Larry Cohen was an American film producer, director, and screenwriter.

He began his career in entertainment in the 1950s, working for NBC-TV and learning about producing and screenwriting. He created the TV series The Invaders and Branded, and also wrote episodes of The Defenders and The Fugitive.

He shifted to filmmaking in the 1970s, writing and directing the cult horror film It’s Alive in 1974, which earned $7,000,000 and spawned two sequels for Warner Bros.

Cohen continued to produce low-budget horror films featuring a police procedural element through the 1980s. He also directed Bette Davis in her last film, Wicked Stepmother, in 1989. He directed The Ambulance (with Eric Roberts and James Earl Jones) and Original Gangstas (with Ron O’Neal, Pam Grier, and Fred Williamson) in the 1990s, but eventually began focusing on screenwriting.

In 2002, Cohen wrote Phone Booth (with Colin Farrell), which became a commercial success, grossing $98 million worldwide. He also wrote the 2004 film Cellular (with Kim Basinger, William H. Macy and Jason Statham).

Cohen died March 23, 2019, in Los Angeles, California. He was 77.