Meyer Harris "Mickey" Cohen (September 4, 1913 – July 29, 1976) was an American
gangster
A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...
, boxer and entrepreneur based in Los Angeles during the mid-20th century.
Early life
Mickey Cohen was born on September 4, 1913, in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
to Jewish parents. Cohen's parents immigrated to the USA from
Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
. He was first raised in New York City, moving with his mother and siblings to the
Boyle Heights neighborhood of
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
at an early age. At 8, he earned money as a
newsboy, selling newspapers on the street.
One of his brothers, either Louie or Harry, would drop Mickey off at his regular corner, Soto and Brooklyn Streets (now
Cesar E. Chavez Avenue). In 1922, Mickey was sent to
reform school
A reform school was a penal institution, generally for teenagers mainly operating between 1830 and 1900.
In the United Kingdom and its colonies reformatories commonly called reform schools were set up from 1854 onwards for youngsters who were ...
for petty crimes including shoplifting and theft.
Boxing career
As a teenager, Cohen began boxing in illegal prizefights in Los Angeles. In 1929, the 15-year-old moved from Los Angeles to
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
to train as a professional boxer with the alias of 'Irish Mickey Cohen'. His first professional boxing match was on April 8, 1930, against Patsy Farr in Cleveland. It was one of the preliminary fights on the card for the Paul Pirrone versus
Jimmy Goodrich
Jimmy Goodrich became the World Lightweight Champion when he defeated Chilean boxer Stanislaus Loayza in a second round TKO at Queensboro Stadium in Queens, New York on July 13, 1925. He retained the title only five months, losing it by unanimous ...
feature bout. In a match on June 12, 1931, Cohen fought and lost against future
world featherweight champion Tommy Paul
Tommy Paul (4 March 1909 – 28 April 1991) was a world featherweight boxing champion from Buffalo, New York. He won the world featherweight championship in May 1932, defeating Johnny Pena in a boxing tournament in Detroit. He was inducted in ...
. Cohen was knocked out cold after 2:20 into the first round. It was during this round he earned the moniker "Gangster Mickey Cohen". On April 11, 1933, Cohen fought against
Chalky Wright
Albert "Chalky" Wright (February 1, 1912 – August 12, 1957) was an American featherweight boxer who fought from 1928 to 1948 and held the world featherweight championship in 1941–1942. His career record was 171 wins (with 87 knockouts), ...
in Los Angeles. Wright won the match, and Mickey was incorrectly identified as "Mickey Cohen from
Denver, Colorado
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
" in the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' sports page report. His last fight was on May 14, 1933, against
Baby Arizmendi
Alberto "Baby" Arizmendi (March 17, 1914 – December 31, 1962) was a Mexican professional boxer and New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) featherweight world title holder in 1934. He also competed in the bantamweight and welterweight di ...
in
. He finished his career at 8-8 and 5 draws – 8 wins, 2 by knockout, 8 losses, 4 losses by knockout and 5 draws.
Criminal career
In Cleveland, Cohen met
Lou Rothkopf Lou may refer to:
__NOTOC__ Personal name
* Lou (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Lou (German singer)
* Lou (French singer)
* Lou (surname 娄), the 229th most common surname in China
* Lou (surname 楼), the 269th most co ...
, an associate of gangster
Moe Dalitz
Morris Barney Dalitz (December 25, 1899 – August 31, 1989) was an American gangster, businessman, casino owner, and philanthropist. He was one of the major figures who shaped Las Vegas in the 20th century. He was often referred to as "Mr. Las V ...
. Cohen later moved to New York, where he became an associate of labor racketeer
Johnny Dio
Giovanni Ignazio Dioguardi (; April 29, 1914 – January 12, 1979), known as John "Johnny Dio" Dioguardi, was an Italian-American organized crime figure and a labor racketeer. He is known for being involved in the acid attack which led to the bli ...
's brother, Tommy Dioguardi, and as well as
Owney Madden
Owen Vincent "Owney" Madden (December 18, 1891 – April 24, 1965) was a British-born gangster of Irish ancestry who became a leading underworld figure in New York during Prohibition. Nicknamed "The Killer", he garnered a brutal reputation within ...
.
Prohibition and the Chicago Outfit
During
Prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...
, Cohen moved to Chicago and became involved in
organized crime
Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...
, working as an enforcer for the
Chicago Outfit
The Chicago Outfit (also known as the Outfit, the Chicago Mafia, the Chicago Mob, the Chicago crime family, the South Side Gang or The Organization) is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate or crime family based in Chicago, Illinois, tha ...
, where he briefly met
Al Capone
Alphonse Gabriel Capone (; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the ...
. During this period, Cohen was arrested for his role in the deaths of several gangsters in a card game.
After a brief time in prison, Cohen was released and began running card games and other illegal gambling operations. He later became an associate of Capone's younger brother, Mattie Capone. While working for
Jake Guzik
Jake "Greasy Thumb" Guzik (March 20, 1886 – February 21, 1956) was the financial and legal advisor, and later political " greaser," for the Chicago Outfit.
Early life
Guzik was born near Kraków, Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, Austria-Hu ...
, Cohen was forced to flee Chicago after an argument with a rival gambler.
In
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, Cohen worked once more for Lou Rothkopf, an associate of
Meyer Lansky
Meyer Lansky (born Maier Suchowljansky; July 4, 1902 – January 15, 1983), known as the "Mob's Accountant", was an American organized crime figure who, along with his associate Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was instrumental in the development of the ...
and
Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel
Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel (February 28, 1906 – June 20, 1947) was an American mobster who was a driving force behind the development of the Las Vegas Strip. Siegel was not only influential within the Jewish-American organized crime, Jewish Mob, ...
. However, there was little work available for Cohen in Cleveland, so Lansky and Rothkopf arranged for Cohen to work with Siegel in Los Angeles.
From syndicate bodyguard to Sunset Strip kingpin
In 1939, Cohen arrived in Los Angeles to work under Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel. During their association, Cohen helped set up the
Flamingo Hotel
Flamingo Las Vegas (formerly The Fabulous Flamingo and Flamingo Hilton Las Vegas) is a casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment.
The property includes a casino along with 3, ...
in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
and ran its
sports book
In the United States, a sportsbook or a race and sports book (sometimes abbreviated as book) is a place where a gambler can wager on various sports competitions, including golf, football, basketball, baseball, ice hockey, soccer, horse racin ...
operation. He also was instrumental in setting up the race wire, which was essential to Vegas betting. During this time, Cohen met prostitute Lavonne Weaver (working alias Simoni King), and the couple married in 1940.
In 1947, the crime families ordered the murder of Siegel due to his mismanagement of the Flamingo Hotel Casino, most likely because Siegel or his girlfriend
Virginia Hill
Virginia Hill (born Onie Virginia Hill; August 26, 1916 – March 24, 1966) was an American organized crime figure. An Alabama native, she became a Chicago outfit courier during the mid-1930s. She was famous for being the girlfriend of mobster B ...
was
skimming money. According to one account which does not appear in newspapers, Cohen reacted violently to Siegel's murder. Entering the
Hotel Roosevelt
The Carling, formerly known as the Carling Hotel and Hotel Roosevelt, is a historic building in Jacksonville, Florida, United States built in 1925. It is located at 31 West Adams Street in Downtown Jacksonville. As its former names indicates it wa ...
, where he believed the killers were staying, Cohen fired rounds from his two .45 caliber semi-automatic handguns into the lobby ceiling and demanded that the assassins meet him outside in 10 minutes. However, no one appeared, and Cohen was forced to flee when the police arrived.
Cohen's violent methods came to the attention of state and federal authorities investigating
Jack Dragna
Jack Ignatius Dragna (born Ignazio Dragna, ; April 18, 1891 – February 23, 1956) was an American Mafia member and Black Hander who was active in both Italy and the United States in the 20th century. He was active in bootlegging in Californ ...
's operations. During this time, Cohen faced many attempts on his life, including the bombing of his home on posh Moreno Avenue in
Brentwood. Cohen soon converted his house into a fortress, installing floodlights, alarm systems, and a well-equipped arsenal kept, as he often joked, next to his 200 tailor-made suits. Cohen briefly hired
Johnny Stompanato
John Stompanato Jr. (October 10, 1925 – April 4, 1958), was a United States Marine who became a bodyguard and enforcer for gangster Mickey Cohen and the Cohen crime family.
In the mid-1950s, he began an abusive relationship with actress ...
as bodyguard. However, in 1958 Stompanato was
killed in self-defense by
Cheryl Crane
Cheryl Christina Crane (born July 25, 1943) is an American retired real estate broker, author and former model. She is the only child of actress Lana Turner. Her father was Turner's second husband, actor-turned-restaurateur Steve Crane. She was ...
, the daughter of actress
Lana Turner
Lana Turner ( ; born Julia Jean Turner; February 8, 1921June 29, 1995) was an American actress. Over the course of her nearly 50-year career, she achieved fame as both a pin-up model and a film actress, as well as for her highly publicized per ...
(whom he had been dating). Cohen covered the expense for Stompanato's funeral and then gave Turner's love letters to Stompanato to the press in an attempt to discredit the worst allegations of threats and violence that Crane had alleged she suffered at the hands of the violent, womanizing Stompanato.
Later years
In 1950, Cohen was investigated along with many other underworld figures by a
U.S. Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
committee known as the
Kefauver Commission
The United States Senate Special Committee to Investigate Crime in Interstate Commerce was a special committee of the United States Senate which existed from 1950 to 1951 and which investigated organized crime which crossed state borders in the Un ...
. As a result of this investigation, Cohen was convicted of
tax evasion
Tax evasion is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to reduce the taxp ...
in June 1951 and sentenced to prison for four years.
Ben Hecht
Ben Hecht (; February 28, 1894 – April 18, 1964) was an American screenwriter, director, producer, playwright, journalist, and novelist. A successful journalist in his youth, he went on to write 35 books and some of the most enjoyed screenplay ...
stated in his autobiography, ''A Child of the Century'', that Cohen called him to say he wanted to do his part in helping Hecht raise money to support
Menachem Begin
Menachem Begin ( ''Menaḥem Begin'' (); pl, Menachem Begin (Polish documents, 1931–1937); ''Menakhem Volfovich Begin''; 16 August 1913 – 9 March 1992) was an Israeli politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of Israel. B ...
's
Irgun
Irgun • Etzel
, image = Irgun.svg , image_size = 200px
, caption = Irgun emblem. The map shows both Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan, which the Irgun claimed in its entirety for a future Jewish state. The acronym "Etzel" i ...
in its activities. Cohen called together a parlor meeting of business associates and had Hecht address them on the importance of the cause. Each person was then asked to call out a sum he would donate. In some cases, Cohen told a donor "that's not enough," and they upped the pledge. Later, when Cohen was arrested, he called Hecht from prison to ask if he had access to some cash to help with his bail. When Hecht apologized, Cohen politely said goodbye, and they never spoke again.
When he was released in October 1955, he became an international celebrity. He ran floral shops, paint stores, nightclubs, casinos, gas stations, a men's
haberdashery
In British English, a haberdasher is a business or person who sells small articles for sewing, dressmaking and knitting, such as buttons, ribbons, and zippers; in the United States, the term refers instead to a retailer who sells men's clothing, ...
, and even drove an ice cream van on
San Vicente Boulevard in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles, according to author Richard Lamparski.
In 1957, ''
TIME
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' magazine wrote a brief article about Cohen's meeting with
Evangelist
Evangelist may refer to:
Religion
* Four Evangelists, the authors of the canonical Christian Gospels
* Evangelism, publicly preaching the Gospel with the intention of spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ
* Evangelist (Anglican Church), a c ...
Billy Graham
William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. He was a prominent evangelical Christi ...
. Cohen said: "I am very high on the Christian way of life. Billy came up, and before we had food he said—What do you call it, that thing they say before food?
Grace
Grace may refer to:
Places United States
* Grace, Idaho, a city
* Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois
* Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office
* Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uninco ...
? Yeah, grace. Then we talked a lot about Christianity and stuff." Allegedly when Cohen did not change his lifestyle, he was confronted by Christian acquaintances. His response: "Christian football players, Christian cowboys, Christian politicians; why not a Christian gangster?"
In 1961, Cohen was again convicted of tax evasion and sent to
Alcatraz
Alcatraz Island () is a small island in San Francisco Bay, offshore from San Francisco, California, United States. The island was developed in the mid-19th century with facilities for a lighthouse, a military fortification, and a military pris ...
. He was the only prisoner ever bailed out of Alcatraz; his bond was signed by
U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren
Earl Warren (March 19, 1891 – July 9, 1974) was an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served as the 14th Chief Justice of the United States from 1953 to 1969. The Warren Court presided over a major shift in American constitution ...
. After his appeals failed, Cohen was sent to a federal prison in Atlanta, Georgia. His heavily armored
Cadillac
The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed i ...
from this period was confiscated by the
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...
and is now on display at the
Southward Car Museum in
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. On August 14, 1963, during his time at the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, inmate Burl Estes McDonald attempted to kill Cohen with a lead pipe. In 1972, Cohen was released from the
Atlanta Federal Penitentiary
The United States Penitentiary, Atlanta (USP Atlanta) is a medium-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Atlanta, Georgia. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justic ...
, where he had spoken out against
prison abuse. He had been misdiagnosed with an
ulcer
An ulcer is a discontinuity or break in a bodily membrane that impedes normal function of the affected organ. According to Robbins's pathology, "ulcer is the breach of the continuity of skin, epithelium or mucous membrane caused by sloughing o ...
, which turned out to be
stomach cancer
Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a cancer that develops from the lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a number of subtypes, including gastric adenocarcinomas. Lymph ...
. After undergoing surgery, he continued touring the United States and made television appearances, once with
Ramsey Clark
William Ramsey Clark (December 18, 1927 – April 9, 2021) was an American lawyer, activist, and federal government official. A progressive, New Frontier liberal, he occupied senior positions in the United States Department of Justice under Presi ...
.
Death
Cohen died at age 62, of complications from stomach cancer surgery in July 1976.
He is interred in
Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery
The Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary is a Jewish cemetery located at 6001 West Centinela Avenue, in Culver City, California. Many Jews from the entertainment industry are buried here. The cemetery is known for Al Jolson's elaborate tomb (design ...
in
Culver City, California
Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most d ...
.
In popular culture and media
Films
*In the film ''
Bugsy'' (1991), Mickey Cohen is portrayed by actor
Harvey Keitel
Harvey Keitel ( ; born May 13, 1939) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of morally ambiguous and "tough guy" characters. He first rose to prominence during the New Hollywood movement, and has held a long-running association with ...
. Keitel received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
*In the film ''
L.A. Confidential
''L.A. Confidential'' (1990) is a neo-noir novel by James Ellroy and the third of his L.A. Quartet series. It is dedicated to Mary Doherty Ellroy. The epigraph is "A glory that costs everything and means nothing"— Steve Erickson.
Plot
The s ...
'' (1997), based on James Ellroy's 1990 novel, Mickey Cohen is portrayed by actor
Paul Guilfoyle
Paul Vincent Guilfoyle () (born April 28, 1949) is an American television and film actor. He was a regular cast member of the CBS crime drama ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', on which he played Captain Jim Brass from 2000 to 2014. He retu ...
in a bit part but is a major influence throughout the rest of the movie.
*In the film ''
Gangster Squad'' (2013), Cohen is portrayed by actor
Sean Penn
Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama ''Mystic River'' (2003) and the biopic ''Milk'' (2008).
Penn began his acting career in televisi ...
and is the main antagonist of the film, portrayed as a sadistic and cruel man who enjoys murder and intends to expand his criminal enterprises to other major cities in the United States. The film shows a fictionalized version of Cohen's downfall: Cohen is beaten in a fistfight and arrested by the LAPD for murdering one of his subordinates, when he was actually imprisoned for tax evasion. Also, he is sentenced to life imprisonment, when in real life, Cohen was eventually released from custody and died of stomach cancer. It was also implied at the end of the film that Cohen was beaten to death with a lead pipe when he was sent to Alcatraz by acquaintances of the man he killed.
*In the film ''
The Lincoln Lawyer
''The Lincoln Lawyer'' is a 2005 novel, the 16th by American crime writer Michael Connelly. It introduces Los Angeles attorney Mickey Haller, half-brother of Connelly's mainstay character Detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch.
It was adapted as ...
'' (2011), the protagonist, Michael Haller, played by actor
Matthew McConaughey
Matthew David McConaughey ( ; born November 4, 1969) is an American actor. He had his breakout role with a supporting performance in the coming-of-age comedy '' Dazed and Confused'' (1993). After a number of supporting roles, his first succes ...
, owns a pistol said to have been owned by Mickey Cohen, and given to him by Haller's father after he successfully defended Cohen in a murder case.
Games
*
Patrick Fischler
Patrick S. Fischler (born December 29, 1969) is an American character actor known for his roles as Jimmy Barrett on the drama series ''Mad Men'', Dharma Initiative worker Phil on the drama series '' Lost'' and Detective Kenny No-Gun on the poli ...
lends his voice and likeness to play Mickey Cohen in the 2011 video game ''
L.A. Noire
''L.A. Noire'' is a 2011 action-adventure video game developed by Team Bondi and published by Rockstar Games. Set in 1947 Los Angeles, the game follows detective Cole Phelps's rise among the ranks of the Los Angeles Police Department as he so ...
'' (set in 1947), who is involved in a few cases while working the Vice desk.
Literature
*In
James Ellroy
Lee Earle "James" Ellroy (born March 4, 1948) is an American crime fiction writer and essayist. Ellroy has become known for a telegrammatic prose style in his most recent work, wherein he frequently omits connecting words and uses only short, sta ...
's
L.A. Quartet
The L.A. Quartet is a sequence of four crime fiction novels by James Ellroy set in the late 1940s through the late 1950s in Los Angeles. They are:
* (1987) '' The Black Dahlia''
* (1988) ''The Big Nowhere''
* (1990) '' L.A. Confidential''
* (1992 ...
book series, Cohen plays a major supporting role in three of the novels: ''
The Big Nowhere
''The Big Nowhere'' is a 1988 crime fiction novel by American author James Ellroy, the second of the L.A. Quartet, a series of novels set in 1940s and 1950s Los Angeles.
Plot
The plot centers around three characters: L.A. Deputy Sheriff Danny Up ...
'' (1988), ''
L.A. Confidential
''L.A. Confidential'' (1990) is a neo-noir novel by James Ellroy and the third of his L.A. Quartet series. It is dedicated to Mary Doherty Ellroy. The epigraph is "A glory that costs everything and means nothing"— Steve Erickson.
Plot
The s ...
'' (1990) and ''
White Jazz
''White Jazz'' is a 1992 crime fiction novel by James Ellroy. It is the fourth in his L.A. Quartet, preceded by '' The Black Dahlia'', ''The Big Nowhere'', and '' L.A. Confidential''. James Ellroy dedicated ''White Jazz'' "TO ''Helen Knode''." ...
'' (1992).
*In retired newspaperman Howard Scott Williams' 2017 memoir ''The Gangster's Butler'', recounting stories he reported on from 1948 to 1976, he recounts posing as a butler for Cohen in order to get information for a story.
Television
* In
Frank Darabont
Frank Árpád Darabont (born Ferenc Árpád Darabont, January 28, 1959) is an American film director, screenwriter and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. In his early career, he was primarily a sc ...
's television series ''
Mob City
''Mob City'' is an American neo-noir crime drama television series created by Frank Darabont for TNT. It is based on real-life accounts of the L.A.P.D. and gangsters in 1940s Los Angeles as chronicled in John Buntin's book ''L.A. Noir: The Strugg ...
'', Cohen is portrayed by
Jeremy Luke
Jeremy Luke (born March 23, 1977) is an American actor, best known for his roles as Danny in ''Don Jon'' and as Mickey Cohen in the TNT series '' Mob City''.
Early life
Luke was born and raised in Staten Island, New York. He attended the Colleg ...
.
* In the 2022 miniseries ''
The Offer
''The Offer'' is an American biographical drama miniseries, created by Michael Tolkin, about the development and production of Francis Ford Coppola's landmark New York City gangster film ''The Godfather'' (1972) for Paramount Pictures. Miles Te ...
'', Cohen is portrayed by
Louis Mandylor
Louis Mandylor (born Elias Theodosopoulos; 13 September 1966) is an Australian film and television actor. Mandylor played Nick Portokalos in ''My Big Fat Greek Wedding'' (2002), a role he reprised in the sequel ''My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2'' (2 ...
.
References
Additional sources
*
Davies, Lloyd G., Los Angeles City Council member, 1943–51, questioned police wiretaps on Mickey Cohen
*Kelly, Robert J. ''Encyclopedia of Organized Crime in the United States''. Westport, Connecticut:
Greenwood Press
Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. (GPG), also known as ABC-Clio/Greenwood (stylized ABC-CLIO/Greenwood), is an educational and academic publisher (middle school through university level) which is today part of ABC-Clio. Established in 1967 as Gr ...
, 2000.
*Phillips, Charles and Alan Axelrod. ''Cops, Crooks, and Criminologists: An International Biographical Dictionary of Law Enforcement''. Updated edition. New York: Checkmark Books, 2000.
*Sifakis, Carl. ''The Mafia Encyclopedia''. New York: Facts on File, 2005.
*Sifakis, Carl. ''The Encyclopedia of American Crime''. New York: Facts on File, 2001.
Further reading
*Ed Clark, "Trouble in Los Angeles", ''
Life
Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...
'', 1950
*Nugent, John Peer. ''Mickey Cohen, In My Own Words: The Underworld Autobiography of Michael Mickey Cohen, As Told To John Peer Nugent'' (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey:
Prentice-Hall
Prentice Hall was an American major educational publisher owned by Savvas Learning Company. Prentice Hall publishes print and digital content for the 6–12 and higher-education market, and distributes its technical titles through the Safari B ...
, 1975)
*Kelly, Robert J. ''Encyclopedia of Organized Crime in the United States'' (Westport, Connecticut:
Greenwood Press
Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. (GPG), also known as ABC-Clio/Greenwood (stylized ABC-CLIO/Greenwood), is an educational and academic publisher (middle school through university level) which is today part of ABC-Clio. Established in 1967 as Gr ...
, 2000)
*Phillips, Charles and Alan Axelrod. ''Cops, Crooks, and Criminologists: An International Biographical Dictionary of Law Enforcement, Updated Edition'' (New York: Checkmark Books, 2000)
*Sifakis, Carl. ''The Mafia Encyclopedia'' (New York: Facts on File, 2005)
*Steve Stevens and Craig Lockwood, ''King of the Sunset Strip: Hangin' With Mickey Cohen and the Hollywood Mob'' (Cumberland House Publishing, 2006)
*F. Murray, "The Charmed Life of M. Cohen", ''Front Page Detective'', 1966, 30(3):44–45, 63.
*Lewis, Brad. ''Hollywood's Celebrity Gangster: The Incredible Life and Times of Mickey Cohen'' (New York: Enigma Books, 2007) , .
*George A. Day, ''JUANITA DALE SLUSHER alias CANDY BARR'' (ERBE Publishing Company, 2008 )
*
United States Treasury Department
The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the Treasury, national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an United States federal executive departments, executive department. The departme ...
,
Bureau of Narcotics
The Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN) was an agency of the United States Department of the Treasury, established in the Department of the Treasury by an act of June 14, 1930, consolidating the functions of the Federal Narcotics Control Board a ...
, ''Mafia: The Government's Secret File on Organized Crime'' (
Skyhorse Publishing
Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. is an American independent book publishing company founded in 2006 and headquartered in New York City, with a satellite office in Brattleboro, Vermont.
History
The current president and publisher is founder Tony Lyo ...
, 2009)
*Tereba, Tere. ''Mickey Cohen: The Life and Crimes of L.A.'s Notorious Mobster'' (
ECW Press
ECW Press is a Canadian book publisher located in Toronto, Ontario. It was founded by Jack David and Robert Lecker in 1974 as a Canadian literary magazine named ''Essays on Canadian Writing''. They started publishing trade and scholarly book ...
, May 1, 2012)
*
* Piper, Michael Collins, "Final judgment: The missing link in the JFK assassination conspiracy" (Wolfe Press 1995)
External links
Benny's Shadow: All about Mickey Cohenby Mark Gribben
*
ttp://www.biography.com/people/mickey-cohen-329432 Biography of Mickey Cohen- Biography.com
''Time'', April 15, 1957*
Beyond 'Gangster Squad': The Real Mickey Cohen by Tere Tereba
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1913 births
1976 deaths
American crime bosses
American people convicted of tax crimes
Burials at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery
Deaths from cancer in California
Deaths from stomach cancer
Jewish American gangsters
Sportspeople from Brooklyn
American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent
Inmates of Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary
People from Boyle Heights, Los Angeles
Jewish boxers
Featherweight boxers
American male boxers
People from Brentwood, Los Angeles
Boxers from New York City
20th-century American Jews