Larry Cohen, the auteur responsible for such notable horror movies as It’s Alive (1974) and It Lives Again, the 1978 sequel, God Told Me To aka Demon (1976), Q – The Winged Serpent (1981), The Stuff (1985) and the Maniac Cop series, has died in Los Angeles. He was seventy-seven years-old.
Horror wasn’t the only genre that he worked in, Cohen also wrote and directed key ’70s blaxploitation movies such as Black Caesar and Hell Up in Harlem. In 1996, he returned to his roots, making Original Gangstas.
Cohen was also a trailblazer before he began making his own films, having creating the 1960s TV series Branded and The Invaders.
Lawrence Cohen was born on July 15, 1941, in Washington Heights, Manhattan. His family moved to the Bronx, and young cinema fan Lawrence carried groceries for tips so he could watch as many movies as possible.
In 1963, he graduated from City College, New York with a degree in Film Studies. Starting out at the NBC television network as a page, where he taught himself how to write teleplays.
In 2017, Larry was the subject of Steve Mitchell’s well-received career-overview documentary, King Cohen.
Selected filmography:
As director and writer:
- Masters of Horror (TV series, one episode: Pick Me Up, 2006)
- Wicked Stepmother (1989)
- A Return to Salem’s Lot (1987)
- It’s Alive III: Island of the Alive (1986)
- The Stuff (1985)
- Q aka Q – The Winged Serpent (1982)
- Full Moon High (1981)
- It Lives Again (1978)
- God Told Me To (1976)
- It’s Alive (1974)
As writer:
- It’s Alive (2008)
- Captivity (2007)
- Uncle Sam (1996)
- The Invaders TV mini-series (1995)
- Body Snatchers (co-screen story, 1993)
- Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence (1993)
- Maniac Cop 2 (1990)
- Maniac Cop (1988)
- Scream Baby Scream (1969)
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