Maggie Cogan
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Maggie Cogan is a resident of
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
who was the first female
coachman A coachman is a person who drives a Coach (carriage), coach or carriage, or similar horse-drawn vehicle. A coachman has also been called a coachee, coachy, whip, or hackman. The coachman's first concern is to remain in full control of the hors ...
in
Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...
, working for the
Plaza Hotel The Plaza Hotel (also known as The Plaza) is a luxury hotel and condominium apartment building in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is located on the western side of Grand Army Plaza, after which it is named, just west of Fifth Avenue, ...
. She appeared in a 1967
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newsreel A newsreel is a form of short documentary film, containing news, news stories and items of topical interest, that was prevalent between the 1910s and the mid 1970s. Typically presented in a Movie theater, cinema, newsreels were a source of cu ...
with her horse and
carriage A carriage is a two- or four-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle for passengers. In Europe they were a common mode of transport for the wealthy during the Roman Empire, and then again from around 1600 until they were replaced by the motor car around 1 ...
, and in 1968, also appeared on the syndicated version of the quiz show ''
What's My Line? ''What's My Line?'' is a Panel show, panel game show that originally ran in the United States, between 1950 and 1967, on CBS, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent American revivals. The game uses celebrity panelists ...
'', with contestants attempting to guess her occupation. After leaving her career briefly in the 1960s, she resumed it in 1970, befriending Lisa Ryan, the daughter of actor
Robert Ryan Robert Bushnell Ryan (November 11, 1909 – July 11, 1973) was an American actor and activist. Known for his portrayals of hardened cops and ruthless villains, Ryan performed for over three decades. He was nominated for the Academy Award for B ...
, who had also become a carriage driver. By this point, she had had 2 unsuccessful marriages and given birth to two sons, both of whom she gave up when her life began to unravel. In 1977, while living with Ryan, Cogan began to show signs of mental illness and she was eventually committed to a mental hospital by her parents. Eventually, she became homeless when she left her career for good. Director
Michel Negroponte Michel Negroponte is an American producer and director. Biography Negroponte was born to Catherine Coumantaros and Dimitrios Negrepontis, a Greek shipping magnate, alpine skier and member of the Negroponte family, and grew up in New York City' ...
discovered her living in Central Park and made the documentary film ''Jupiter's Wife'' about her.


Early life and career

Cogan was raised in the village of
New Hyde Park New Hyde Park is a village in the Towns of Hempstead and North Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. It is the anchor community of the Greater New Hyde Park area. The population was 10,257 at the time of the ...
in
Nassau County, New York Nassau County ( ) is a suburban County (United States), county located on Long Island, immediately to the east of New York City, bordering the Long Island Sound on the north and the open Atlantic Ocean to the south. As of the 2020 United St ...
. While attending high school, she was active in cheerleading and dance clubs. After graduating, she attended several colleges but never completed an undergraduate degree. At 19, she began a career with the Plaza Hotel, becoming the first ever female Central Park carriage driver. In 1968, when the city announced that horse-drawn carriages would have to carry meters like
taxicab A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...
s, Cogan was quoted in the associated story in the
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
, saying "Meters! It's ridiculous. In this country, they almost want to meter our minds. It'll be like Coney Island. Tawdry."


Collapse

In the late 1960s, Cogan's life began to unravel. She had two failed marriages, one of which produced two children. After showing increasing signs of being unable to cope with her failed relationships, she left her two children with her parents and moved to Texas for four years. Upon returning to New York City, she was unable to reclaim her children. Cogan began to exhibit signs of increasing mental instability in the 1970s, while living with Lisa Ryan. She developed an infatuation with Ryan's father (actor Robert Ryan) and began sending him odd gifts, such as voodoo dolls attached to love notes. In 1977, she developed an additional infatuation with serial killer
David Berkowitz David Richard Berkowitz (born Richard David Falco; June 1, 1953), also known as the Son of Sam and the .44 Caliber Killer, is an American serial killer and former U.S. Army soldier who committed a series of stabbings and shootings between 1 ...
and in the same year was
mugged Mugging (sometimes called personal robbery or street robbery) is a form of robbery and street crime that occurs in public places, often urban areas at night. It involves a confrontation with a threat of violence. Muggers steal money or persona ...
on the street, with her attacker slashing her face. At an indeterminate time, she was raped, as she says to the camera during ''Jupiter’s Wife'' without providing details. According to Lisa Ryan, "For the rest of the summer f 1977she barricaded herself in her bedroom and wouldn't come out." By the end of the summer of 1977, Ryan and Cogan were scheduled to move out of their shared apartment. Cogan's parents arrived, moved her out, and committed her to a
mental hospital A psychiatric hospital, also known as a mental health hospital, a behavioral health hospital, or an asylum is a specialized medical facility that focuses on the treatment of severe mental disorders. These institutions cater to patients with ...
.


Homelessness

After losing her job as a carriage driver, Cogan became homeless, living most of the next 15 years in Central Park. To help herself deal with reality, she concocted vivid stories about herself, claiming that ''she'' was, in fact, Robert Ryan's daughter. She also claimed to have Extra Sensory Perception. Her charm and wit helped her, however, make friends who helped feed and clothe her during this period. She also developed a deep love for animals, adopting several dogs and living with them.


Jupiter's Wife, obtaining housing

In 1989, Michel Negroponte was attempting to make a documentary about his childhood in Central Park when he encountered Cogan and decided to make the film ''Jupiter's Wife'' about her, instead. He filmed Cogan throughout 1989 until the end of 1991, showing her with her dogs, with friends, moving around Central Park, attending a gymnastics class that was taught by one of her friends, etc. By the end of the film, a small abandoned maintenance shack she had been living in with her dogs during the winter had been raided and demolished by police and sanitation workers. However, after being able to receive public assistance due to her mental condition, she was able to move into an apartment. The film won a special jury prize at the
Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...
.


After October 1995

In 1995, Cogan, with her pets, was evicted from her
Long Island City Long Island City (LIC) is a neighborhood within the New York City borough of Queens. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; Sunnyside to the east; and Newtown Creek, which separates Queens from Greenpoint, Brook ...
apartment. She moved in with friend Sara Whalen, founder and operator of Pets Alive shelter in Wallkill, NY. ''The New York Times'' reported that the arrangement was short-lived as Cogan returned to Central Park five weeks later.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cogan, Maggie 1943 births People from Long Island City, Queens American homeless people Contestants on American game shows Living people