Martin Paul Cohan (July 4, 1932 – May 19, 2010), credited as Marty Cohan, was an American

television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of a television show, television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television networks, but upon acce ...

and

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

. He co-created the

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

Who's the Boss? ''Who's the Boss?'' is an American sitcom television series created by Martin Cohan and Blake Hunter, that aired on ABC from September 20, 1984, to April 25, 1992, with a total of 196 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons. It was produce ...

'', which aired on the

American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast Television broadcaster, television and radio Radio network, network that serves as the flagship property of the Disney Entertainment division ...

(ABC) from 1984 to 1992, with business partner Blake Hunter. 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 th ...

'', which ran on the National Broadcasting Company (

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

) 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, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

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

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

as a pre-law major. He worked several jobs to put himself through school, suffering 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 Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

theater arts Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

in 1955.

Career

Cohan began working as a stage manager and assistant director at ABC after his graduation from Stanford University. He worked in film and documentaries during this stage in his career, including the 1970 film, '' Catch-22'', directed by

Mike Nichols Mike Nichols (born Igor Mikhail Peschkowsky; November 6, 1931 – November 19, 2014) was an American film and theatre director and comedian. He worked across a range of genres and had an aptitude for getting the best out of actors regardless of ...

. Cohan created a documentary called ''The Children of Paris'' before taking a position in a documentary firm owned by David L. Wolper. Cohan's work as a writer and researcher for the documentaries '' Hollywood and the Stars'' 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 division of NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#Universal Studio Group, Universal Studio Group, a division of NBCUniversal, which, in turn, is ...

's documentary department. During the 1970s, Cohan transitioned to writing for sitcoms, including ''

All in the Family ''All in the Family'' is an American sitcoms in the United States, sitcom television series that aired on CBS for nine seasons from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979, with a total of 205 episodes. It was later produced as ''Archie Bunker's Pla ...

'' and '' The Odd Couple''. In 1971, he 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 September 19, 1970 ...

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

Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is the name of two American labor unions representing writers in film, television, radio, and online media: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) is headquartered in New York City and is affiliated wit ...

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 an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

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 television sitcom 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 psychol ...

'' 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 ''Diff'rent Strokes'' is an American television sitcom, which originally 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 ...

. In the early 1980s, he co-created ''Who's the Boss?'' with business partner Blake Hunter. The sitcom, starring

Tony Danza Tony Danza (born Anthony Salvatore Iadanza; April 21, 1951) is an American actor and retired professional boxer. He is known for co-starring in the television series ''Taxi (TV series), Taxi'' (1978–1983) and ''Who's the Boss?'' (1984–1992 ...

, Judith Light,

Alyssa Milano Alyssa Jayne Milano ( ; born December 19, 1972) is an American actress and activist. She has played Samantha Micelli in '' Who's the Boss?'' (1984–1992), Jennifer Mancini in '' Melrose Place'' (1997–1998), Phoebe Halliwell in '' Charmed'' ...

, Danny Pintauro and Katherine Helmond, ran from 1984 to 1992. Cohan's sister, actress Rhoda Gemignani, had a recurring role as Mrs. Rossini on the show. Cohan and Hunter also worked as creative consultants on '' The Upper Hand'', the British version of ''Who's the Boss?'', that debuted in 1990 and aired for seven seasons on the ITV 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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Cohan also penned scripts for episodes of numerous other television shows, including ''Silver Spoons'' and ''Diff'rent Strokes''. 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

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Martin Cohan
at Find a Grave {{DEFAULTSORT:Cohan, Martin 1932 births 2010 deaths Television writers from California American male television writers Television producers from California American television directors Stanford University alumni People from Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles Deaths from lymphoma in California Jewish American screenwriters Jewish American television writers Screenwriters from San Francisco Burials at Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery 21st-century American Jews Writers Guild of America Award winners American television show creators