Corey Allen
Allen in an episode ofMedic (1954)
Born	Alan Cohen (1934-06-29)June 29, 1934 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Died	June 27, 2010(2010-06-27) (aged 75) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place	Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery
Alma mater	UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television
Occupations	Actor director producer writer
Years active	1954–2009
Children	1[1]
Father	Carl Cohen

Corey Allen (bornAlan Cohen; June 29, 1934 – June 27, 2010) was an American film and television director, writer, producer, and actor. He began his career as an actor but eventually became a television director. He is best known for playing the character Buzz Gunderson inNicholas Ray'sRebel Without a Cause (1955). He was the son ofCarl Cohen.

Allen was born as Alan Cohen inCleveland, Ohio, on June 29, 1934. He was the son ofCarl and Frances Freudenreich Cohen; his father was an illegal bookie and gambling operator for theMayfield Road Mob in Cleveland,^[2] and later became an important gambling executive at theSands Hotel and Casino inLas Vegas, Nevada.^[3][4] Cohen attended theUniversity of California, Los Angeles, where he received his start in acting and was awarded aBachelor of Fine Arts in 1954.^[4]

Allen was best known for his role as gang leader Buzz Gunderson inNicholas Ray's 1955 filmRebel Without A Cause.James Dean starred as Jim Stark, a disaffected teenager who has moved to Los Angeles to start a new life, only to find more problems in his new home. After a show at theGriffith Observatory, Buzz challenges Jim to aknife fight, which Stark wins by subduing Buzz with hisswitchblade. During the filming of the knife fight both Allen and Dean, aficionados ofmethod acting, used real knives and Dean was injured when Allen lunged at him with his knife.^[4] The gang challenges Jim to achickie run, in which two stolen cars will be raced towards a cliff and the winner will be the last one to jump out.^[4] Before the two embark on their death race, Buzz and Jim stand at the edge of the cliff, looking down at the fall they might face if they remain in their cars to the end. Buzz, realizing Jim’s moxie in accepting the car challenge and actually besting him in the earlier knife confrontation, discloses Jim has earned his respect, that he “likes him.” It’s a poignant moment where social acceptance is within the grasp of perpetual misfit Jim Stark. Jim had passed an initiation where he would be accepted in with the “wheels.” Jim thus questions why then go ahead with this race. Buzz underwhelmingly responds, "You got to dosomething, don't you".^[1] Allen would later recall that his classic line was "the underlying question of each generation. Here we are: What do we do?".^[5] As the cars are heading to the cliff, Buzz attempts to jump out but is unable to escape when his leather jacket gets caught on the car door handle; he is killed in the crash on the beach below.^[4]

He appeared in some minor film roles beforeRebel and afterward was seen inThe Chapman Report,Darby's Rangers,Juvenile Jungle,Party Girl,Sweet Bird of Youth, in addition to guest appearances onBonanza,Dr. Kildare,Gunsmoke,Have Gun, Will Travel andPerry Mason.^[1] In 1960 Allen played murderer Rennie Foster in "The Case of the Red Riding Boots", and in 1962 he played murder victim Lester Menke in "The Case of the Borrowed Baby".

He was actively involved in theatrical productions in the Los Angeles area, creating the touring company Freeway Circuit Inc. in 1959 and the Actors Theater in 1965. He was also involved in teaching theater atThe Actors Workshop.^[1]

Allen turned to directing starting in the 1960s, where he worked on such television programs asDallas,Hawaii Five-O,Hill Street Blues,Ironside,Mannix,Murder, She Wrote,Police Woman,The Rockford Files,Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,Star Trek: The Next Generation andThe Streets of San Francisco.^[4] He won anEmmy Award, in 1984, for directing an episode ofHill Street Blues.^[6]

In 1967, Corey and his business partner Gary Stromberg met withCharles Manson early in both of their careers, as new director and cult leader respectively. Manson was invited to help them write a film treatment calledBlack Jesus (later produced by an Italian company in 1968) and Manson's "family" was allowed to live briefly in Corey's small acting studio on Western Ave. After Corey's then-girlfriend expressed her concerns about Manson, he broke ties with him.^[7]

Towards the end of his life a fire took his home in the Hollywoods Hills above the Sunset Strip. He lost everything. The only thing the fire department recovered from the flames was his molten Emmy.

He died from complications ofParkinson's disease at his home in Hollywood on June 27, 2010, two days before his 76th birthday.^[1][4] He is buried in grave 7-51-2 in the Sunset Slope section of Hillside Memorial Park in Los Angeles.^[8]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toCorey Allen.

• Corey Allen atIMDb
• Corey Allen atFind a Grave

• Corey Allen atMemory Alpha

• 1934 births
• 2010 deaths
• 20th-century American male actors
• 21st-century American male actors
• American male film actors
• American male screenwriters
• American male television actors
• American male television writers
• American television directors
• American television writers
• Burials at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery
• Deaths from Parkinson's disease in California
• Film directors from Ohio
• Film producers from Ohio
• Jewish American male actors
• Male actors from Cleveland
• Screenwriters from Ohio
• UCLA Film School alumni

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