Martin Paul Cohan (July 4, 1932 – May 19, 2010), credited as Marty Cohan, was an American television producer and screenwriter. He co-created the

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

'' Who's the Boss?'', which aired on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

from 1984 until 1992, with business partner,

Blake Hunter Blake Hunter (born January 17, 1934) is an American television producer and writer. He is best known as the co-creator of the sitcom '' Who's the Boss?'', which aired on ABC from 1984 until 1992 and which co-starred Tony Danza and Judith Light, in ...

. Cohan is also credited with creating ''

Silver Spoons ''Silver Spoons'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from September 25, 1982, to May 11, 1986, and in first-run syndication from September 27, 1986, to May 30, 1987. The series was produced by Embassy Television for the fi ...

'', which ran on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

from 1982 to 1987 and launched the career of actor

Ricky Schroder Richard Bartlett Schroder (born April 13, 1970) is an American actor and filmmaker. As a child actor billed as Ricky Schroder he debuted in the film '' The Champ'' (1979), for which he became the youngest Golden Globe award recipient, and went o ...

Biography

Early life

Cohan was born in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, California, on July 4, 1932. He graduated from Lowell High School before attending

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

as a pre-law major. He worked several jobs to put himself through school resulting in injuries that required back surgery. After the surgery, he changed his major to drama. He received a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

theater arts Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

in 1955.

Career

Cohan began working as a

stage manager Stage management is a broad field that is generally defined as the practice of organization and coordination of an event or theatrical production. Stage management may encompass a variety of activities including the overseeing of the rehearsal p ...

and assistant director at the

American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American commercial broadcast television network. It is the flagship property of the ABC Entertainment Group division of The Walt Disney Company. The network is headquartered in Burbank, Cali ...

(ABC) following his graduation from Stanford University. He worked in film and documentaries during this stage in his career, including for director

Mike Nichols Mike Nichols (born Michael Igor Peschkowsky; November 6, 1931 – November 19, 2014) was an American film and theater director, producer, actor, and comedian. He was noted for his ability to work across a range of genres and for his aptitude fo ...

in the 1970 film, ''

Catch-22 ''Catch-22'' is a satirical war novel by American author Joseph Heller. He began writing it in 1953; the novel was first published in 1961. Often cited as one of the most significant novels of the twentieth century, it uses a distinctive non-chr ...

''. Cohan created a documentary called ''The Children of Paris'' before taking a position in a documentary firm owned by

David L. Wolper David Lloyd Wolper (January 11, 1928 – August 10, 2010) was an American television and film producer, responsible for shows such as ''Roots'', '' The Thorn Birds'', and ''North and South'', and the theatrically-released films ''L.A. Confiden ...

. Cohan's work as a writer and researcher for the documentaries, ''

Hollywood and the Stars ''Hollywood and the Stars'' is a 1963 NBC television documentary series produced by the David L. Wolper Production Company in association with United Artists Television. It was narrated by Joseph Cotten with the theme music and several episodes ...

'' in 1963 and '' Let My People Go: The Story of Israel'' in 1965 also led to a job working in

Universal Television Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a subsidiary of Universal Studio Group, a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It serves as the network television production arm of NBC; a predeces ...

's documentary department. Cohan transitioned to writing for sitcoms, including ''

All in the Family ''All in the Family'' is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS for nine seasons, from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. Afterwards, it was continued with the spin-off series '' Archie Bunker's Place'', which picked up where ''All in ...

'' and ''

The Odd Couple Odd Couple may refer to: Neil Simon play and its adaptations * ''The Odd Couple'' (play), a 1965 stage play by Neil Simon ** ''The Odd Couple'' (film), a 1968 film based on the play *** ''The Odd Couple'' (1970 TV series), a 1970–1975 televisi ...

'', during the 1970s. In 1971, Cohan achieved professional recognition as an assistant director on ''

The Mary Tyler Moore Show ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (also known simply as ''Mary Tyler Moore'') is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns and starring actress Mary Tyler Moore. The show originally aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977. Moor ...

''. He was awarded the best comedy episode award from the

Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America is the joint efforts of two different US labor unions representing TV and film writers: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), headquartered in New York City and affiliated with the AFL–CIO * The Writers Guil ...

for his screenwriting on the show in 1972. Cohan was also the recipient of an

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

award for furthering interracial understanding during the 1970s. After leaving The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Cohan directed, produced, and wrote for ''

The Bob Newhart Show ''The Bob Newhart Show'' is an American sitcom television series produced by MTM Enterprises that aired on CBS from September 16, 1972, to April 1, 1978, with a total of 142 half-hour episodes over six seasons. Comedian Bob Newhart portrays a psy ...

'' and was co-producer of '' The Ted Knight Show''. Martin Cohan was the co-producer/co-executive producer from 1979 to 1985 on Diff'rent Strokes. In the early 1980s, Cohan co-created '' Who's the Boss?'' with business partner

. The sitcom, starring

Tony Danza Tony Danza (born Anthony Salvatore Iadanza; April 21, 1951) is an American actor. He is known for co-starring in the television series ''Taxi'' (1978–1983) and '' Who's the Boss?'' (1984–1992), for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award a ...

Judith Light Judith Ellen Light (born February 9, 1949) is an American actress. She made her professional stage debut in 1970, before making her Broadway debut in the 1975 revival of ''A Doll's House''. Her breakthrough role was in the ABC daytime soap opera ...

Alyssa Milano Alyssa Jayne Milano (born December 19, 1972) is an American actress. She has played Samantha Micelli in '' Who's the Boss?'', Jennifer Mancini in ''Melrose Place'', Phoebe Halliwell in ''Charmed'', Billie Cunningham in ''My Name Is Earl'', Savan ...

Danny Pintauro Danny Pintauro (born January 6, 1976) is an American actor and film producer. He starred in the sitcom '' Who's the Boss?'' and the 1983 horror film ''Cujo''. Early life Pintauro was born in Milltown, New Jersey, the son of John J. Pintauro, a m ...

and

Katherine Helmond Katherine Marie Helmond (July 5, 1929 – February 23, 2019) was an American actress. Over her five decades of television acting, she was known for her starring role as Jessica Tate on the sitcom ''Soap'' (1977–1981) and her co-starring role as ...

, ran from 1984 to 1992. Cohan's sister, actress

Rhoda Gemignani Rhoda Barbara Gemignani (née Cohan; born October 21, 1940) is an American actress, best known for her recurring role as Mrs. Carmela Rossini in the American television sitcom '' Who's the Boss?''. She appeared frequently on television betwee ...

, had a recurring role as Mrs. Rossini on the show. Cohan and Hunter also worked as creative consultants on ''

The Upper Hand ''The Upper Hand'' is a British television sitcom broadcast by ITV from 1 May 1990 to 14 October 1996. The programme was adapted from the American sitcom '' Who's the Boss?''. As in the former series, affluent single woman Caroline Wheatley, ...

'', the British version of ''Who's the Boss?'', that debuted in 1990 and aired for seven seasons on the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

network in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. Cohan also penned scripts for episodes of numerous other television shows, including ''

'' and ''

Diff'rent Strokes ''Diff'rent Strokes'' is an American television sitcom, which aired on NBC from November 3, 1978, to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985, to March 7, 1986. The series stars Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges as Arnold and Willis Jackson, r ...

''. Martin Cohan died at his home in Pacific Palisades, California, of large-cell lymphoma on May 19, 2010, at the age of 77. He was survived by his wife, Dawn, a son, a daughter, two stepchildren, a step-grandson, and a sister. His memorial service was held at Mt. Sinai's Chapel Tenach in Forest Lawn. Cohan's longtime business partner, Blake Hunter, was quoted in ''Variety'' as saying: "Marty is the brother I wish I had, the talent I stood in awe of, and the friend I can never replace."

References

External links

*
Martin Cohan
at

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cohan, Martin 1932 births 2010 deaths American television writers American male television writers Television producers from California American television directors Stanford University alumni People from Pacific Palisades, California Deaths from lymphoma Deaths from cancer in California Jewish American writers Writers from San Francisco Screenwriters from California Burials at Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery 21st-century American Jews