Quick Facts
| Intro | Canadian comedy writer | ||||
| Is | Writer Television director Screenwriter | ||||
| From | Canada | ||||
| Field | Film, TV, Stage & Radio Literature | ||||
| Gender | male | ||||
| Birth | 17 September 1963, Calgary, Canada | ||||
| Age | 60 years | ||||
| Star sign | Virgo | ||||
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Biography
Robert Cohen is a Canadian comedy writer and director.
Robert's writing career has covered every form of TV, from sketch to multi-camera, single-camera and animation. He has also written for many high-profile awards shows and specials, including multiple times for the Academy Awards and Emmy Awards.
Early life
Cohen was born to a Jewish family in Calgary, Alberta, where he attended the Calgary Hebrew School.
Career
Robert has written for The Simpsons, The Wonder Years, The Ben Stiller Show, The Big Bang Theory, and many other shows.
He won a Primetime Emmy Award for his work on The Ben Stiller Show. He and frequent collaborator Dana Gould co-created the 1998 cult show Super Adventure Team for MTV. His career as a TV comedy writer has covered every format, from multi-camera and single-camera, to sketch and animation. Robert has also written for and produced on multiple Emmy Award, Academy Award and MTV Movie Award shows.
Robert currently works as a TV and commercial director. He has directed and won awards for commercial campaigns for Ziploc, Kraft, HBO, Ford and many others. Some of the TV shows he has directed are "Lady Dynamite", "Maron", "Speechless", "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Return", "Stan Against Evil", and others.
Robert has also written and directed pieces starring Will Smith, Tom Cruise, Ben Stiller, Will Ferrell, Robert Downey Jr., and more.
He also wrote, produced and directed the 2015 feature film documentary, "Being Canadian", which chronicles his humorous-yet-genuine attempt to find out what it really means to be Canadian. The film sprang from decades of his personal experience dealing with endless misconceptions and stereotypes about his homeland. "Being Canadian" has screened to sold-out crowds at film festivals around the world, from New York to China, and has been hailed by people such as Michael Moore. It has been personally selected and screened by Canada's Governor General, was added to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Library, and was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award.
Personal life
Cohen is married to Jimmy Kimmel Live! producer Jill Leiderman.
Awards
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | The Ben Stiller Show | Emmys "Outstanding individual achievement in Writing in a Variety or Music Program" | Won |
| 2004 | In recognition of extraordinary courage shown in... efforts to advance animation organizing | Robert Metzler Award | Won |
| 2016 | Being Canadian | Writers Guild of America Award "Best Documentary Screenplay" | Nominated |
| 2016 | Best Director - Short Form Film | 2016 Webby Award | Won |
| 2017 | "Primetime Emmy Awards" | Writers Guild of America Award "Best Writing for a Variety Special" | Nominated |
