Alexander H. Cohen

Alexander H. Cohen (July 24, 1920 - April 22, 2000) was an American theatrical producer who mounted more than one hundred productions on both sides of the Atlantic. He was the only American producer to maintain offices in the West End as well as on Broadway.

Cohen was born in New York City. Cohen's father, a business man, died when Cohen was four, and his mother then married a banker, and he, together with his brother Gerry, lived on Park Avenue in a lavish duplex penthouse.

He was employed by the Bulova Watch Company where he spent seven years, becoming its director of advertising and publicity, a business that brought him into contact with theatre people. During this time, World War II, he was drafted into the United States Army, and after a year was invalided out with a leg ailment.

His brother committed suicide in 1954, at which point Cohen became estranged from his mother.

Mr. Cohen's first marriage, to Jocelyn Newmark, ended in divorce. They had a daughter, who is named Barbara. He married actress Hildy Parks in 1956, who later became his producing partner. He died from emphysema in New York City in 2000. Parks followed him 4 years later, in 2004. He is survived by son Gerry Cohen, of Los Angeles, daughter Barbara Hoffmann of Manhattan; another son, Christopher A. Cohen, also of Manhattan; one grandson named Brock Pernice, one great-granddaughter with the name of Mia A. Pernice and a great-grandson named C. Oliver Pernice.

With an inheritance, he initially became an investor in a number of flops, producing his first Broadway show with Ghost for Sale in 1941, which closed after six performances. He followed this quickly with his next production, the thriller Angel Street, which ran for three years (and was made into the movie Gaslight). Soon, he revealed himself to have a decidedly eclectic approach to popular entertainment with a busy schedule of productions. They ran the gamut from comedies (Little Murders) to revues At the Drop of a Hat, Beyond the Fringe, to dramas (84 Charing Cross Road, Anna Christie) to musicals (Dear World, A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine) to the classics (King Lear, Hamlet). He also produced stage concerts for Marlene Dietrich, Maurice Chevalier, and Yves Montand, and an evening of comic sketches with Mike Nichols and Elaine May.

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