Charles S. Cohen (born February 8, 1952)
is an American real estate developer and film distributor.
Early life and education
Cohen was raised in a
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
family
in
Harrison, New York.
He is the son of Gloria and Sherman Cohen and nephew to Eddie and Mortimer Cohen.
[New York Times: "Clo Jacobs, Charles Cohen](_blank)
October 31, 2004 In the 1950s, the Cohen brothers (Eddie, Mortimer, and Sherman Cohen) founded Cohen Brothers Realty & Construction Corporation
after successfully running various other businesses prior. At the age of 16, Cohen made his first short film winning an honorable mention at the Kodak Teenage Movie Awards competition.
Cohen attended
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, th ...
for a year and a half before transferring to
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...
where he majored in English.
In 1974, Cohen graduated from Tufts. In 1997 he graduated from
Brooklyn Law School
Brooklyn Law School (BLS) is a private law school in New York City. Founded in 1901, it has approximately 1,100 students. Brooklyn Law School's faculty includes 60 full-time faculty, 15 emeriti faculty, and a number of adjunct faculty.
Brookly ...
.
Career
Real estate
Cohen Brothers Realty Corporation is a private commercial real estate development and management firm with a portfolio of 12 million square feet of wholly owned and passively managed Class A office buildings and showrooms of over 300 companies across the United States. Signature projects include the revitalization of Manhattan's Decoration & Design (D&D) Building, the Southern California's Pacific Design Center and the Design Center of the Americas (DCOTA) in South Florida, the largest design center in the United States.
Cohen's New York City properties include
623 Fifth Avenue, 622 Third Avenue, 135 East 57th Street, 750 Lexington Avenue, 3 East 54th Street, 805 Third Avenue, 3 Park Avenue, 475 Park Avenue South and the D&D Building at 979 Third Avenue.
Hotels
Representing his first venture into the hospitality arena, Mr. Cohen has redeveloped and opened the Le Méridien Dania Beach at Fort Lauderdale Airport, a hotel located on the 40-acre DCOTA (Design Center of the Americas) campus.
Film
Distribution
Charles S. Cohen formed Cohen Media Group in 2008 to distribute independent and arthouse films throughout North America. Cohen Media Group is today the largest American distributor of French films in the United States, while its specialty home entertainment label, the Cohen Film Collection, releases restored and re-mastered editions of classic American and foreign films on Digital platforms, Blu-ray and DVD. Cohen Media Group has distributed over 120 feature films and shorts.
The company has also acquired the rights to over 800 films, including cinematic landmarks from Douglas Fairbanks, Buster Keaton and Merchant Ivory Productions, best known for Howards End and Maurice. Additionally, Cohen Media Group has several feature film and television productions in active development. Charles S. Cohen is a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) and is a member of the PGA (Producers Guild of America).
Exhibition
In 2017, Charles S. Cohen spectacularly renovated and reopened one of New York City's movie houses, the historic
Quad Cinema
The Quad Cinema is New York City's first small four-screen multiplex theater. Located at 34 West 13th Street in Greenwich Village, it was opened by entrepreneur Maurice Kanbar, along with his younger brother Elliott S. Kanbar in October 1972. I ...
in the heart of Greenwich Village, New York City. He also in the process of redeveloping the historic Larchmont Playhouse in Westchester County into an arthouse/independent film multiplex and is in the planning stage of redeveloping an arthouse/independent film multiplex in West Palm Beach, Florida. In 2017, Cohen's acquisition of the Paris cinema La Pagode, which dates back to 1896, adds to his growing catalogue of arthouse cinemas. Mr. Cohen is currently working with the French government on the plans of the restoration of this Parisian landmark. In 2018, Charles S. Cohen purchased
Landmark Theatres
Landmark Theatres is a movie theatre chain in the United States. It was formerly dedicated to exhibiting and marketing independent and foreign films.
Since its founding in 1974, Landmark has grown to 35 theaters with 178 screens in 24 marke ...
, the nation's largest specialized theater chain dedicated to independent cinema with 252 screens in 27 markets. On 23 December 2019, he acquired British
art-house cinema chain
Curzon Cinemas
Curzon Cinemas () are a chain of cinemas based in the United Kingdom, mostly in London, specialising in art house films. They also have a video on demand service, Curzon Home Cinema.
History
Curzon Cinemas were established in 1934 when Harold ...
, including the distribution arm
Curzon Artificial Eye
Curzon Film (), formerly known as Artificial Eye or Curzon Artificial Eye, is a British film distributor, specialising in independent, foreign-language and art house films for cinema and home entertainment.
History
Artificial Eye was founded i ...
.
Other ventures
From 1991 to 1993 Cohen was a chairman at the Federal Law Enforcement Foundation. Cohen has served on the
Board of Trustees of the
Museum of Contemporary Art,
the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (Cooper Union) is a private college at Cooper Square in New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-supported École Polytechnique in ...
, the Lighthouse International Theater,
the Public Theater
The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: An American Li ...
,
Real Estate Board of New York, the
Stella Adler Studio of Acting and the
Film Society of Lincoln Center.
Fashion
Two UK fashion labels, Savile Row tailor Richard James and luxury shoe manufacturer and retailer Harrys of London, were acquired in 2016 and 2017. Cohen has a majority stake and serves as chairman at Richard James. Cohen, who serves as chairman, will facilitate the brands' international growth strategies, beginning with the recent Manhattan store openings on Park Avenue and East 57th Street.
Leather goods and luggage
In 2018, Cohen acquired T Anthony, a 73-year-old luxury leather goods & luggage company.
Personal life
Cohen has been married twice. He has four children from his two marriages.
He is divorced from his first wife; they have two children, a daughter and a son who works at Cohen Brothers Realty Corp.
In 2004, he married his second wife, Clodagh "Clo" Margaret Jacobs,
a former marketing and publicity executive for fashion designer
,
in a Jewish ceremony at the
St. Regis Hotel in Manhattan;
they also have two children.
The couple divides their time between homes in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
and in suburban Connecticut.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Charles S.
Living people
American real estate businesspeople
American film producers
Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences alumni
20th-century American Jews
1952 births
Brooklyn Law School alumni
21st-century American Jews