ability 'to impart an intelligent nature to his otherwise pulpy horror films'.<ref>Graham, Aaron W., ''It's Alive!/It Lives Again/Island of the Alive'' in ''The Film Journal'', [accessed] April 5, 2009.</ref> ''Black Hole'' magazine say that despite a lack of [[A-List]] actors and special effects, ''It's Alive'' still manages to maintain the viewers interest due to Cohen's 'unique horror concept and a script rich in ideas'. ''Black Hole'' nevertheless points out that '[w]hile the drama is consistent, it's less successful as a seventies monster movie, and especially lacking now': whereas ''[[Jaws (film)|Jaws]]'' (1975) revealed the shark slowly, Cohen's film 'barely ever shows us the goods'. The magazine does agree, however, that ''It's Alive'' was 'a sufficiently powerful monster movie and [that] audiences wanted more'.<ref>''Kill, baby, kill, kill!' in ''Black Hole'' magazine (online), March 6, 2011.</ref> ''Filmcritic'' draws attention to the humour element, especially the scenes where the Baby-Monster is rustling in the bushes, unseen, comparing them to the scene in ''[[Basket Case (film)|Basket Case]]'' (1982) when the Baby-Monster is stuffed into a garbage sack after being cut away from its human twin. ''Basket Case'' is indeed a part of another – later – Baby-Monster [[Horror film|horror]] trilogy. In short, ''Filmcritic'' says that Cohen's film should not be confused with art; and yet, it is 'pretty scary stuff' that 'manages a few neat tricks'.<ref>Euker, Jake, ''It's Alive'' on ''Filmcritic'' online zine, October 27, 2004.</ref>

''[[God Told Me To]]'' a.k.a. ''Demon'' (1976), Cohen's [[science fiction film|science fiction]] [[Thriller (genre)|thriller]], has a rating of 75% on [[Rotten Tomatoes]], making it Cohen's most successful directorial effort, critically. The film, in which a number of New York citizens embark on a killing spree because ''God Told Them To'', is called 'one of his most ambitious movies' that is 'cemented in an interesting idea' by ''QNetwork Entertainment'', who find Cohen's ideology of the existence of God interesting: 'cynical at best' and 'sacrilegious at worst'. The magazine continues, however, to comment on Cohen's lack of patience and drive when completing his movies, regarding the end products as being 'hastily thrown-together' and 'a mosaic of scenes, rather than a satisfying whole'. In conclusion ''QNetwork'' give the film an even 2 1/2 stars for being the 'clumsiest and most entertaining schlock of the last 20 years'.<ref>Kendrick, James, ''God Told Me To a.k.a. Demon'' in ''QNetwork Entertainment'' online magazine, [accessed] April 5, 2011.</ref> ''CinePassion'' online magazine simply state: '[a] work of genius, in other words, possibly the Cohen joint that brims with the most all-pervasive invention and danger, as radical a Seventies 'incoherent text' as ''[[Taxi Driver]]'' and a clear linchpin of ''[[The X-Files]]'''.<ref>Croce, Fernando F., ''God Told Me To'', [accessed] April 5, 2011.</ref> The ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' sees Cohen's incoherent text in a different light, likening the film to a cinematic version of the card game [[52 Pickup]]: 'the movie does achieve greatness in another way: this is the most confused feature-length film [...] ever seen'.<ref>Ebert, Roger, ''God Told Me To'' in ''Chicago Sun-Times'', December 1, 1976.</ref> But ''[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]]'' applauded Cohen for offering 'the perfect existential anti-hero' in New York cop, Lo Bianco, in a film that 'overflows with such perverse and subversive notions that no amount of shoddy editing and substandard camerawork can conceal [its] unusual qualities' and that by '[d]igging deep into the psyche of American manhood, it lays bare the guilt-ridden oppressions of a soulless society'.<ref>SW, ''God Told Me To'' in ''Time Out'' magazine, London, [accessed] April 5, 2011.</ref>

==Filmography==

===Director===
* [[Pick Me Up (Masters of Horror)|''Masters of Horror''—"Pick Me Up"]] (2006)
* ''[[Original Gangstas]]'' (1996)
* ''[[As Good as Dead (1995 film)|As Good as Dead]]'' (1995)
* ''[[The Ambulance]]'' (1990)
* ''[[Wicked Stepmother]]'' (1989)
* ''[[Deadly Illusion]]'' (1987)
* ''[[A Return to Salem's Lot]]'' (1987)
* ''[[It's Alive III: Island of the Alive]]'' (1987)
* ''[[The Stuff]]'' (1985)
* ''[[Perfect Strangers (1984 film)|Perfect Strangers]]'' (1984)
* ''[[Special Effects (film)|Special Effects]]'' (1984)
* ''[[Q (film)|Q]]'' (1982)
* ''[[See China and Die]]'' (1981)
* ''[[Full Moon High]]'' (1981)
* ''[[It Lives Again]]'' (1978)
* ''[[The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover]]'' (1977)
* ''[[God Told Me To]]'' (1976)
* ''[[It's Alive (1974 film)|It's Alive]]'' (1974)
* ''[[Hell Up in Harlem]]'' (1973)
* ''[[Black Caesar (film)|Black Caesar]]'' (1973) a.k.a. ''The Godfather of Harlem''
* ''[[Bone (1972 film)|Bone]]'' (1972) a.k.a. ''Dial Rat for Terror''

===Screenwriter===
* ''The Gambler, the Girl and the Gunslinger'' (2009)
* ''[[Messages Deleted]]'' (2009)
* ''[[It's Alive (2009 film)|It's Alive]]'' (2009)
* ''Maniac Cop'' [short] [characters] (2008)
* ''[[Connected (film)|Connected]]'' [original story] (2008)
* ''[[Captivity (film)|Captivity]]'' (2007)
* ''[[Cellular (film)|Cellular]]'' [story] (2004)
* ''[[Phone Booth (film)|Phone Booth]]'' (2002) (Writer)
* ''[[Misbegotten (film)|Misbegotten]]'' (1998)
* ''The Defenders: Choice of Evils'' [Story] [Teleplay] (1998)
* ''[[The Ex (1997 film)|The Ex]]'' (1997)
* ''[[Uncle Sam (film)|Uncle Sam]]'' (1996)
* ''[[Ed McBain]]'s 87th Precinct: Heatwave'' [Teleplay] (1996)
* ''The Invaders'' [TV Movie] (1995)
* ''[[The Expert (1995 film)|The Expert]]'' [uncredited] (1995)
* ''As Good as Dead'' [TV Movie] (1995)
* ''[[NYPD Blue]]'' [Season 2; Episode 17, "Dirty Socks"] (1995)
* ''[[Guilty as Sin]]'' (1993)
* [[Jack Finney]]'s ''[[Body Snatchers (1993 film)|Body Snatchers]]'' [Screen Story] (1993)
* ''[[Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence]]'' (1993)
* ''[[Maniac Cop 2]]'' (1990)
* ''[[The Ambulance]]'' (1990)
* ''[[Wicked Stepmother]]'' (1989)
* ''Desperado: Avalanche at Devil's Ridge'' [TV Movie] (1988)
* ''[[Maniac Cop]]'' (1988)
* ''[[Deadly Illusion]]'' (1987)
* ''[[Best Seller]]'' (1987)
* ''[[A Return to Salem's Lot]]'' (1987)
* ''[[It's Alive III: Island of the Alive]]'' (1987)
* ''[[The Stuff]]'' (1985)
* ''[[Perfect Strangers (1984 film)|Perfect Strangers]]'' (1984)
* ''[[Special Effects (film)|Special Effects]]'' (1984)
* ''Scandalous'' [Story] (1984)
* ''Women of San Quentin'' [TV Movie] [Story] (1983)
* ''[[Q (film)|Q]]'' (1982)
* ''[[I, the Jury (1982 film)|I, the Jury]]'' (1982)
* ''[[Full Moon High]]'' (1981)
* ''[[The American Success Company]]'' (1980)
* ''[[It Lives Again]]'' (1978)
* ''Sparrow'' [TV Movie] [Creator] (1978)
* ''[[The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover]]'' (1977)
* ''[[God Told Me To]]'' (1976)
* ''[[Griff (TV series)|Griff]]'' [Episode "Man on the Outside"] (1975)
* ''[[It's Alive (1974 film)|It's Alive]]'' (1974)
* ''[[Columbo (TV series)|Columbo]]'' [Story] [Episode "An Exercise in Fatality"] (1974)
* ''[[Columbo (TV series)|Columbo]]'' [Story] [Episode "Candidate for Crime"] (1973)
* ''[[Columbo (TV series)|Columbo]]'' [Story] [Episode "Any Old Port in a Storm"] (1973)
* ''Shootout in a One-Dog Town'' [TV Movie] [Story] (1974)
* ''[[Hell Up in Harlem]]'' (1973)
* ''[[Black Caesar (film)|Black Caesar]]'' (1973) a.k.a. ''The Godfather of Harlem''
* ''[[Cool Million]]'' [TV Series] Television pilot (1972)
* ''[[Bone (1972 film)|Bone]]'' (1972) a.k.a. ''Dial Rat''
* ''Call Home'' [TV Movie] [Developer] (1972)
* ''[[In Broad Daylight (film)|In Broad Daylight]]'' [TV Movie] (1971)
* ''[[El Condor (1970 film)|El Condor]]'' (1970)
* ''[[Daddy's Gone A-Hunting (1969 film)|Daddy's Gone A-Hunting]]'' (1969)
* ''[[Scream, Baby, Scream]]'' (1969)
* ''[[The Invaders]]'' [TV Series] [43 Episodes] [Creator] (1967–68)
* ''[[Custer (TV series)|Custer]]'' a.k.a. ''The Legend of Custer'' [suggested by] (1967)
* ''[[Coronet Blue]]'' [TV Series] [11 Episodes] [Creator] (1967)
* ''[[I Deal in Danger]]'' (1966)
* ''[[The Rat Patrol]]'' [TV Series] [Episode "The Blind Man's Bluff Raid"] (1966)
* ''[[Return of the Seven]]'' a.k.a. ''Return of the Magnificent Seven'' (1966)
* ''[[Blue Light (TV series)|Blue Light]]'', TV Series [17 Episodes] [also co-creator] (1966)
* ''Blade River, Revenge of the Indian Nations'' (1966)
* ''[[Branded (TV series)|Branded]]'' [TV Series] [48 Episodes] [Creator] (1965–66)
* ''[[Kraft Suspense Theatre]]'' [TV Series] [Episode "Kill No More"] (1965)
* ''[[The Fugitive (TV series)|The Fugitive]]'' [Episode "Scapegoat"] [Story] (1965)
* ''[[The Fugitive (TV series)|The Fugitive]]'' [Episode "Escape into Black"] [Teleplay] (1964)
* ''[[Espionage (TV series)|Espionage]]'' [Episode "Medal for a Turned Coat"] (1964)
* ''[[The Defenders (1961 TV series)|The Defenders]]'' [Writer] [9 Episodes] (1963–65)
* ''The Nurses'' [TV Series] [3 Episodes] (1963)
* ''[[Arrest and Trial]]'' [TV Series] [Episode "My Name is Martin Burham"] (1963)
* ''[[Sam Benedict]]'' [TV Series] [Episode "Accomplice"] (1963)
* ''[[Checkmate (TV series)|Checkmate]]'' [TV Series] [Episode "Nice Guys Finish Last"] (1961)
* ''[[The United States Steel Hour]]'' [TV Series] [Episode "The Golden Thirty"] (1961)
* ''[[Way Out (TV series)|Way Out]]'' [TV Series] [Episode "False Face"] (1961)
* ''[[Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater]]'' [TV Series] [Episode "Killer Instinct"] (1960)
* ''[[Kraft Television Theatre]]'' [TV Series] [Episode "Night Cry"] (1958)
* ''[[Kraft Television Theatre]]'' [TV Series] [Episode "The Eighty Seventh Precinct"] [adaptation] (1958)

===Producer===
* ''The Torture of Delva Mills'' [Executive Prd.] (2010)
* ''As Good as Dead'' (1995)
* ''[[Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence]]'' [Co-Prd.] (1993)
* ''[[Maniac Cop 2]]'' (1990)
* ''[[Wicked Stepmother]]'' [Executive Prd.] (1989)
* ''[[Maniac Cop]]'' (1988)
* ''[[A Return to Salem's Lot]]'' [Executive Prd.] (1987)
* ''It's Alive 3: Island of the Alive'' [Executive Prd.] (1987)
* ''[[The Stuff]]'' [Executive Prd.] (1985)
* ''[[Q (film)|Q]]'' (1982)
* ''[[Full Moon High]]'' (1981)
* ''It's Alive 2: It Lives Again'' (1978)
* ''[[The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover]]'' (1977)
* ''[[God Told Me To]]'' (1976)
* ''[[It's Alive (1974 film)|It's Alive]]'' (1974)
* ''[[Hell Up in Harlem]]'' (1973)
* ''[[Black Caesar (film)|Black Caesar]]'' (1973) a.k.a. ''The Godfather of Harlem''
* ''[[Bone (1972 film)|Bone]]'' (1972) a.k.a. ''Dial Rat''
* ''[[Never Too Young]]'' [TV Series] [Executive Prd.] (1965)
* ''[[Branded (TV series)|Branded]]'' [TV Series] (1965)

===Actor===
* ''[[Spies Like Us]]'' (1985) – Ace Tomato Agent

===Miscellaneous crew===
* ''[[Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore]]'' as Production Executive (1974)
* ''Blue Light'' [TV series] [17 episodes] as Executive Script Consultant (1966)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Works cited==
*{{cite book|last=Fischer|first=Michael|year=1991|title=Horror Film Directors, 1931-1990|volume=1|ref=harv|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-899-50609-8}}
*{{cite book|last=Singer|first=Michael|year=1989|title=Film Directors|volume=7|ref=harv|publisher=Lone Eagle Pub.|isbn=978-0-943-72827-8}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*{{IMDb name|169540}}
*[http://www.searchmytrash.com/articles/larrycohen(8-08).shtml Larry Cohen biography on (re)Search my Trash]
*[http://www.sensesofcinema.com/2003/great-directors/cohen/ Senses of Cinema Great Directors profile (profile by Tony Williams)]
*''The New Yorker'' Feb 2, 2004 "The Survivor" by Amy Wallace p42-49
*[http://larrycohenfilmmaker.com/ Larry Cohen Filmmaker (Official Website)]
{{Larry Cohen}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Larry}}
[[Category:1941 births]]
[[Category:2019 deaths]]
[[Category:Film producers from New York (state)]]
[[Category:American male screenwriters]]
[[Category:Horror film directors]]
[[Category:Jewish American screenwriters]]
[[Category:Place of death missing]]
[[Category:People from Kingston, New York]]
[[Category:Writers from the Bronx]]
[[Category:City College of New York alumni]]
[[Category:Screenwriters from New York (state)]]

Larry Cohen

2019-03-25T07:00:40Z

2601:601:4600:BA0:51E9:23E8:A5FA:D67E: /* Death */Added content

{{Other people}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2013}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Larry Cohen
| image = Larry Cohen 2010.jpg
| caption = Cohen in October 2010
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1941|7|15}}
| birth_place = [[Manhattan]], [[New York]] U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2019|3|24|1941|7|15}}
| death_place = [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], U.S.
| occupation = Producer, film director, writer
| alma_mater = [[City College of New York]]
| relatives = [[Ronni Chasen]] {{small|(sister)}}
}}
'''Lawrence G. Cohen''' (July 15, 1941 – March 24, 2019) was an American film producer, director, and screenwriter, best known as a [[B-movie]] [[auteur]] of [[Horror fiction|horror]] and [[science fiction film|science-fiction]] films — often containing a [[police procedural]] element — during the 1970s and 1980s. After that, he concentrated mainly on screenwriting, including ''[[Phone Booth (film)|Phone Booth]]'' (2002), ''[[Cellular (film)|Cellular]]'' (2004) and ''[[Captivity (film)|Captivity]]'' (2007). In 2006, Cohen returned to the directing chair for [[Mick Garris]]' ''[[Masters of Horror]]'' TV series (2006); he directed the episode "[[Pick Me Up (Masters of Horror)|Pick Me Up]]".<ref name="Cohen, Larry 2011">Cohen, Larry, Filmography, Internet Movie Database, [accessed] April 4, 2011.{{unreliable source?|date=April 2015}}</ref>

==Early life==
Cohen was born July 15, 1941,{{sfn|Singer|1989|p=75}}{{sfn|Fischer|1991|p=189}} in [[Washington Heights, Manhattan]].<ref name="DVD bio">"Biography of Larry Cohen,” ''The Stuff'' (1985). DVD. Englewood, Colorado: Anchor Bay/Starz Entertainment, 2000.</ref> His sister [[Ronni Chasen]] was a publicist who worked with him beginning early in his film career. He moved to the [[Riverdale, Bronx|Riverdale]] section of [[the Bronx]] in New York City at an early age, and he later majored in [[film studies]] at the [[City College of New York]].

He exhibited a voracious appetite for films as a child, visiting the movie theaters at least twice a week, and most of them being [[double feature]]s, the young Cohen managed to consume at least four movies a week. He was a fan of the [[hardboiled|hard-boiled]] and [[film noir]] movies that featured actors such as [[Humphrey Bogart]] and [[James Cagney]]; films that were penned by the likes of [[Raymond Chandler]] and [[Dashiell Hammett]]. Cohen was especially a fan of director [[Michael Curtiz]], whose films include ''[[The Adventures of Robin Hood (film)|The Adventures of Robin Hood]]'', ''[[Casablanca (film)|Casablanca]]'', and ''[[Dodge City (1939 film)|Dodge City]]''.

His own career in film began during the 1950s when he worked for [[NBC]] television network: it was while working at [[NBC]] that he learned how to produce [[teleplays]] and, shortly after, began writing his own television scripts. He created the TV series ''[[The Invaders]]'' and also scripted episodes of ''[[The Defenders (1961 TV series)|The Defenders]]'' and ''[[The Fugitive (TV series)|The Fugitive]]''.<ref>Layne, Brian, ''Larry Cohen Interview'' in ''Films in Review'', p. 1, December 21, 2009</ref>

==Career==
===Early work; television===
Cohen began his career as a writer for well-known television series, concentrating his efforts on – but not limiting them to – the crime and detective [[genres]]. He penned several episodes of ''[[The Defenders (1961 TV series)|The Defenders]]'' (1964) – which starred [[E.G. Marshall]] – one episode of the ''[[Espionage (TV series)|Espionage]])'' (1964), and episodes of ''[[The Fugitive (TV series)|The Fugitive]]'' (1964–65). Other writing credits during the 1950s and 1960s included the [[fantasy]]-suspense [[anthologies]] ''[[Kraft Television Theatre]]'' (1958) and ''[[Kraft Suspense Theatre]]'' (1965), the espionage TV series ''[[Blue Light (TV series)|Blue Light]]'' (1966) starring [[Robert Goulet]] and ''[[Coronet Blue]]'' (1967) starring [[Frank Converse]], and the science fiction TV series, ''[[The Invaders]]'' (1967–1968). In 1966 he wrote the screenplay to the [[Western (genre)|western]] film ''[[Return of the Seven]]'' (also known as ''Return of the Magnificent Seven''), a sequel to the 1960 film ''[[The Magnificent Seven]]'' which saw the return of [[Yul Brynner]] as [[gunslinger]] Chris Adams. Four episodes he wrote for ''Blue Light'' were edited together to create the theatrical film ''[[I Deal in Danger]]'', released in December 1966.<ref name="ctva">{{cite web|url=http://ctva.biz/Europe/BlueLight.htm|title=CTVA Europe - "Blue Light"|website=ctva.biz}}</ref> He also created the [[western (genre)|western]] TV series ''[[Branded (TV series)|Branded]]'' (1965–1966)<ref name="Cohen, Larry 2011"/> and was the co-creator with [[Walter Grauman]] of ''Blue Light''.<ref name="ctva"/>

===1970s===
Although Cohen continued to write TV and film scripts during the 1970s – such as ''[[Columbo (TV series)|Columbo]]'' – he further turned his hand to directing. His directorial debut was the comedy film ''[[Bone (1972 film)|Bone]]'' starring [[Yaphet Kotto]], a.k.a. ''Beverly Hills Nightmare'', ''Dial Rat for Terror'' and ''Housewife''. In 1974 he directed the [[horror film]] ''[[It's Alive (1974 film)|It's Alive]]'', about a mutant monster baby that embarks on a killing spree. The film – an initial commercial failure – was re-released with a new and sharper advertisement campaign; it went on to earn over $7 million for [[Warner Bros.]] and spawn two sequels.<ref name="Litwak, Mark 1986 p. 251">Litwak, Mark (1986). Reel Power: The Struggle for Influence and Success in the New Hollywood. New York: William Morrow & Co.. p. 251. {{ISBN|0-688-04889-7}}.</ref>

Cohen followed-up ''It's Alive'' with the science fiction-[[serial killer]] film ''[[God Told Me To]]'' (1976), in which a New York detective investigates a spate of killings by apparently random people who say that God told them to commit the crimes. He would concentrate his work predominantly within the [[Horror film|horror]] genre throughout the 1970s and 1980s, often incorporating elements of crime, [[police procedural]], and science fiction with scathing social commentary.<ref name="Cohen, Larry 2011" />

Cohen created the ''It's Alive'' series in 1974 when he made the film ''[[It's Alive (1974 film)|It's Alive]]''. The film was eventually a moderate success – after a re-vamped advertising campaign<ref name="Litwak, Mark 1986 p. 251"/> – and went on to spawn two sequels, ''It's Alive II: It Lives Again'' (1978) and ''It's Alive III: Island of the Alive'' (1987).<ref>''It's Alive'', dir. Cohen, Larry, Internet Movie Database, [accessed] April 4, 2011.{{unreliable source?|date=April 2015}}</ref><ref>''It Lives Again'', dir. Cohen Larry, IMDB, [accessed] April 5, 2011.{{unreliable source?|date=April 2015}}</ref><ref name="It's Alive III 2011">''It's Alive III: Island of the Alive'', dir. Cohen, Larry, IMDB, [accessed] April 5, 2011.{{unreliable source?|date=April 2015}}</ref>

''It's Alive'' (1974) tells of a young couple, Frank and Lenore Davis, who give birth to a mutated baby. The doctors and nurses at the hospital attempt to end the life of the deformed child but it instead kills them and escapes. A police manhunt ensues as the fleeing mutation leaves dead bodies in its wake. Frank sees the child just as [[Dr. Frankenstein]] saw his monster and assists the police.

The emphasis in ''It's Alive'' is on chemicals in the ecosystem and experimental prescription drugs that can be harmful to unborn babies. The score for ''It's Alive'' was composed by [[Bernard Herrmann]], famous for his contributions to many [[Alfred Hitchcock]] films, including ''[[Psycho (1960 film)|Psycho]]'', ''[[North by Northwest]]'', and ''[[Vertigo (film)|Vertigo]]''. In fact, the welling strings, horn arrangements and harp glissandos throughout the film prefigure the soundtrack to Herrmann's final film score two years later for "Taxi Driver". The cast includes [[John P. Ryan]], [[Sharon Farrell]], [[James Dixon]], and [[Andrew Duggan]].<ref>''It's Alive'', dir. Cohen, Larry, Internet Movie Database, [accessed] April 6, 2011.{{unreliable source?|date=April 2015}}</ref>

''It Lives Again'' (1978) picks up where the first one ended. More mutated babies are appearing around the country. Frank has now joined a renegade mob who are attempting to stop the government from killing these strange mutations. The emphasis in ''It Lives Again'' is on accepting one's child, even if it is born with deformities or disabilities. The score is again provided by [[Bernard Herrmann]]. The cast includes [[John P. Ryan]], [[James Dixon]], [[Andrew Duggan]], and [[Frederic Forrest]].<ref>''It Lives Again'', dir. Cohen Larry, IMDB, The Internet Movie Database, [accessed] April 6, 2011.{{unreliable source?|date=April 2015}}</ref>

===1980s===
During the 1980s, Cohen directed, produced, and scripted a number of low-budget horror films, many of which featured actor [[Michael Moriarty]]. The first was ''[[Q (film)|Q]]'' – a.k.a. ''Q: The Winged Serpent'' (1982) — about an [[Aztec]] god known as [[Quetzalcoatl]] (the Winged Serpent) resurrected and nesting atop the [[Chrysler Building]]. The film is set in New York City, as was typical for Cohen, and sees two police detectives investigating a spate of killings in the city. The cast is headed by Moriarty and co-stars [[David Carradine]], [[Candy Clark]], [[Richard Roundtree]], and James Dixon (another Cohen regular).

Cohen's next project with Moriarty was ''[[The Stuff]]'' (1985) in which an [[Extraterrestrial life|alien]] substance of sorts is found bubbling out of the ground. The Stuff is marketed at the general public, which rapidly becomes addicted to it. David "Mo" Rutheford, an industrial [[saboteur]], played by [[Michael Moriarty]], is hired to investigate the origins of the Stuff and to then destroy the product. The film co-stars [[Danny Aiello]], [[Brian Bloom]], [[Scott Bloom]], [[Andrea Marcovicci]], [[Patrick O'Neal (actor)|Patrick O'Neal]], and [[Paul Sorvino]]. ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' regular [[Garrett Morris]] plays Charlie W. Hobbs a.k.a. Chocolate Chip Charlie, a [[junk food]] [[Magnate|mogul]] who assists Mo with his investigation. Cohen cast Moriarty in ''It's Alive 3: Island of the Alive'' (1987)—the third part of the ''Alive Trilogy''—and again in ''[[A Return to Salem's Lot]]'' (1987), the unofficial sequel of [[Stephen King]]'s novel and TV [[miniseries]] ''[[Salem's Lot (1979 TV miniseries)|Salem's Lot]]''. Cohen finished the 1980s with ''[[Wicked Stepmother]]'' (1989), in which the late [[Bette Davis]] made her last appearance.<ref name="Cohen, Larry 2011" />

===1990s===
Cohen began the 1990s with his film ''[[The Ambulance]]'' (1990) starring [[Eric Roberts]]. The film is set in New York City and is focused on Josh Baker (Roberts), an aspiring comic book artist, who investigates a string of disappearances: people who are picked up by a mysterious ambulance never reach the city hospital. ''[[The Ambulance]]'' features [[cameo appearance|cameos]] by [[Stan Lee]], [[Larry Hama]] and [[Jim Salicrup]] of [[Marvel Comics]]. He would direct only two other films during the 1990s, one being the [[Blaxploitation]] film ''[[Original Gangstas]]'' (1996), featuring [[Ron O'Neal]], [[Pam Grier]], and [[Fred Williamson]]. For most of the decade, Cohen concentrated on writing. He penned the remainder of the [[William Lustig]] ''Maniac Cop'' Trilogy – he had previously scripted ''[[Maniac Cop]]'' in 1988 – that features [[Robert Z'Dar]] as undead Maniac Cop, Matt Cordell, and [[B-Movie]] horror actor [[Bruce Campbell]]. He then provided the story of the third adaptation of [[Jack Finney]]'s 1955 science-fiction novel ''[[The Body Snatchers]]'', a tale of [[Extraterrestrial life|alien]] invasion and [[paranoia]]: ''[[Body Snatchers (1993 film)|Body Snatchers]]'' was directed by [[Abel Ferrara]] and starred [[Forest Whitaker]]. Throughout the decade Cohen was further involved in various TV projects including ''[[NYPD Blue]]'' and the [[Ed McBain]]-inspired ''87th Precinct: Heatwave''. He also served as producer on the [[John Candy]] comedy ''[[Delirious (1991 film)|Delirious]]'' (1991).<ref name="Cohen, Larry 2011"/>

===2000s–2019===
Cohen's output after the 1990s was less prolific and concentrated solely on scriptwriting, except for a brief return to directing with the ''[[Masters of Horror]]'' episode "[[Pick Me Up (Masters of Horror)|Pick Me Up]]" (2006). His first project, ''[[Phone Booth (film)|Phone Booth]]'' (2002), became involved in a Hollywood bidding war, the script eventually ending up in the hands of [[Joel Schumacher]].<ref>Aames, Ethan, Interview with Joel Schumacher: Phone Booth in Cinema Confidential online magazine, p.1, March 4, 2003.</ref> ''Phone Booth'' was a commercial success with an estimated budget of $13 million and a worldwide gross of $98 million.<ref>''Phone Booth'', 2002, Box Office Budget, Internet Movie Database, Estimated Figures, [accessed] April 7, 2011.{{unreliable source?|date=April 2015}}</ref> The film starred [[Colin Farrell]], [[Katie Holmes]], [[Kiefer Sutherland]], and [[Forest Whitaker]]; it was produced by [[David Zucker (filmmaker)|David Zucker]].

His next film, another [[Action film|action]]-crime [[Thriller (genre)|thriller]] titled ''[[Cellular (film)|Cellular]]'' (2004), also featured phones and, like ''Phone Booth'', it was a modest commercial success with an estimated budget of $25 million and a gross worldwide return of $50 million.<ref>''Cellular'', 2004, Internet Movie Database, Estimated Figures, [accessed] April 7, 2011.{{unreliable source?|date=April 2015}}</ref> ''Cellular'' starred [[Kim Basinger]], [[Chris Evans (actor)|Chris Evans]], [[William H. Macy]], and [[Jason Statham]]. ''Cellular'' was later re-made as ''[[Connected (film)|Connected]]'' (2008), Cohen being credited with the story. He then scripted the [[Horror film|horror]]-thriller films ''[[Captivity (film)|Captivity]]'' (2007) and ''[[Messages Deleted]]'' (2009); however, both films fared poorly on a critical and commercial level.<ref>''Captivity'', 2007, Internet Movie Database, Estimated Figures, [accessed] April 7, 2011.{{unreliable source?|date=April 2015}}</ref><ref>''Messages Deleted'', 2009, Internet Movie Database, Estimated Figures, [accessed] April 7, 2011.{{unreliable source?|date=April 2015}}</ref> Cohen nevertheless received acclaim for the above-mentioned ''[[Pick Me Up (Masters of Horror)|Pick Me Up]]'', which he directed for the [[Mick Garris]] TV series ''[[Masters of Horror]]'' (2006). The episode was written by [[splatterpunk]]-[[Horror fiction|horror]] author [[David Schow]], and starred Cohen regular [[Michael Moriarty]].<ref name="Cohen, Larry 2011"/>

{{See also|Cast of Characters vs. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen lawsuit}}
In 2003, Cohen, together with production partner [[Martin Poll]] was at the center of a lawsuit against [[20th Century Fox]], claiming the company had intentionally [[plagiarism|plagiarized]] a [[screenplay|script]] of theirs titled ''Cast of Characters'' in order to create the [[Sean Connery]]-starring ''[[The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (film)|League of Extraordinary Gentlemen]]'' film in 2003. According to the [[BBC]], the lawsuit alleged 'that Mr Cohen and Mr Poll pitched the idea to Fox several times between 1993 and 1996, under the name ''Cast of Characters''.'<ref name="CT">"Gentlemen lands Fox in $100 million lawsuit," September 27, 2003. ''Calcutta Telegraph''.</ref><ref name="BW">"Producer and Writer File $100 Million Lawsuit Against 20th Century-Fox," September 25, 2003. ''Business Wire''.</ref><ref name="BBC1">{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/3141720.stm |title=Studio sued over superhero movie |date=September 26, 2003 |publisher=BBC |accessdate=May 16, 2008 |deadurl=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/5XrcV3T8s?url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/3141720.stm |archivedate=May 16, 2008 |df= }} on 2008-05-16.</ref> ''The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'' was an adaptation of the 1999 published comic book series by [[Alan Moore]] and artist [[Kevin O'Neill (comics)|Kevin O'Neill]].<ref>Moore, Alan, & O'Neill, Kevin, ''The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'', Issue 1., [[Wildstorm]] / [[DC Comics]], copyright 1999.</ref>

In 2006, Cohen was included in the ''[[Masters of Horror]]'' TV anthology, which also included – but was not limited to – writers and directors as diverse as [[Dario Argento]], [[Clive Barker]], [[John Carpenter]], [[Richard Chizmar]], [[Don Coscarelli]], [[Wes Craven]], [[David Cronenberg]], [[Joe Dante]], [[Guillermo Del Toro]], [[Ernest Dickerson]], [[Stuart Gordon]], [[James Gunn (filmmaker)|James Gunn]], [[Sam Hamm]], [[Tom Holland (director)|Tom Holland]], [[Tobe Hooper]], [[Lloyd Kaufman]], [[Mary Lambert (director)|Mary Lambert]], [[John Landis]], [[Joe R. Lansdale]], [[Bentley Little]], [[H.P. Lovecraft]], [[Joe Lynch (director)|Joe Lynch]], [[William Lustig]], [[Peter Medak]], [[Lucky McKee]], Kat O' Shea, [[Robert Rodriguez]], [[Eli Roth]], [[David Schow]], and [[Tim Sullivan (director)|Tim Sullivan]]. It was created by [[Mick Garris]] for the [[Showtime (TV network)|Showtime]] cable network.<ref>''Masters of Horror'' Cast & Crew page, ''Internet Movie Database'', [accessed] April 5, 2011.{{unreliable source?|date=April 2015}}</ref> Cohen's contribution was the segment ''[[Pick Me Up (Masters of Horror)|Pick Me Up]]'',<ref>''Pick Me Up'', ''Masters of Horror, Internet Movie Database, [accessed], April 5, 2011.{{unreliable source?|date=April 2015}}</ref> based on a short story by [[David Schow]], who also wrote the [[teleplay]].<ref>Schow, David J., Filmography, Writer, Internet Movie Database, [accessed] April 5, 2011.{{unreliable source?|date=April 2015}}</ref> It stars [[Fairuza Balk]] and Cohen regulars [[Laurene Landon]] and [[Michael Moriarty]]. ''Pick Me Up'' is the story of woman traveling on a bus that has broken down along a stretch of lonely two-lane [[blacktop]]. Enter two [[serial killers]]: Wheeler (Moriarty), a driver who picks up [[hitchhiker]]s with the sole intent of killing them – and – Walker (Warren Kole), a [[hitchhiker]] who accepts lifts in order to find ''his'' victims. The two killers pair up and inventively murder all the passengers on the bus, save for Stacia (Balk), who has since gone her own way. Stacia eventually winds up in the middle of a serial killer [[wikt:turf war|turf war]], a war over which killer will get her first.<ref>Cohen, Larry & Garris, Mick, ''Pick Me Up'', from ''Masters of Horror'', Anchor Bay Entertainment, 2006.</ref> ''Pick Me Up'' signaled a brief return to the director's chair for Cohen.

Joseph Rusnak remade Cohen's ''[[It's Alive (2009 film)|It's Alive]]'' in 2009.<ref>''It's Alive'' (2008), dir. Rusnak, Joseph, The Internet Movie Database, [accessed] April 7, 2011.{{unreliable source?|date=April 2015}}</ref> Still awaiting a score on [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the existing reviews are also very poor.<ref>''It's Alive'' (2009), [[Rotten Tomatoes]], [accessed] April 6, 2011.</ref> Even Cohen admitted that the remake was dreadful<ref>Berrett, Simon, ''An Interview with Larry Cohen, Creator of ''The Invaders'' and So Much More'' in ''Celebrity News'', May 20, 2008.</ref> and states: 'It's a terrible picture. It's just beyond awful'.<ref name="filmsinreview.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.filmsinreview.com/2009/12/21/larry-cohen-interview/|title=LARRY COHEN INTERVIEW - Films In Review|website=Films In Review}}</ref> Cohen offered his 1974 script but remarks that it was completely ignored: "I would advise anybody who likes my film to cross the street and avoid seeing the new enchilada."<ref name="filmsinreview.com"/>

==Death==
Cohen died on March 24, 2019 in [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], at the age of 77 he needs milk. <ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/larry-cohen-dead-alive-hell-up-harlem-writer-director-was-77-1185759|title=Larry Cohen, Writer-Director of 'It's Alive' and 'Hell Up in Harlem,' Dies at 77|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=March 24, 2019|accessdate=March 25, 2019|author=Koseluk, Chris}}</ref>

==Critical response==
Critical response to Cohen's work has been extremely varied, reviews ranging from good to poor.

Cohen's [[science fiction film|science fiction]] [[Horror film|horror]] film and [[satirical]] social commentary ''[[The Stuff]]'' (1985) garnered mixed reviews, often being compared to [[Jack Finney]]'s ''[[The Body Snatchers]]'' novel and the 1958 film ''[[The Blob]]''. It has a moderate ''fresh'' rating of 63% on [[Rotten Tomatoes]].<ref>Cohen Larry, ''The Stuff'' rating at ''Rotten Tomatoes'' Web site, [accessed] April 5, 2011.</ref> The ''Apollo Movie Guide'' remark that ''The Stuff'' works on a purely visceral level and that it further achieves a tongue-in-cheek social parody of a society that cannot help buying into the latest craze. Although ''Apollo'' praise the juxtaposition of Cohen's clever screenplay and [[Michael Moriarty]]'s performance, it states that the film is no classic. It does, however, award the film a modest Apollo Rating of 77/100.<ref>Weinberg, Scott, Stuff, The, ''Intelligent Reviews Online'' in ''Apollo Movie Guide'', accessed April 5, 2011.</ref> The ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'', on the other hand, sees ''The Stuff'' as a widely ambitious movie that fails mainly due to distracting glitches and a lack of plausibility: "What we have here are a lot of nice touches in search of a movie." ''Chicago Sun-Times'' rating: 1 1/2 stars out of 5.<ref>Ebert, Roger, ''The Stuff'' in ''Chicago Sun-Times'', August 26, 1985.</ref> ''Bloody Disgusting'' nevertheless awarded ''The Stuff'' 3 stars out of 5, pointing out both the good and the bad: "[I]t's smart, it's relevant and it has some bad acting. [It should be] enjoyed for all the wrong and some of the right reasons that it is not just a horror movie, but a very honest and important movie as well."<ref>Stuff, The, ''Blood-Disgusting'' online zine, [accessed] April 5, 2011.</ref>

His [[fantasy film|fantasy]] [[Horror film|horror]] ''[[Q (film)|Q]]'' a.k.a. ''Q: The Winged Serpent''' (1982) has a [[Rotten Tomatoes]] rating of 61%.<ref>''Q'' rating at ''Rotten Tomatoes'' website, [accessed] April 5, 2011.</ref> ''[[TV Guide]]'' praise Cohen for his intelligence, creativity and originality and further comment that '[Cohen] successfully combines a ''film noir'' crime story with a good old-fashioned ''giant monster'' movie' and that '[[Michael Moriarty]] turns in a brilliant performance as Jimmy Quinn [...]'.<ref>''Q'', ''TV Guide'', March 28, 2007.</ref> Horror author and movie critic, [[Kim Newman]], praises Cohen's plot originality and canny use of characters in ''[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]]'', pointing out the director's use of an oddball as lead – Jimmy Quinn – who would ordinarily be a secondary character or warrant solely a cameo appearance; Newman also explains how Cohen has relegated all the usual plot devices – in movies such as ''King Kong'' – to the background.<ref>Newman, Kim, ''Q'', in ''Empire Magazine'', June 22, 2005.</ref> Alternatively, the ''[[Chicago Reader]]'', although viewing Cohen's monster movie as 'cheesy' and 'fun', ultimately condemns the movie as being 'curiously disengaged and sloppy'.<ref>Graham, Pat, ''Q'' review in ''Chicago Reader'', [accessed] April 5, 2011.</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'', following the film's opening day at the [[Rivoli Theater (Indianapolis, Indiana)|Rivoli Theater]], had just 'a few words – only a very few – about ''Q'', offering a brief neutral synopsis and a couple of quotes.<ref>Maslin, Janet, ''Q Mayhem and Horror'' in ''The New York Times'', October 8, 1982.</ref> ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' are more favourable, focusing on Cohen's 'wild' and 'bizarre' – albeit realistic – efforts: ''Q'' has great fun mixing realistic settings with political satire and a wild yarn'. They go on to say that the film belongs to both Moriarty and the Monster.<ref>''Q: The Winged Serpert'', ''Variety'' magazine, posted: Thu., Dec 31, 1981, 11:00pm PT, [accessed] April 5, 2011.</ref>

''[[It's Alive (1974 film)|It's Alive]]'', the first part of Cohen's [[Horror film|horror]] trilogy featuring a mutated baby that kills its prey when trapped or frightened, holds a rating of 67% on [[Rotten Tomatoes]], one of the highest rated Cohen films from the latter. Focusing on the social context of the film at the time, ''The Film Journal'' points out that ''It's Alive'' 'carries a potent mix of both suspense and social critique [...] [i]nvoking such taboo subjects as abortion as early as 1974'. As well as being apt at providing 'suspense', ''The Film Journal'' acknowledge Cohen's ability 'to impart an intelligent nature to his otherwise pulpy horror films'.<ref>Graham, Aaron W., ''It's Alive!/It Lives Again/Island of the Alive'' in ''The Film Journal'', [accessed] April 5, 2009.</ref> ''Black Hole'' magazine say that despite a lack of [[A-List]] actors and special effects, ''It's Alive'' still manages to maintain the viewers interest due to Cohen's 'unique horror concept and a script rich in ideas'. ''Black Hole'' nevertheless points out that '[w]hile the drama is consistent, it's less successful as a seventies monster movie, and especially lacking now': whereas ''[[Jaws (film)|Jaws]]'' (1975) revealed the shark slowly, Cohen's film 'barely ever shows us the goods'. The magazine does agree, however, that ''It's Alive'' was 'a sufficiently powerful monster movie and [that] audiences wanted more'.<ref>''Kill, baby, kill, kill!' in ''Black Hole'' magazine (online), March 6, 2011.</ref> ''Filmcritic'' draws attention to the humour element, especially the scenes where the Baby-Monster is rustling in the bushes, unseen, comparing them to the scene in ''[[Basket Case (film)|Basket Case]]'' (1982) when the Baby-Monster is stuffed into a garbage sack after being cut away from its human twin. ''Basket Case'' is indeed a part of another – later – Baby-Monster [[Horror film|horror]] trilogy. In short, ''Filmcritic'' says that Cohen's film should not be confused with art; and yet, it is 'pretty scary stuff' that 'manages a few neat tricks'.<ref>Euker, Jake, ''It's Alive'' on ''Filmcritic'' online zine, October 27, 2004.</ref>

''[[God Told Me To]]'' a.k.a. ''Demon'' (1976), Cohen's [[science fiction film|science fiction]] [[Thriller (genre)|thriller]], has a rating of 75% on [[Rotten Tomatoes]], making it Cohen's most successful directorial effort, critically. The film, in which a number of New York citizens embark on a killing spree because ''God Told Them To'', is called 'one of his most ambitious movies' that is 'cemented in an interesting idea' by ''QNetwork Entertainment'', who find Cohen's ideology of the existence of God interesting: 'cynical at best' and 'sacrilegious at worst'. The magazine continues, however, to comment on Cohen's lack of patience and drive when completing his movies, regarding the end products as being 'hastily thrown-together' and 'a mosaic of scenes, rather than a satisfying whole'. In conclusion ''QNetwork'' give the film an even 2 1/2 stars for being the 'clumsiest and most entertaining schlock of the last 20 years'.<ref>Kendrick, James, ''God Told Me To a.k.a. Demon'' in ''QNetwork Entertainment'' online magazine, [accessed] April 5, 2011.</ref> ''CinePassion'' online magazine simply state: '[a] work of genius, in other words, possibly the Cohen joint that brims with the most all-pervasive invention and danger, as radical a Seventies 'incoherent text' as ''[[Taxi Driver]]'' and a clear linchpin of ''[[The X-Files]]'''.<ref>Croce, Fernando F., ''God Told Me To'', [accessed] April 5, 2011.</ref> The ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' sees Cohen's incoherent text in a different light, likening the film to a cinematic version of the card game [[52 Pickup]]: 'the movie does achieve greatness in another way: this is the most confused feature-length film [...] ever seen'.<ref>Ebert, Roger, ''God Told Me To'' in ''Chicago Sun-Times'', December 1, 1976.</ref> But ''[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]]'' applauded Cohen for offering 'the perfect existential anti-hero' in New York cop, Lo Bianco, in a film that 'overflows with such perverse and subversive notions that no amount of shoddy editing and substandard camerawork can conceal [its] unusual qualities' and that by '[d]igging deep into the psyche of American manhood, it lays bare the guilt-ridden oppressions of a soulless society'.<ref>SW, ''God Told Me To'' in ''Time Out'' magazine, London, [accessed] April 5, 2011.</ref>

==Filmography==

===Director===
* [[Pick Me Up (Masters of Horror)|''Masters of Horror''—"Pick Me Up"]] (2006)
* ''[[Original Gangstas]]'' (1996)
* ''[[As Good as Dead (1995 film)|As Good as Dead]]'' (1995)
* ''[[The Ambulance]]'' (1990)
* ''[[Wicked Stepmother]]'' (1989)
* ''[[Deadly Illusion]]'' (1987)
* ''[[A Return to Salem's Lot]]'' (1987)
* ''[[It's Alive III: Island of the Alive]]'' (1987)
* ''[[The Stuff]]'' (1985)
* ''[[Perfect Strangers (1984 film)|Perfect Strangers]]'' (1984)
* ''[[Special Effects (film)|Special Effects]]'' (1984)
* ''[[Q (film)|Q]]'' (1982)
* ''[[See China and Die]]'' (1981)
* ''[[Full Moon High]]'' (1981)
* ''[[It Lives Again]]'' (1978)
* ''[[The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover]]'' (1977)
* ''[[God Told Me To]]'' (1976)
* ''[[It's Alive (1974 film)|It's Alive]]'' (1974)
* ''[[Hell Up in Harlem]]'' (1973)
* ''[[Black Caesar (film)|Black Caesar]]'' (1973) a.k.a. ''The Godfather of Harlem''
* ''[[Bone (1972 film)|Bone]]'' (1972) a.k.a. ''Dial Rat for Terror''

===Screenwriter===
* ''The Gambler, the Girl and the Gunslinger'' (2009)
* ''[[Messages Deleted]]'' (2009)
* ''[[It's Alive (2009 film)|It's Alive]]'' (2009)
* ''Maniac Cop'' [short] [characters] (2008)
* ''[[Connected (film)|Connected]]'' [original story] (2008)
* ''[[Captivity (film)|Captivity]]'' (2007)
* ''[[Cellular (film)|Cellular]]'' [story] (2004)
* ''[[Phone Booth (film)|Phone Booth]]'' (2002) (Writer)
* ''[[Misbegotten (film)|Misbegotten]]'' (1998)
* ''The Defenders: Choice of Evils'' [Story] [Teleplay] (1998)
* ''[[The Ex (1997 film)|The Ex]]'' (1997)
* ''[[Uncle Sam (film)|Uncle Sam]]'' (1996)
* ''[[Ed McBain]]'s 87th Precinct: Heatwave'' [Teleplay] (1996)
* ''The Invaders'' [TV Movie] (1995)
* ''[[The Expert (1995 film)|The Expert]]'' [uncredited] (1995)
* ''As Good as Dead'' [TV Movie] (1995)
* ''[[NYPD Blue]]'' [Season 2; Episode 17, "Dirty Socks"] (1995)
* ''[[Guilty as Sin]]'' (1993)
* [[Jack Finney]]'s ''[[Body Snatchers (1993 film)|Body Snatchers]]'' [Screen Story] (1993)
* ''[[Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence]]'' (1993)
* ''[[Maniac Cop 2]]'' (1990)
* ''[[The Ambulance]]'' (1990)
* ''[[Wicked Stepmother]]'' (1989)
* ''Desperado: Avalanche at Devil's Ridge'' [TV Movie] (1988)
* ''[[Maniac Cop]]'' (1988)
* ''[[Deadly Illusion]]'' (1987)
* ''[[Best Seller]]'' (1987)
* ''[[A Return to Salem's Lot]]'' (1987)
* ''[[It's Alive III: Island of the Alive]]'' (1987)
* ''[[The Stuff]]'' (1985)
* ''[[Perfect Strangers (1984 film)|Perfect Strangers]]'' (1984)
* ''[[Special Effects (film)|Special Effects]]'' (1984)
* ''Scandalous'' [Story] (1984)
* ''Women of San Quentin'' [TV Movie] [Story] (1983)
* ''[[Q (film)|Q]]'' (1982)
* ''[[I, the Jury (1982 film)|I, the Jury]]'' (1982)
* ''[[Full Moon High]]'' (1981)
* ''[[The American Success Company]]'' (1980)
* ''[[It Lives Again]]'' (1978)
* ''Sparrow'' [TV Movie] [Creator] (1978)
* ''[[The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover]]'' (1977)
* ''[[God Told Me To]]'' (1976)
* ''[[Griff (TV series)|Griff]]'' [Episode "Man on the Outside"] (1975)
* ''[[It's Alive (1974 film)|It's Alive]]'' (1974)
* ''[[Columbo (TV series)|Columbo]]'' [Story] [Episode "An Exercise in Fatality"] (1974)
* ''[[Columbo (TV series)|Columbo]]'' [Story] [Episode "Candidate for Crime"] (1973)
* ''[[Columbo (TV series)|Columbo]]'' [Story] [Episode "Any Old Port in a Storm"] (1973)
* ''Shootout in a One-Dog Town'' [TV Movie] [Story] (1974)
* ''[[Hell Up in Harlem]]'' (1973)
* ''[[Black Caesar (film)|Black Caesar]]'' (1973) a.k.a. ''The Godfather of Harlem''
* ''[[Cool Million]]'' [TV Series] Television pilot (1972)
* ''[[Bone (1972 film)|Bone]]'' (1972) a.k.a. ''Dial Rat''
* ''Call Home'' [TV Movie] [Developer] (1972)
* ''[[In Broad Daylight (film)|In Broad Daylight]]'' [TV Movie] (1971)
* ''[[El Condor (1970 film)|El Condor]]'' (1970)
* ''[[Daddy's Gone A-Hunting (1969 film)|Daddy's Gone A-Hunting]]'' (1969)
* ''[[Scream, Baby, Scream]]'' (1969)
* ''[[The Invaders]]'' [TV Series] [43 Episodes] [Creator] (1967–68)
* ''[[Custer (TV series)|Custer]]'' a.k.a. ''The Legend of Custer'' [suggested by] (1967)
* ''[[Coronet Blue]]'' [TV Series] [11 Episodes] [Creator] (1967)
* ''[[I Deal in Danger]]'' (1966)
* ''[[The Rat Patrol]]'' [TV Series] [Episode "The Blind Man's Bluff Raid"] (1966)
* ''[[Return of the Seven]]'' a.k.a. ''Return of the Magnificent Seven'' (1966)
* ''[[Blue Light (TV series)|Blue Light]]'', TV Series [17 Episodes] [also co-creator] (1966)
* ''Blade River, Revenge of the Indian Nations'' (1966)
* ''[[Branded (TV series)|Branded]]'' [TV Series] [48 Episodes] [Creator] (1965–66)
* ''[[Kraft Suspense Theatre]]'' [TV Series] [Episode "Kill No More"] (1965)
* ''[[The Fugitive (TV series)|The Fugitive]]'' [Episode "Scapegoat"] [Story] (1965)
* ''[[The Fugitive (TV series)|The Fugitive]]'' [Episode "Escape into Black"] [Teleplay] (1964)
* ''[[Espionage (TV series)|Espionage]]'' [Episode "Medal for a Turned Coat"] (1964)
* ''[[The Defenders (1961 TV series)|The Defenders]]'' [Writer] [9 Episodes] (1963–65)
* ''The Nurses'' [TV Series] [3 Episodes] (1963)
* ''[[Arrest and Trial]]'' [TV Series] [Episode "My Name is Martin Burham"] (1963)
* ''[[Sam Benedict]]'' [TV Series] [Episode "Accomplice"] (1963)
* ''[[Checkmate (TV series)|Checkmate]]'' [TV Series] [Episode "Nice Guys Finish Last"] (1961)
* ''[[The United States Steel Hour]]'' [TV Series] [Episode "The Golden Thirty"] (1961)
* ''[[Way Out (TV series)|Way Out]]'' [TV Series] [Episode "False Face"] (1961)
* ''[[Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater]]'' [TV Series] [Episode "Killer Instinct"] (1960)
* ''[[Kraft Television Theatre]]'' [TV Series] [Episode "Night Cry"] (1958)
* ''[[Kraft Television Theatre]]'' [TV Series] [Episode "The Eighty Seventh Precinct"] [adaptation] (1958)

===Producer===
* ''The Torture of Delva Mills'' [Executive Prd.] (2010)
* ''As Good as Dead'' (1995)
* ''[[Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence]]'' [Co-Prd.] (1993)
* ''[[Maniac Cop 2]]'' (1990)
* ''[[Wicked Stepmother]]'' [Executive Prd.] (1989)
* ''[[Maniac Cop]]'' (1988)
* ''[[A Return to Salem's Lot]]'' [Executive Prd.] (1987)
* ''It's Alive 3: Island of the Alive'' [Executive Prd.] (1987)
* ''[[The Stuff]]'' [Executive Prd.] (1985)
* ''[[Q (film)|Q]]'' (1982)
* ''[[Full Moon High]]'' (1981)
* ''It's Alive 2: It Lives Again'' (1978)
* ''[[The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover]]'' (1977)
* ''[[God Told Me To]]'' (1976)
* ''[[It's Alive (1974 film)|It's Alive]]'' (1974)
* ''[[Hell Up in Harlem]]'' (1973)
* ''[[Black Caesar (film)|Black Caesar]]'' (1973) a.k.a. ''The Godfather of Harlem''
* ''[[Bone (1972 film)|Bone]]'' (1972) a.k.a. ''Dial Rat''
* ''[[Never Too Young]]'' [TV Series] [Executive Prd.] (1965)
* ''[[Branded (TV series)|Branded]]'' [TV Series] (1965)

===Actor===
* ''[[Spies Like Us]]'' (1985) – Ace Tomato Agent

===Miscellaneous crew===
* ''[[Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore]]'' as Production Executive (1974)
* ''Blue Light'' [TV series] [17 episodes] as Executive Script Consultant (1966)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Works cited==
*{{cite book|last=Fischer|first=Michael|year=1991|title=Horror Film Directors, 1931-1990|volume=1|ref=harv|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-899-50609-8}}
*{{cite book|last=Singer|first=Michael|year=1989|title=Film Directors|volume=7|ref=harv|publisher=Lone Eagle Pub.|isbn=978-0-943-72827-8}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*{{IMDb name|169540}}
*[http://www.searchmytrash.com/articles/larrycohen(8-08).shtml Larry Cohen biography on (re)Search my Trash]
*[http://www.sensesofcinema.com/2003/great-directors/cohen/ Senses of Cinema Great Directors profile (profile by Tony Williams)]
*''The New Yorker'' Feb 2, 2004 "The Survivor" by Amy Wallace p42-49
*[http://larrycohenfilmmaker.com/ Larry Cohen Filmmaker (Official Website)]
{{Larry Cohen}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Larry}}
[[Category:1941 births]]
[[Category:2019 deaths]]
[[Category:Film producers from New York (state)]]
[[Category:American male screenwriters]]
[[Category:Horror film directors]]
[[Category:Jewish American screenwriters]]
[[Category:Place of death missing]]
[[Category:People from Kingston, New York]]
[[Category:Writers from the Bronx]]
[[Category:City College of New York alumni]]
[[Category:Screenwriters from New York (state)]]

Larry Cohen

2019-03-25T06:58:51Z

2601:601:4600:BA0:51E9:23E8:A5FA:D67E: Added content

{{Other people}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2013}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Larry Cohen
| image = Larry Cohen 2010.jpg
| caption = Cohen in October 2010
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1941|7|15}}
| birth_place = [[Manhattan]], [[New York]] U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2019|3|24|1941|7|15}}
| death_place = [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], U.S.
| occupation = Producer, film director, writer
| alma_mater = [[City College of New York]]
| relatives = [[Ronni Chasen]] {{small|(sister)}}
}}
'''Lawrence G. Cohen''' (July 15, 1941 – March 24, 2019) was an American film producer, director, and screenwriter, best known as a [[B-movie]] [[auteur]] of [[Horror fiction|horror]] and [[science fiction film|science-fiction]] films — often containing a [[police procedural]] element — during the 1970s and 1980s. After that, he concentrated mainly on screenwriting, including ''[[Phone Booth (film)|Phone Booth]]'' (2002), ''[[Cellular (film)|Cellular]]'' (2004) and ''[[Captivity (film)|Captivity]]'' (2007). In 2006, Cohen returned to the directing chair for [[Mick Garris]]' ''[[Masters of Horror]]'' TV series (2006); he directed the episode "[[Pick Me Up (Masters of Horror)|Pick Me Up]]".<ref name="Cohen, Larry 2011">Cohen, Larry, Filmography, Internet Movie Database, [accessed] April 4, 2011.{{unreliable source?|date=April 2015}}</ref> Alley skeet leery he so dearly in our hearts bbbb

==Early life==
Cohen was born July 15, 1941,{{sfn|Singer|1989|p=75}}{{sfn|Fischer|1991|p=189}} in [[Washington Heights, Manhattan]].<ref name="DVD bio">"Biography of Larry Cohen,” ''The Stuff'' (1985). DVD. Englewood, Colorado: Anchor Bay/Starz Entertainment, 2000.</ref> His sister [[Ronni Chasen]] was a publicist who worked with him beginning early in his film career. He moved to the [[Riverdale, Bronx|Riverdale]] section of [[the Bronx]] in New York City at an early age, and he later majored in [[film studies]] at the [[City College of New York]].

He exhibited a voracious appetite for films as a child, visiting the movie theaters at least twice a week, and most of them being [[double feature]]s, the young Cohen managed to consume at least four movies a week. He was a fan of the [[hardboiled|hard-boiled]] and [[film noir]] movies that featured actors such as [[Humphrey Bogart]] and [[James Cagney]]; films that were penned by the likes of [[Raymond Chandler]] and [[Dashiell Hammett]]. Cohen was especially a fan of director [[Michael Curtiz]], whose films include ''[[The Adventures of Robin Hood (film)|The Adventures of Robin Hood]]'', ''[[Casablanca (film)|Casablanca]]'', and ''[[Dodge City (1939 film)|Dodge City]]''.

His own career in film began during the 1950s when he worked for [[NBC]] television network: it was while working at [[NBC]] that he learned how to produce [[teleplays]] and, shortly after, began writing his own television scripts. He created the TV series ''[[The Invaders]]'' and also scripted episodes of ''[[The Defenders (1961 TV series)|The Defenders]]'' and ''[[The Fugitive (TV series)|The Fugitive]]''.<ref>Layne, Brian, ''Larry Cohen Interview'' in ''Films in Review'', p. 1, December 21, 2009</ref>

==Career==
===Early work; television===
Cohen began his career as a writer for well-known television series, concentrating his efforts on – but not limiting them to – the crime and detective [[genres]]. He penned several episodes of ''[[The Defenders (1961 TV series)|The Defenders]]'' (1964) – which starred [[E.G. Marshall]] – one episode of the ''[[Espionage (TV series)|Espionage]])'' (1964), and episodes of ''[[The Fugitive (TV series)|The Fugitive]]'' (1964–65). Other writing credits during the 1950s and 1960s included the [[fantasy]]-suspense [[anthologies]] ''[[Kraft Television Theatre]]'' (1958) and ''[[Kraft Suspense Theatre]]'' (1965), the espionage TV series ''[[Blue Light (TV series)|Blue Light]]'' (1966) starring [[Robert Goulet]] and ''[[Coronet Blue]]'' (1967) starring [[Frank Converse]], and the science fiction TV series, ''[[The Invaders]]'' (1967–1968). In 1966 he wrote the screenplay to the [[Western (genre)|western]] film ''[[Return of the Seven]]'' (also known as ''Return of the Magnificent Seven''), a sequel to the 1960 film ''[[The Magnificent Seven]]'' which saw the return of [[Yul Brynner]] as [[gunslinger]] Chris Adams. Four episodes he wrote for ''Blue Light'' were edited together to create the theatrical film ''[[I Deal in Danger]]'', released in December 1966.<ref name="ctva">{{cite web|url=http://ctva.biz/Europe/BlueLight.htm|title=CTVA Europe - "Blue Light"|website=ctva.biz}}</ref> He also created the [[western (genre)|western]] TV series ''[[Branded (TV series)|Branded]]'' (1965–1966)<ref name="Cohen, Larry 2011"/> and was the co-creator with [[Walter Grauman]] of ''Blue Light''.<ref name="ctva"/>

===1970s===
Although Cohen continued to write TV and film scripts during the 1970s – such as ''[[Columbo (TV series)|Columbo]]'' – he further turned his hand to directing. His directorial debut was the comedy film ''[[Bone (1972 film)|Bone]]'' starring [[Yaphet Kotto]], a.k.a. ''Beverly Hills Nightmare'', ''Dial Rat for Terror'' and ''Housewife''. In 1974 he directed the [[horror film]] ''[[It's Alive (1974 film)|It's Alive]]'', about a mutant monster baby that embarks on a killing spree. The film – an initial commercial failure – was re-released with a new and sharper advertisement campaign; it went on to earn over $7 million for [[Warner Bros.]] and spawn two sequels.<ref name="Litwak, Mark 1986 p. 251">Litwak, Mark (1986). Reel Power: The Struggle for Influence and Success in the New Hollywood. New York: William Morrow & Co.. p. 251. {{ISBN|0-688-04889-7}}.</ref>

Cohen followed-up ''It's Alive'' with the science fiction-[[serial killer]] film ''[[God Told Me To]]'' (1976), in which a New York detective investigates a spate of killings by apparently random people who say that God told them to commit the crimes. He would concentrate his work predominantly within the [[Horror film|horror]] genre throughout the 1970s and 1980s, often incorporating elements of crime, [[police procedural]], and science fiction with scathing social commentary.<ref name="Cohen, Larry 2011" />

Cohen created the ''It's Alive'' series in 1974 when he made the film ''[[It's Alive (1974 film)|It's Alive]]''. The film was eventually a moderate success – after a re-vamped advertising campaign<ref name="Litwak, Mark 1986 p. 251"/> – and went on to spawn two sequels, ''It's Alive II: It Lives Again'' (1978) and ''It's Alive III: Island of the Alive'' (1987).<ref>''It's Alive'', dir. Cohen, Larry, Internet Movie Database, [accessed] April 4, 2011.{{unreliable source?|date=April 2015}}</ref><ref>''It Lives Again'', dir. Cohen Larry, IMDB, [accessed] April 5, 2011.{{unreliable source?|date=April 2015}}</ref><ref name="It's Alive III 2011">''It's Alive III: Island of the Alive'', dir. Cohen, Larry, IMDB, [accessed] April 5, 2011.{{unreliable source?|date=April 2015}}</ref>

''It's Alive'' (1974) tells of a young couple, Frank and Lenore Davis, who give birth to a mutated baby. The doctors and nurses at the hospital attempt to end the life of the deformed child but it instead kills them and escapes. A police manhunt ensues as the fleeing mutation leaves dead bodies in its wake. Frank sees the child just as [[Dr. Frankenstein]] saw his monster and assists the police.

The emphasis in ''It's Alive'' is on chemicals in the ecosystem and experimental prescription drugs that can be harmful to unborn babies. The score for ''It's Alive'' was composed by [[Bernard Herrmann]], famous for his contributions to many [[Alfred Hitchcock]] films, including ''[[Psycho (1960 film)|Psycho]]'', ''[[North by Northwest]]'', and ''[[Vertigo (film)|Vertigo]]''. In fact, the welling strings, horn arrangements and harp glissandos throughout the film prefigure the soundtrack to Herrmann's final film score two years later for "Taxi Driver". The cast includes [[John P. Ryan]], [[Sharon Farrell]], [[James Dixon]], and [[Andrew Duggan]].<ref>''It's Alive'', dir. Cohen, Larry, Internet Movie Database, [accessed] April 6, 2011.{{unreliable source?|date=April 2015}}</ref>

''It Lives Again'' (1978) picks up where the first one ended. More mutated babies are appearing around the country. Frank has now joined a renegade mob who are attempting to stop the government from killing these strange mutations. The emphasis in ''It Lives Again'' is on accepting one's child, even if it is born with deformities or disabilities. The score is again provided by [[Bernard Herrmann]]. The cast includes [[John P. Ryan]], [[James Dixon]], [[Andrew Duggan]], and [[Frederic Forrest]].<ref>''It Lives Again'', dir. Cohen Larry, IMDB, The Internet Movie Database, [accessed] April 6, 2011.{{unreliable source?|date=April 2015}}</ref>

===1980s===
During the 1980s, Cohen directed, produced, and scripted a number of low-budget horror films, many of which featured actor [[Michael Moriarty]]. The first was ''[[Q (film)|Q]]'' – a.k.a. ''Q: The Winged Serpent'' (1982) — about an [[Aztec]] god known as [[Quetzalcoatl]] (the Winged Serpent) resurrected and nesting atop the [[Chrysler Building]]. The film is set in New York City, as was typical for Cohen, and sees two police detectives investigating a spate of killings in the city. The cast is headed by Moriarty and co-stars [[David Carradine]], [[Candy Clark]], [[Richard Roundtree]], and James Dixon (another Cohen regular).

Cohen's next project with Moriarty was ''[[The Stuff]]'' (1985) in which an [[Extraterrestrial life|alien]] substance of sorts is found bubbling out of the ground. The Stuff is marketed at the general public, which rapidly becomes addicted to it. David "Mo" Rutheford, an industrial [[saboteur]], played by [[Michael Moriarty]], is hired to investigate the origins of the Stuff and to then destroy the product. The film co-stars [[Danny Aiello]], [[Brian Bloom]], [[Scott Bloom]], [[Andrea Marcovicci]], [[Patrick O'Neal (actor)|Patrick O'Neal]], and [[Paul Sorvino]]. ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' regular [[Garrett Morris]] plays Charlie W. Hobbs a.k.a. Chocolate Chip Charlie, a [[junk food]] [[Magnate|mogul]] who assists Mo with his investigation. Cohen cast Moriarty in ''It's Alive 3: Island of the Alive'' (1987)—the third part of the ''Alive Trilogy''—and again in ''[[A Return to Salem's Lot]]'' (1987), the unofficial sequel of [[Stephen King]]'s novel and TV [[miniseries]] ''[[Salem's Lot (1979 TV miniseries)|Salem's Lot]]''. Cohen finished the 1980s with ''[[Wicked Stepmother]]'' (1989), in which the late [[Bette Davis]] made her last appearance.<ref name="Cohen, Larry 2011" />

===1990s===
Cohen began the 1990s with his film ''[[The Ambulance]]'' (1990) starring [[Eric Roberts]]. The film is set in New York City and is focused on Josh Baker (Roberts), an aspiring comic book artist, who investigates a string of disappearances: people who are picked up by a mysterious ambulance never reach the city hospital. ''[[The Ambulance]]'' features [[cameo appearance|cameos]] by [[Stan Lee]], [[Larry Hama]] and [[Jim Salicrup]] of [[Marvel Comics]]. He would direct only two other films during the 1990s, one being the [[Blaxploitation]] film ''[[Original Gangstas]]'' (1996), featuring [[Ron O'Neal]], [[Pam Grier]], and [[Fred Williamson]]. For most of the decade, Cohen concentrated on writing. He penned the remainder of the [[William Lustig]] ''Maniac Cop'' Trilogy – he had previously scripted ''[[Maniac Cop]]'' in 1988 – that features [[Robert Z'Dar]] as undead Maniac Cop, Matt Cordell, and [[B-Movie]] horror actor [[Bruce Campbell]]. He then provided the story of the third adaptation of [[Jack Finney]]'s 1955 science-fiction novel ''[[The Body Snatchers]]'', a tale of [[Extraterrestrial life|alien]] invasion and [[paranoia]]: ''[[Body Snatchers (1993 film)|Body Snatchers]]'' was directed by [[Abel Ferrara]] and starred [[Forest Whitaker]]. Throughout the decade Cohen was further involved in various TV projects including ''[[NYPD Blue]]'' and the [[Ed McBain]]-inspired ''87th Precinct: Heatwave''. He also served as producer on the [[John Candy]] comedy ''[[Delirious (1991 film)|Delirious]]'' (1991).<ref name="Cohen, Larry 2011"/>

===2000s–2019===
Cohen's output after the 1990s was less prolific and concentrated solely on scriptwriting, except for a brief return to directing with the ''[[Masters of Horror]]'' episode "[[Pick Me Up (Masters of Horror)|Pick Me Up]]" (2006). His first project, ''[[Phone Booth (film)|Phone Booth]]'' (2002), became involved in a Hollywood bidding war, the script eventually ending up in the hands of [[Joel Schumacher]].<ref>Aames, Ethan, Interview with Joel Schumacher: Phone Booth in Cinema Confidential online magazine, p.1, March 4, 2003.</ref> ''Phone Booth'' was a commercial success with an estimated budget of $13 million and a worldwide gross of $98 million.<ref>''Phone Booth'', 2002, Box Office Budget, Internet Movie Database, Estimated Figures, [accessed] April 7, 2011.{{unreliable source?|date=April 2015}}</ref> The film starred [[Colin Farrell]], [[Katie Holmes]], [[Kiefer Sutherland]], and [[Forest Whitaker]]; it was produced by [[David Zucker (filmmaker)|David Zucker]].

His next film, another [[Action film|action]]-crime [[Thriller (genre)|thriller]] titled ''[[Cellular (film)|Cellular]]'' (2004), also featured phones and, like ''Phone Booth'', it was a modest commercial success with an estimated budget of $25 million and a gross worldwide return of $50 million.<ref>''Cellular'', 2004, Internet Movie Database, Estimated Figures, [accessed] April 7, 2011.{{unreliable source?|date=April 2015}}</ref> ''Cellular'' starred [[Kim Basinger]], [[Chris Evans (actor)|Chris Evans]], [[William H. Macy]], and [[Jason Statham]]. ''Cellular'' was later re-made as ''[[Connected (film)|Connected]]'' (2008), Cohen being credited with the story. He then scripted the [[Horror film|horror]]-thriller films ''[[Captivity (film)|Captivity]]'' (2007) and ''[[Messages Deleted]]'' (2009); however, both films fared poorly on a critical and commercial level.<ref>''Captivity'', 2007, Internet Movie Database, Estimated Figures, [accessed] April 7, 2011.{{unreliable source?|date=April 2015}}</ref><ref>''Messages Deleted'', 2009, Internet Movie Database, Estimated Figures, [accessed] April 7, 2011.{{unreliable source?|date=April 2015}}</ref> Cohen nevertheless received acclaim for the above-mentioned ''[[Pick Me Up (Masters of Horror)|Pick Me Up]]'', which he directed for the [[Mick Garris]] TV series ''[[Masters of Horror]]'' (2006). The episode was written by [[splatterpunk]]-[[Horror fiction|horror]] author [[David Schow]], and starred Cohen regular [[Michael Moriarty]].<ref name="Cohen, Larry 2011"/>

{{See also|Cast of Characters vs. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen lawsuit}}
In 2003, Cohen, together with production partner [[Martin Poll]] was at the center of a lawsuit against [[20th Century Fox]], claiming the company had intentionally [[plagiarism|plagiarized]] a [[screenplay|script]] of theirs titled ''Cast of Characters'' in order to create the [[Sean Connery]]-starring ''[[The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (film)|League of Extraordinary Gentlemen]]'' film in 2003. According to the [[BBC]], the lawsuit alleged 'that Mr Cohen and Mr Poll pitched the idea to Fox several times between 1993 and 1996, under the name ''Cast of Characters''.'<ref name="CT">"Gentlemen lands Fox in $100 million lawsuit," September 27, 2003. ''Calcutta Telegraph''.</ref><ref name="BW">"Producer and Writer File $100 Million Lawsuit Against 20th Century-Fox," September 25, 2003. ''Business Wire''.</ref><ref name="BBC1">{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/3141720.stm |title=Studio sued over superhero movie |date=September 26, 2003 |publisher=BBC |accessdate=May 16, 2008 |deadurl=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/5XrcV3T8s?url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/3141720.stm |archivedate=May 16, 2008 |df= }} on 2008-05-16.</ref> ''The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'' was an adaptation of the 1999 published comic book series by [[Alan Moore]] and artist [[Kevin O'Neill (comics)|Kevin O'Neill]].<ref>Moore, Alan, & O'Neill, Kevin, ''The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'', Issue 1., [[Wildstorm]] / [[DC Comics]], copyright 1999.</ref>

In 2006, Cohen was included in the ''[[Masters of Horror]]'' TV anthology, which also included – but was not limited to – writers and directors as diverse as [[Dario Argento]], [[Clive Barker]], [[John Carpenter]], [[Richard Chizmar]], [[Don Coscarelli]], [[Wes Craven]], [[David Cronenberg]], [[Joe Dante]], [[Guillermo Del Toro]], [[Ernest Dickerson]], [[Stuart Gordon]], [[James Gunn (filmmaker)|James Gunn]], [[Sam Hamm]], [[Tom Holland (director)|Tom Holland]], [[Tobe Hooper]], [[Lloyd Kaufman]], [[Mary Lambert (director)|Mary Lambert]], [[John Landis]], [[Joe R. Lansdale]], [[Bentley Little]], [[H.P. Lovecraft]], [[Joe Lynch (director)|Joe Lynch]], [[William Lustig]], [[Peter Medak]], [[Lucky McKee]], Kat O' Shea, [[Robert Rodriguez]], [[Eli Roth]], [[David Schow]], and [[Tim Sullivan (director)|Tim Sullivan]]. It was created by [[Mick Garris]] for the [[Showtime (TV network)|Showtime]] cable network.<ref>''Masters of Horror'' Cast & Crew page, ''Internet Movie Database'', [accessed] April 5, 2011.{{unreliable source?|date=April 2015}}</ref> Cohen's contribution was the segment ''[[Pick Me Up (Masters of Horror)|Pick Me Up]]'',<ref>''Pick Me Up'', ''Masters of Horror, Internet Movie Database, [accessed], April 5, 2011.{{unreliable source?|date=April 2015}}</ref> based on a short story by [[David Schow]], who also wrote the [[teleplay]].<ref>Schow, David J., Filmography, Writer, Internet Movie Database, [accessed] April 5, 2011.{{unreliable source?|date=April 2015}}</ref> It stars [[Fairuza Balk]] and Cohen regulars [[Laurene Landon]] and [[Michael Moriarty]]. ''Pick Me Up'' is the story of woman traveling on a bus that has broken down along a stretch of lonely two-lane [[blacktop]]. Enter two [[serial killers]]: Wheeler (Moriarty), a driver who picks up [[hitchhiker]]s with the sole intent of killing them – and – Walker (Warren Kole), a [[hitchhiker]] who accepts lifts in order to find ''his'' victims. The two killers pair up and inventively murder all the passengers on the bus, save for Stacia (Balk), who has since gone her own way. Stacia eventually winds up in the middle of a serial killer [[wikt:turf war|turf war]], a war over which killer will get her first.<ref>Cohen, Larry & Garris, Mick, ''Pick Me Up'', from ''Masters of Horror'', Anchor Bay Entertainment, 2006.</ref> ''Pick Me Up'' signaled a brief return to the director's chair for Cohen.

Joseph Rusnak remade Cohen's ''[[It's Alive (2009 film)|It's Alive]]'' in 2009.<ref>''It's Alive'' (2008), dir. Rusnak, Joseph, The Internet Movie Database, [accessed] April 7, 2011.{{unreliable source?|date=April 2015}}</ref> Still awaiting a score on [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the existing reviews are also very poor.<ref>''It's Alive'' (2009), [[Rotten Tomatoes]], [accessed] April 6, 2011.</ref> Even Cohen admitted that the remake was dreadful<ref>Berrett, Simon, ''An Interview with Larry Cohen, Creator of ''The Invaders'' and So Much More'' in ''Celebrity News'', May 20, 2008.</ref> and states: 'It's a terrible picture. It's just beyond awful'.<ref name="filmsinreview.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.filmsinreview.com/2009/12/21/larry-cohen-interview/|title=LARRY COHEN INTERVIEW - Films In Review|website=Films In Review}}</ref> Cohen offered his 1974 script but remarks that it was completely ignored: "I would advise anybody who likes my film to cross the street and avoid seeing the new enchilada."<ref name="filmsinreview.com"/>

==Death==
Cohen died on March 24, 2019 in [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], at the age of 77.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/larry-cohen-dead-alive-hell-up-harlem-writer-director-was-77-1185759|title=Larry Cohen, Writer-Director of 'It's Alive' and 'Hell Up in Harlem,' Dies at 77|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=March 24, 2019|accessdate=March 25, 2019|author=Koseluk, Chris}}</ref>

==Critical response==
Critical response to Cohen's work has been extremely varied, reviews ranging from good to poor.

Cohen's [[science fiction film|science fiction]] [[Horror film|horror]] film and [[satirical]] social commentary ''[[The Stuff]]'' (1985) garnered mixed reviews, often being compared to [[Jack Finney]]'s ''[[The Body Snatchers]]'' novel and the 1958 film ''[[The Blob]]''. It has a moderate ''fresh'' rating of 63% on [[Rotten Tomatoes]].<ref>Cohen Larry, ''The Stuff'' rating at ''Rotten Tomatoes'' Web site, [accessed] April 5, 2011.</ref> The ''Apollo Movie Guide'' remark that ''The Stuff'' works on a purely visceral level and that it further achieves a tongue-in-cheek social parody of a society that cannot help buying into the latest craze. Although ''Apollo'' praise the juxtaposition of Cohen's clever screenplay and [[Michael Moriarty]]'s performance, it states that the film is no classic. It does, however, award the film a modest Apollo Rating of 77/100.<ref>Weinberg, Scott, Stuff, The, ''Intelligent Reviews Online'' in ''Apollo Movie Guide'', accessed April 5, 2011.</ref> The ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'', on the other hand, sees ''The Stuff'' as a widely ambitious movie that fails mainly due to distracting glitches and a lack of plausibility: "What we have here are a lot of nice touches in search of a movie." ''Chicago Sun-Times'' rating: 1 1/2 stars out of 5.<ref>Ebert, Roger, ''The Stuff'' in ''Chicago Sun-Times'', August 26, 1985.</ref> ''Bloody Disgusting'' nevertheless awarded ''The Stuff'' 3 stars out of 5, pointing out both the good and the bad: "[I]t's smart, it's relevant and it has some bad acting. [It should be] enjoyed for all the wrong and some of the right reasons that it is not just a horror movie, but a very honest and important movie as well."<ref>Stuff, The, ''Blood-Disgusting'' online zine, [accessed] April 5, 2011.</ref>

His [[fantasy film|fantasy]] [[Horror film|horror]] ''[[Q (film)|Q]]'' a.k.a. ''Q: The Winged Serpent''' (1982) has a [[Rotten Tomatoes]] rating of 61%.<ref>''Q'' rating at ''Rotten Tomatoes'' website, [accessed] April 5, 2011.</ref> ''[[TV Guide]]'' praise Cohen for his intelligence, creativity and originality and further comment that '[Cohen] successfully combines a ''film noir'' crime story with a good old-fashioned ''giant monster'' movie' and that '[[Michael Moriarty]] turns in a brilliant performance as Jimmy Quinn [...]'.<ref>''Q'', ''TV Guide'', March 28, 2007.</ref> Horror author and movie critic, [[Kim Newman]], praises Cohen's plot originality and canny use of characters in ''[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]]'', pointing out the director's use of an oddball as lead – Jimmy Quinn – who would ordinarily be a secondary character or warrant solely a cameo appearance; Newman also explains how Cohen has relegated all the usual plot devices – in movies such as ''King Kong'' – to the background.<ref>Newman, Kim, ''Q'', in ''Empire Magazine'', June 22, 2005.</ref> Alternatively, the ''[[Chicago Reader]]'', although viewing Cohen's monster movie as 'cheesy' and 'fun', ultimately condemns the movie as being 'curiously disengaged and sloppy'.<ref>Graham, Pat, ''Q'' review in ''Chicago Reader'', [accessed] April 5, 2011.</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'', following the film's opening day at the [[Rivoli Theater (Indianapolis, Indiana)|Rivoli Theater]], had just 'a few words – only a very few – about ''Q'', offering a brief neutral synopsis and a couple of quotes.<ref>Maslin, Janet, ''Q Mayhem and Horror'' in ''The New York Times'', October 8, 1982.</ref> ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' are more favourable, focusing on Cohen's 'wild' and 'bizarre' – albeit realistic – efforts: ''Q'' has great fun mixing realistic settings with political satire and a wild yarn'. They go on to say that the film belongs to both Moriarty and the Monster.<ref>''Q: The Winged Serpert'', ''Variety'' magazine, posted: Thu., Dec 31, 1981, 11:00pm PT, [accessed] April 5, 2011.</ref>

''[[It's Alive (1974 film)|It's Alive]]'', the first part of Cohen's [[Horror film|horror]] trilogy featuring a mutated baby that kills its prey when trapped or frightened, holds a rating of 67% on [[Rotten Tomatoes]], one of the highest rated Cohen films from the latter. Focusing on the social context of the film at the time, ''The Film Journal'' points out that ''It's Alive'' 'carries a potent mix of both suspense and social critique [...] [i]nvoking such taboo subjects as abortion as early as 1974'. As well as being apt at providing 'suspense', ''The Film Journal'' acknowledge Cohen's ability 'to impart an intelligent nature to his otherwise pulpy horror films'.<ref>Graham, Aaron W., ''It's Alive!/It Lives Again/Island of the Alive'' in ''The Film Journal'', [accessed] April 5, 2009.</ref> ''Black Hole'' magazine say that despite a lack of [[A-List]] actors and special effects, ''It's Alive'' still manages to maintain the viewers interest due to Cohen's 'unique horror concept and a script rich in ideas'. ''Black Hole'' nevertheless points out that '[w]hile the drama is consistent, it's less successful as a seventies monster movie, and especially lacking now': whereas ''[[Jaws (film)|Jaws]]'' (1975) revealed the shark slowly, Cohen's film 'barely ever shows us the goods'. The magazine does agree, however, that ''It's Alive'' was 'a sufficiently powerful monster movie and [that] audiences wanted more'.<ref>''Kill, baby, kill, kill!' in ''Black Hole'' magazine (online), March 6, 2011.</ref> ''Filmcritic'' draws attention to the humour element, especially the scenes where the Baby-Monster is rustling in the bushes, unseen, comparing them to the scene in ''[[Basket Case (film)|Basket Case]]'' (1982) when the Baby-Monster is stuffed into a garbage sack after being cut away from its human twin. ''Basket Case'' is indeed a part of another – later – Baby-Monster [[Horror film|horror]] trilogy. In short, ''Filmcritic'' says that Cohen's film should not be confused with art; and yet, it is 'pretty scary stuff' that 'manages a few neat tricks'.<ref>Euker, Jake, ''It's Alive'' on ''Filmcritic'' online zine, October 27, 2004.</ref>

''[[God Told Me To]]'' a.k.a. ''Demon'' (1976), Cohen's [[science fiction film|science fiction]] [[Thriller (genre)|thriller]], has a rating of 75% on [[Rotten Tomatoes]], making it Cohen's most successful directorial effort, critically. The film, in which a number of New York citizens embark on a killing spree because ''God Told Them To'', is called 'one of his most ambitious movies' that is 'cemented in an interesting idea' by ''QNetwork Entertainment'', who find Cohen's ideology of the existence of God interesting: 'cynical at best' and 'sacrilegious at worst'. The magazine continues, however, to comment on Cohen's lack of patience and drive when completing his movies, regarding the end products as being 'hastily thrown-together' and 'a mosaic of scenes, rather than a satisfying whole'. In conclusion ''QNetwork'' give the film an even 2 1/2 stars for being the 'clumsiest and most entertaining schlock of the last 20 years'.<ref>Kendrick, James, ''God Told Me To a.k.a. Demon'' in ''QNetwork Entertainment'' online magazine, [accessed] April 5, 2011.</ref> ''CinePassion'' online magazine simply state: '[a] work of genius, in other words, possibly the Cohen joint that brims with the most all-pervasive invention and danger, as radical a Seventies 'incoherent text' as ''[[Taxi Driver]]'' and a clear linchpin of ''[[The X-Files]]'''.<ref>Croce, Fernando F., ''God Told Me To'', [accessed] April 5, 2011.</ref> The ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' sees Cohen's incoherent text in a different light, likening the film to a cinematic version of the card game [[52 Pickup]]: 'the movie does achieve greatness in another way: this is the most confused feature-length film [...] ever seen'.<ref>Ebert, Roger, ''God Told Me To'' in ''Chicago Sun-Times'', December 1, 1976.</ref> But ''[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]]'' applauded Cohen for offering 'the perfect existential anti-hero' in New York cop, Lo Bianco, in a film that 'overflows with such perverse and subversive notions that no amount of shoddy editing and substandard camerawork can conceal [its] unusual qualities' and that by '[d]igging deep into the psyche of American manhood, it lays bare the guilt-ridden oppressions of a soulless society'.<ref>SW, ''God Told Me To'' in ''Time Out'' magazine, London, [accessed] April 5, 2011.</ref>

==Filmography==

===Director===
* [[Pick Me Up (Masters of Horror)|''Masters of Horror''—"Pick Me Up"]] (2006)
* ''[[Original Gangstas]]'' (1996)
* ''[[As Good as Dead (1995 film)|As Good as Dead]]'' (1995)
* ''[[The Ambulance]]'' (1990)
* ''[[Wicked Stepmother]]'' (1989)
* ''[[Deadly Illusion]]'' (1987)
* ''[[A Return to Salem's Lot]]'' (1987)
* ''[[It's Alive III: Island of the Alive]]'' (1987)
* ''[[The Stuff]]'' (1985)
* ''[[Perfect Strangers (1984 film)|Perfect Strangers]]'' (1984)
* ''[[Special Effects (film)|Special Effects]]'' (1984)
* ''[[Q (film)|Q]]'' (1982)
* ''[[See China and Die]]'' (1981)
* ''[[Full Moon High]]'' (1981)
* ''[[It Lives Again]]'' (1978)
* ''[[The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover]]'' (1977)
* ''[[God Told Me To]]'' (1976)
* ''[[It's Alive (1974 film)|It's Alive]]'' (1974)
* ''[[Hell Up in Harlem]]'' (1973)
* ''[[Black Caesar (film)|Black Caesar]]'' (1973) a.k.a. ''The Godfather of Harlem''
* ''[[Bone (1972 film)|Bone]]'' (1972) a.k.a. ''Dial Rat for Terror''

===Screenwriter===
* ''The Gambler, the Girl and the Gunslinger'' (2009)
* ''[[Messages Deleted]]'' (2009)
* ''[[It's Alive (2009 film)|It's Alive]]'' (2009)
* ''Maniac Cop'' [short] [characters] (2008)
* ''[[Connected (film)|Connected]]'' [original story] (2008)
* ''[[Captivity (film)|Captivity]]'' (2007)
* ''[[Cellular (film)|Cellular]]'' [story] (2004)
* ''[[Phone Booth (film)|Phone Booth]]'' (2002) (Writer)
* ''[[Misbegotten (film)|Misbegotten]]'' (1998)
* ''The Defenders: Choice of Evils'' [Story] [Teleplay] (1998)
* ''[[The Ex (1997 film)|The Ex]]'' (1997)
* ''[[Uncle Sam (film)|Uncle Sam]]'' (1996)
* ''[[Ed McBain]]'s 87th Precinct: Heatwave'' [Teleplay] (1996)
* ''The Invaders'' [TV Movie] (1995)
* ''[[The Expert (1995 film)|The Expert]]'' [uncredited] (1995)
* ''As Good as Dead'' [TV Movie] (1995)
* ''[[NYPD Blue]]'' [Season 2; Episode 17, "Dirty Socks"] (1995)
* ''[[Guilty as Sin]]'' (1993)
* [[Jack Finney]]'s ''[[Body Snatchers (1993 film)|Body Snatchers]]'' [Screen Story] (1993)
* ''[[Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence]]'' (1993)
* ''[[Maniac Cop 2]]'' (1990)
* ''[[The Ambulance]]'' (1990)
* ''[[Wicked Stepmother]]'' (1989)
* ''Desperado: Avalanche at Devil's Ridge'' [TV Movie] (1988)
* ''[[Maniac Cop]]'' (1988)
* ''[[Deadly Illusion]]'' (1987)
* ''[[Best Seller]]'' (1987)
* ''[[A Return to Salem's Lot]]'' (1987)
* ''[[It's Alive III: Island of the Alive]]'' (1987)
* ''[[The Stuff]]'' (1985)
* ''[[Perfect Strangers (1984 film)|Perfect Strangers]]'' (1984)
* ''[[Special Effects (film)|Special Effects]]'' (1984)
* ''Scandalous'' [Story] (1984)
* ''Women of San Quentin'' [TV Movie] [Story] (1983)
* ''[[Q (film)|Q]]'' (1982)
* ''[[I, the Jury (1982 film)|I, the Jury]]'' (1982)
* ''[[Full Moon High]]'' (1981)
* ''[[The American Success Company]]'' (1980)
* ''[[It Lives Again]]'' (1978)
* ''Sparrow'' [TV Movie] [Creator] (1978)
* ''[[The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover]]'' (1977)
* ''[[God Told Me To]]'' (1976)
* ''[[Griff (TV series)|Griff]]'' [Episode "Man on the Outside"] (1975)
* ''[[It's Alive (1974 film)|It's Alive]]'' (1974)
* ''[[Columbo (TV series)|Columbo]]'' [Story] [Episode "An Exercise in Fatality"] (1974)
* ''[[Columbo (TV series)|Columbo]]'' [Story] [Episode "Candidate for Crime"] (1973)
* ''[[Columbo (TV series)|Columbo]]'' [Story] [Episode "Any Old Port in a Storm"] (1973)
* ''Shootout in a One-Dog Town'' [TV Movie] [Story] (1974)
* ''[[Hell Up in Harlem]]'' (1973)
* ''[[Black Caesar (film)|Black Caesar]]'' (1973) a.k.a. ''The Godfather of Harlem''
* ''[[Cool Million]]'' [TV Series] Television pilot (1972)
* ''[[Bone (1972 film)|Bone]]'' (1972) a.k.a. ''Dial Rat''
* ''Call Home'' [TV Movie] [Developer] (1972)
* ''[[In Broad Daylight (film)|In Broad Daylight]]'' [TV Movie] (1971)
* ''[[El Condor (1970 film)|El Condor]]'' (1970)
* ''[[Daddy's Gone A-Hunting (1969 film)|Daddy's Gone A-Hunting]]'' (1969)
* ''[[Scream, Baby, Scream]]'' (1969)
* ''[[The Invaders]]'' [TV Series] [43 Episodes] [Creator] (1967–68)
* ''[[Custer (TV series)|Custer]]'' a.k.a. ''The Legend of Custer'' [suggested by] (1967)
* ''[[Coronet Blue]]'' [TV Series] [11 Episodes] [Creator] (1967)
* ''[[I Deal in Danger]]'' (1966)
* ''[[The Rat Patrol]]'' [TV Series] [Episode "The Blind Man's Bluff Raid"] (1966)
* ''[[Return of the Seven]]'' a.k.a. ''Return of the Magnificent Seven'' (1966)
* ''[[Blue Light (TV series)|Blue Light]]'', TV Series [17 Episodes] [also co-creator] (1966)
* ''Blade River, Revenge of the Indian Nations'' (1966)
* ''[[Branded (TV series)|Branded]]'' [TV Series] [48 Episodes] [Creator] (1965–66)
* ''[[Kraft Suspense Theatre]]'' [TV Series] [Episode "Kill No More"] (1965)
* ''[[The Fugitive (TV series)|The Fugitive]]'' [Episode "Scapegoat"] [Story] (1965)
* ''[[The Fugitive (TV series)|The Fugitive]]'' [Episode "Escape into Black"] [Teleplay] (1964)
* ''[[Espionage (TV series)|Espionage]]'' [Episode "Medal for a Turned Coat"] (1964)
* ''[[The Defenders (1961 TV series)|The Defenders]]'' [Writer] [9 Episodes] (1963–65)
* ''The Nurses'' [TV Series] [3 Episodes] (1963)
* ''[[Arrest and Trial]]'' [TV Series] [Episode "My Name is Martin Burham"] (1963)
* ''[[Sam Benedict]]'' [TV Series] [Episode "Accomplice"] (1963)
* ''[[Checkmate (TV series)|Checkmate]]'' [TV Series] [Episode "Nice Guys Finish Last"] (1961)
* ''[[The United States Steel Hour]]'' [TV Series] [Episode "The Golden Thirty"] (1961)
* ''[[Way Out (TV series)|Way Out]]'' [TV Series] [Episode "False Face"] (1961)
* ''[[Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater]]'' [TV Series] [Episode "Killer Instinct"] (1960)
* ''[[Kraft Television Theatre]]'' [TV Series] [Episode "Night Cry"] (1958)
* ''[[Kraft Television Theatre]]'' [TV Series] [Episode "The Eighty Seventh Precinct"] [adaptation] (1958)

===Producer===
* ''The Torture of Delva Mills'' [Executive Prd.] (2010)
* ''As Good as Dead'' (1995)
* ''[[Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence]]'' [Co-Prd.] (1993)
* ''[[Maniac Cop 2]]'' (1990)
* ''[[Wicked Stepmother]]'' [Executive Prd.] (1989)
* ''[[Maniac Cop]]'' (1988)
* ''[[A Return to Salem's Lot]]'' [Executive Prd.] (1987)
* ''It's Alive 3: Island of the Alive'' [Executive Prd.] (1987)
* ''[[The Stuff]]'' [Executive Prd.] (1985)
* ''[[Q (film)|Q]]'' (1982)
* ''[[Full Moon High]]'' (1981)
* ''It's Alive 2: It Lives Again'' (1978)
* ''[[The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover]]'' (1977)
* ''[[God Told Me To]]'' (1976)
* ''[[It's Alive (1974 film)|It's Alive]]'' (1974)
* ''[[Hell Up in Harlem]]'' (1973)
* ''[[Black Caesar (film)|Black Caesar]]'' (1973) a.k.a. ''The Godfather of Harlem''
* ''[[Bone (1972 film)|Bone]]'' (1972) a.k.a. ''Dial Rat''
* ''[[Never Too Young]]'' [TV Series] [Executive Prd.] (1965)
* ''[[Branded (TV series)|Branded]]'' [TV Series] (1965)

===Actor===
* ''[[Spies Like Us]]'' (1985) – Ace Tomato Agent

===Miscellaneous crew===
* ''[[Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore]]'' as Production Executive (1974)
* ''Blue Light'' [TV series] [17 episodes] as Executive Script Consultant (1966)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Works cited==
*{{cite book|last=Fischer|first=Michael|year=1991|title=Horror Film Directors, 1931-1990|volume=1|ref=harv|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-899-50609-8}}
*{{cite book|last=Singer|first=Michael|year=1989|title=Film Directors|volume=7|ref=harv|publisher=Lone Eagle Pub.|isbn=978-0-943-72827-8}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*{{IMDb name|169540}}
*[http://www.searchmytrash.com/articles/larrycohen(8-08).shtml Larry Cohen biography on (re)Search my Trash]
*[http://www.sensesofcinema.com/2003/great-directors/cohen/ Senses of Cinema Great Directors profile (profile by Tony Williams)]
*''The New Yorker'' Feb 2, 2004 "The Survivor" by Amy Wallace p42-49
*[http://larrycohenfilmmaker.com/ Larry Cohen Filmmaker (Official Website)]
{{Larry Cohen}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Larry}}
[[Category:1941 births]]
[[Category:2019 deaths]]
[[Category:Film producers from New York (state)]]
[[Category:American male screenwriters]]
[[Category:Horror film directors]]
[[Category:Jewish American screenwriters]]
[[Category:Place of death missing]]
[[Category:People from Kingston, New York]]
[[Category:Writers from the Bronx]]
[[Category:City College of New York alumni]]
[[Category:Screenwriters from New York (state)]]