Emanuel Cohen(1892-1977)

Connecticut-born Emanuel Cohen left Hartford after graduating from high school and attended the College of the City of New York, graduating in 1912. After jobs writing for several different New York publications, he landed a spot with Pathe News as an associate editor. He was soon promoted to editor of Pathe's newsreel division, and over the next ten years held a succession of positions with the studio, eventually winding up as head of its short-subjects department. In 1926 he was hired away from Pathe by Paramount Pictures, which put him in charge of its own shorts division. Six years later he was placed in charge of production for all of Paramount's films - not much of a promotion, as the company was deeply in debt and hemorrhaging cash from a string of money-losing pictures. Cohen soon turned the company around, though, and by 1935 it was once more profitable. As a reward for his hard work, Paramount - in true Hollywood fashion - fired him. However, he formed his own production company in partnership with the studio, and his unit turned out several Mae West films, as well as Bing Crosby musicals.

In 1938 Cohen lost a power struggle with Paramount head Adolph Zukor and his production arrangement was canceled. He joined the Army during World War II, and found himself stationed back in New York City, but after the war ended he never went back to the motion picture business.