# Larry Cohen
**Larry Cohen** (Lawrence [George Cohen](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-cohen)) was an American film producer, director, and screenwriter best known for inventive low-budget horror and science-fiction films shot largely in New York City, including *It's Alive*, *God Told Me To*, *Q: The Winged Serpent*, and *The Stuff*[1](https://www.larrycohenfilmmaker.com/biography/) • [2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/larry-cohen). He began in television in the 1950s, creating the series *Branded* and *The Invaders*, and late in his career reached a wider audience as the writer of the studio thrillers *Phone Booth* (2002) and *Cellular* (2004)[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/larry-cohen). His birth year is disputed between 1941 and 1936, and he died on March 23, 2019[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/larry-cohen) • [3](https://libcat.weber.edu/cgi-bin/koha/opac-authoritiesdetail.pl?authid=225813).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name and profession | Lawrence George Cohen; American film producer, director, and screenwriter[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/larry-cohen) • [3](https://libcat.weber.edu/cgi-bin/koha/opac-authoritiesdetail.pl?authid=225813) |
| Birth year | 1941 in most industry sources; the New York Times obituary gives 1936, confirmed by family and census records[1](https://www.larrycohenfilmmaker.com/biography/) • [3](https://libcat.weber.edu/cgi-bin/koha/opac-authoritiesdetail.pl?authid=225813) |
| Death | March 23, 2019, in California; aged 77 by the 1941 reckoning, 82 by the New York Times's[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/larry-cohen) • [3](https://libcat.weber.edu/cgi-bin/koha/opac-authoritiesdetail.pl?authid=225813) |
| Television career | Created *Branded* and *The Invaders*; wrote episodes of *The Defenders* and *The Fugitive*[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/larry-cohen) |
| First feature | *Bone* (1972), written, produced, and directed by Cohen[1](https://www.larrycohenfilmmaker.com/biography/) • [4](https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2003/great-directors/cohen/) |
| Signature films | *It's Alive* (1974), *God Told Me To* (1976), *Q: The Winged Serpent* (1982), *The Stuff* (1985)[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/larry-cohen) • [5](https://www.rogerebert.com/features/larry-cohen-1941-2019) |
| Studio hits as writer | *Phone Booth* (2002), which grossed $98 million worldwide, and *Cellular* (2004)[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/larry-cohen) |
| Documentary portrait | *King Cohen: The Wild World of Filmmaker Larry Cohen* (2017), directed by Steve Mitchell[5](https://www.rogerebert.com/features/larry-cohen-1941-2019) |
## Early life and television career
Cohen was born in New York City; his official biography gives Washington Heights as the birthplace, and his family later moved to the Riverdale section of the Bronx[1](https://www.larrycohenfilmmaker.com/biography/) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0169540/). He majored in film at the [City College of New York](https://www.edgepedia.org/city-college-of-new-york), from which he graduated in 1963[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0169540/).
**Television apprenticeship.** While working as a pageboy at NBC in the late 1950s, he watched productions from what became known as the [Golden Age of Television](https://www.edgepedia.org/golden-age-of-television), several of them shot live[4](https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2003/great-directors/cohen/). Because he was well below the minimum age for television writers, he gave his birth date as 1938 so he could write for the medium[4](https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2003/great-directors/cohen/). He wrote teleplays between 1958 and 1961, several transmitted live, featuring performers such as [Henny Youngman](https://www.edgepedia.org/henny-youngman), Keir Dullea, Peter Falk, Jack Warden, and Nancy Kovak[4](https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2003/great-directors/cohen/).
After writing episodes of the series *The Defenders*, he relocated to Los Angeles and became a sought-after writer for television pilots[4](https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2003/great-directors/cohen/). He created the Western *Branded*, starring [Chuck Connors](https://www.edgepedia.org/chuck-connors), and the paranoid science-fiction series *The Invaders*, and wrote episodes of *The Fugitive*, *The Defenders*, and other shows[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/larry-cohen) • [5](https://www.rogerebert.com/features/larry-cohen-1941-2019). According to the film critic Tony Williams, Cohen conceived the premise of *Branded* by reworking *The Four Feathers* from an old movie catalog he browsed while waiting in a producer's office[4](https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2003/great-directors/cohen/).
## The Hitchcock connection
Cohen met [Alfred Hitchcock](https://www.edgepedia.org/alfred-hitchcock) in the mid-1960s and wrote several treatments and screenplays that the director admired, including "Daddy's Gone A-Hunting", "The Cutting Room" (later filmed as *Special Effects*), and "Phone Booth"[1](https://www.larrycohenfilmmaker.com/biography/) • [4](https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2003/great-directors/cohen/). Universal executives vetoed the proposals, and only one of the projects reached the screen, directed by Mark Robson[1](https://www.larrycohenfilmmaker.com/biography/). Cohen's dissatisfaction with how other filmmakers handled his scripts led him to direct his own work[4](https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2003/great-directors/cohen/).
## The 1970s films
Cohen's first feature was *Bone* (1972), a low-budget satirical allegory of Beverly Hills lifestyles starring [Yaphet Kotto](https://www.edgepedia.org/yaphet-kotto), Joyce Van Patten, and [Andrew Duggan](https://www.edgepedia.org/andrew-duggan)[4](https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2003/great-directors/cohen/). Poorly distributed, the film gained a cult reputation over the years[4](https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2003/great-directors/cohen/).
**Blaxploitation and horror.** When Sammy Davis Jr turned down *Black Caesar*, Cohen filmed it in 1973 with [Fred Williamson](https://www.edgepedia.org/fred-williamson) in the title role, and scored by [James Brown](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-brown); he followed it with the sequel *Hell Up in Harlem*[4](https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2003/great-directors/cohen/) • [7](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-me-larry-cohen-dead-20190324-story.html). His fame came with *It's Alive* (1974), a family horror film about a murderous infant that earned $7,000,000 and spawned two sequels for Warner Bros[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/larry-cohen). The composer [Bernard Herrmann](https://www.edgepedia.org/bernard-herrmann), Hitchcock's most frequent collaborator, wrote the score[4](https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2003/great-directors/cohen/).
In *God Told Me To* (1976), a New York cop played by [Tony Lo Bianco](https://www.edgepedia.org/tony-lo-bianco) investigates violent crimes committed by people who claim that God told them to kill[5](https://www.rogerebert.com/features/larry-cohen-1941-2019). In 1977 Cohen directed his most ambitious project, a biopic of FBI founder [J. Edgar Hoover](https://www.edgepedia.org/j-edgar-hoover), *The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover*, with [Broderick Crawford](https://www.edgepedia.org/broderick-crawford) in the title role[1](https://www.larrycohenfilmmaker.com/biography/) • [4](https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2003/great-directors/cohen/). The film critic Robin Wood acclaimed it as the most "intelligent political film" ever made, although it did not receive wide distribution[4](https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2003/great-directors/cohen/).
## The 1980s and 1990s
During the 1980s Cohen collaborated with the actor [Michael Moriarty](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-moriarty) on four films[4](https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2003/great-directors/cohen/). *Q: The Winged Serpent* (1982), about a giant flying serpent nesting in New York, came about after Cohen was fired from another movie he was directing, a big-budget adaptation of the pulp classic *I, the Jury*; *Q* beat *I, the Jury* into theaters, cost only a fraction of that film's budget, and was a bigger hit[5](https://www.rogerebert.com/features/larry-cohen-1941-2019). It screened at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival under the title "The Winged Serpent"[5](https://www.rogerebert.com/features/larry-cohen-1941-2019).
*The Stuff* (1985) satirized crass commercialism and corporate indifference through the story of a dessert product that turns out to be a living parasitic organism[5](https://www.rogerebert.com/features/larry-cohen-1941-2019). While *Q* and *The Stuff* received theatrical distribution, *It's Alive 3* (1986) and *A Return to Salem's Lot* (1987) went direct to video[4](https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2003/great-directors/cohen/). In 1989 Cohen directed Bette Davis in her last film, *Wicked Stepmother*[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/larry-cohen).
In the 1990s he directed *The Ambulance* (1990), with Eric Roberts and James Earl Jones, and *Original Gangstas* (1996), a blaxploitation revival reuniting Fred Williamson, Jim Brown, Ron O'Neal, Richard Roundtree, and Pam Grier[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/larry-cohen) • [5](https://www.rogerebert.com/features/larry-cohen-1941-2019). *Original Gangstas* was his final film as a director[5](https://www.rogerebert.com/features/larry-cohen-1941-2019).
## Later screenwriting career
From the 1990s onward Cohen focused mainly on writing[1](https://www.larrycohenfilmmaker.com/biography/). His screenplay for *Phone Booth*, directed by Joel Schumacher and starring Colin Farrell, became a commercial success in 2002, grossing $98 million worldwide[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/larry-cohen). He also wrote the 2004 film *Cellular*, with Kim Basinger, William H. Macy, and Jason Statham[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/larry-cohen). His other screen credits from this period include *Guilty as Sin*, directed by Sidney Lumet in 1993, and the *Maniac Cop* sequels[4](https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2003/great-directors/cohen/).
## Filmmaking style
Cohen was one of the early "guerrilla" filmmakers, shooting quickly and cheaply on location, often without permits, on busy New York streets[4](https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2003/great-directors/cohen/) • [7](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-me-larry-cohen-dead-20190324-story.html) • [8](https://www.docnyc.net/pdfs/DOCNYC17-CAT_MASTER_FINAL_Web.pdf). Behind the camera he developed a reputation for getting high production value for little money, in part by hiring skilled older craftspeople who could no longer find work at the major studios[9](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-larry-cohen-appreciation-20190325-story.html).
Social commentary ran through the genre premises. His films addressed institutionalized racism, self-perpetuating commercialism, opportunism within corrupt institutions, and public apathy[10](https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/whats-the-matter-with-this-town-larry-cohens-new-york-on-film). With *It's Alive*, the monster in the American horror film emerged from within the family rather than from outside it, inverting the traditional horror story[4](https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2003/great-directors/cohen/). Cohen himself denied that his work belonged to the horror genre, arguing that his generic excursions transcended formula to criticize American society[4](https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2003/great-directors/cohen/). Like his friend Samuel Fuller, a Cohen film often bore the title "written, produced, and directed by Larry Cohen", which made him a fully-fledged cinematic auteur[4](https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2003/great-directors/cohen/). A useful comparison is Roger Corman, who industrialized low-budget production while Cohen simply lived in its margins[11](https://asidehouse.com/screen/larry-cohen-the-guerrilla-auteur-of-new-york/).
## Birth year and death
Most industry sources, including Cohen's official biography, the Television Academy, and the Los Angeles Times, give his birth date as 1941[1](https://www.larrycohenfilmmaker.com/biography/) • [2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/larry-cohen) • [7](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-me-larry-cohen-dead-20190324-story.html). The New York Times obituary instead gives July 15, 1936, stating that the 1941 year had often been reported but that his family and census records confirmed it was incorrect; by that account Cohen was 82 at his death[3](https://libcat.weber.edu/cgi-bin/koha/opac-authoritiesdetail.pl?authid=225813). IMDb and the library authority record derived from the Times give 1936 to 2019[3](https://libcat.weber.edu/cgi-bin/koha/opac-authoritiesdetail.pl?authid=225813) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0169540/).
Cohen died on March 23, 2019; the Television Academy gives the place as Los Angeles, California, and the New York Times as Beverly Hills, California[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/larry-cohen) • [3](https://libcat.weber.edu/cgi-bin/koha/opac-authoritiesdetail.pl?authid=225813).
## Legacy
Cohen's work returned to the spotlight in 2017 with the release of *King Cohen: The Wild World of Filmmaker Larry Cohen*, a documentary directed by Steve Mitchell in which Cohen recounts his career with testimonials from friends and coworkers[5](https://www.rogerebert.com/features/larry-cohen-1941-2019). The writer-director Edgar Wright praised him for "so many fun, high-concept genre romps with ideas bigger than the budgets"[7](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-me-larry-cohen-dead-20190324-story.html). His guerrilla methods made him, like Roger Corman, a revered figure among later generations of independent genre filmmakers[7](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-me-larry-cohen-dead-20190324-story.html). The University of California, Santa Barbara, preserves his collection of Bernard Herrmann material, including the complete original manuscript score to *It's Alive*[12](https://archives.library.ucsb.edu/agents/people/3157).
## References
1. [Biography, Larry Cohen official site](https://www.larrycohenfilmmaker.com/biography/)
2. [Larry Cohen, Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/larry-cohen)
3. [Cohen, Larry, 1936-2019, Stewart Library authority record (quoting the New York Times obituary)](https://libcat.weber.edu/cgi-bin/koha/opac-authoritiesdetail.pl?authid=225813)
4. [Cohen, Larry, by Tony Williams, Senses of Cinema, October 2003](https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2003/great-directors/cohen/)
5. [Larry Cohen: 1941-2019, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/features/larry-cohen-1941-2019)
6. [Larry Cohen, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0169540/)
7. [Larry Cohen, B-movie director of 1970s cult horror films, dies at 77, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-me-larry-cohen-dead-20190324-story.html)
8. [DOC NYC 2017 catalog, films about filmmaking](https://www.docnyc.net/pdfs/DOCNYC17-CAT_MASTER_FINAL_Web.pdf)
9. [Appreciation: Larry Cohen, the genre director who steadfastly avoided the generic, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-larry-cohen-appreciation-20190325-story.html)
10. [What's the Matter with This Town: Larry Cohen's New York on Film, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/whats-the-matter-with-this-town-larry-cohens-new-york-on-film)
11. [Larry Cohen: The Guerrilla Auteur of New York, Aside House](https://asidehouse.com/screen/larry-cohen-the-guerrilla-auteur-of-new-york/)
12. [Cohen, Larry, 1936-2019, UC Santa Barbara Library ArchivesSpace](https://archives.library.ucsb.edu/agents/people/3157)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Film people and crafts › Directors, producers, and screenwriters › Genre and specialist film directors*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license