Martin Cohan, Creator of Who’s the Boss?, Passes
The prolific writer, director and producer also created Silver Spoons.
Martin Cohan, who co-created ABC sitcom Who’s the Boss?, died May 19, 2010, in Pacific Palisades, California. According to news reports, the cause was complications of large cell lymphoma. He was 77.
Cohan created Who’s the Boss?, which starred Tony Danza and Judith Light, with his partner Blake Hunter in 1984. The show ran for eight seasons. He also created Silver Spoons, which starred a young Rick Schroder.
Cohan began his television career as a stage manager and assistant director at ABC after graduating from Stanford University. After working for director Mike Nichols on the feature film Catch-22, he made a documentary in France called The Children of Paris. He then went to work for documentary icon David L. Wolper. He researched and wrote Let My People Go and Hollywood and the Stars. Universal Television then hired him for its documentary division.
During the 1970s Cohan became involved with sitcoms and wrote for shows such as All in the Family, The Odd Couple and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, for which he won a Writers Guild award. He also received an NAACP award for furthering interracial relations.
Cohan also wrote, produced and directed episodes of The Bob Newhart Show.
Survivors include his wife, a son, a daughter, two stepchildren, a step-grandson and a sister.