 | This article includes a list ofgeneral references, butit lacks sufficient correspondinginline citations. Please help toimprove this article byintroducing more precise citations.(October 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Randy Cohen | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Alma mater | University at Albany |
| Occupation(s) | Columnist, screenwriter |
| Spouse | Katha Pollitt |
| Awards | FourEmmy Awards |
| Website | columns |
Randy Cohen is an American writer and humorist known as the author of The Ethicist column inThe New York Times Magazine between 1999 and 2011. The column was syndicated throughout the U.S. and Canada. Cohen is also known as the author of several books, a playwright, and the host of the public radio showPerson Place Thing.
Cohen graduated from theUniversity at Albany, SUNY in 1971, with a Bachelor of Arts in music.[1] He received an MFA in music composition from theCalifornia Institute of the Arts. During this time there he and Rich Gold worked for Serge Tcherpnin to help create theSerge synthesizer. In 2011, Cohen received the honorary degree Doctor of Humane Letters from the University at Albany.
From 1973 to 1977 he played Serge synthesizer and drums with the proto no wave band Jack Ruby.Boris Policeband andGeorge Scott III were also members of the group.[2]
He spent several years "writing humor pieces, essays, and stories for leading newspapers and magazines," includingThe New Yorker,Harper's, andThe Atlantic; his first paid, published piece was in 1976 forThe Village Voice.[1] In 1981, his book of satiric letters,Modest Proposals, was published bySt. Martin's Press.[1] In 1989, his collection of humor pieces,Diary of a Flying Man, was published by Knopf. In 2002The Good, the Bad, & the Difference: How to Tell Right from Wrong in Everyday Situations was published by Doubleday. His bookBe Good: How to Navigate the Ethics of Everything was released by Chronicle Books in August 2012.
Cohen was a writer onLate Night with David Letterman for 950 episodes[3] over seven years,[4] starting in 1984.[1] He shared in threePrimetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Writing for his work on the show.[1] Perhaps his biggest contribution was to help invent one of Letterman's famous feature, the "Top Ten List."[5]
Cohen wrote forTV Nation, sharing in aPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Informational Series in 1995. In 1996, he became the originalhead writer forThe Rosie O'Donnell Show.[6]
Cohen wrote forSlate starting in 1996. AtSlate, he became known for "News Quiz", a satiric reader-participation feature which began in February 1998 and ended in November 2000. He also co-wrote afirst-season episode ofEd, first broadcast on February 14, 2001.
Cohen wrote The Ethicist column inThe New York Times Magazine between 1999 and 2011. From 2001 to 2005, he also answered listeners' questions onethics for theNational Public Radio radio news program,All Things Considered.[7] TheTimes ended Cohen's stint as The Ethicist, making his final column Sunday, February 27, 2011. The column continued with the same format but a new byline until early 2015, when it abandoned the question and answer format for a discussion format among a number of persons.
Cohen donated $585 toMoveOn.org's voter registration effort in 2004, apparently in violation ofTimes policy, which had banned political donations in 2003. TheSpokane, Wash.,Spokesman-Review decided on June 20, 2007, to drop Cohen's column, which had been scheduled to begin running in the paper on the following Saturday, because of his donation. Cohen responded that he saw no ethical violation, because he viewed MoveOn as no more activist than other organizations, such as theBoy Scouts of America. Nonetheless, he said he would not make such donations in the future.[8]
Cohen wrote a play about the eighteenth century boxing championDaniel Mendoza.The Punishing Blow debuted in 2009[9] at theWoodstock Fringe Festival[10] and ran in 2010 at Manhattan's Clurman Theater.
In winter 2012, public radio stationWAMC launched Cohen's new showPerson Place Thing. In the show's first season, Cohen interviewed guestsDick Cavett,Jane Smiley,Susie Essman,Dave Cowens,Michael Pollan,John Hockenberry,Rickie Lee Jones,Ed Koch,Samantha Bee,RL Stine, and SirRoger Bannister.[11]
Cohen was born inCharleston, South Carolina and raised inReading, Pennsylvania,[10] in what he has called a "suburbanreform Jewish household."[13]
He was formerly married to the writer and activistKatha Pollitt, with whom he has a daughter, Sophie Pollitt-Cohen.
Specific references:
General references:
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
