Richard M. Cohen

For other people with the same name, see Richard Cohen.

Not to be confused with Richard Martin Cohen.

Richard M. Cohen
Born	Richard Merrill Cohen (1948-02-14)February 14, 1948 New York City, U.S.
Died	December 24, 2024(2024-12-24) (aged 76) Sleepy Hollow, New York, U.S.
Occupations	Journalist author television producer
Employers	CBS News CNN
Spouse	Meredith Vieira ​ (m. 1986)​
Children	3

Richard Merrill Cohen (February 14, 1948 –December 24, 2024) ^[1] was an American journalist, television producer, and author. He was a senior producer for CBS News and CNN.

Career

Cohen was the recipient of several honors in journalism. He was a three-time Emmy award-winning CBS News journalist. ^{[2] [3]}

He was a former senior producer for CBS News and CNN, and he occasionally wrote columns for the "Health and Fitness" section of The New York Times .

Biography

Cohen was born in New York City on February 14, 1948, the son of Teresa (Beitzer) and Benjamin Cohen, a doctor. ^{[4] [5]} He had multiple sclerosis since he was 25 years old in 1973. He also had two bouts of colon cancer, one in 1999 and one in 2000. ^[6]

Cohen, who was legally blind, ^[7] wrote an autobiography titled, Blindsided: Lifting a Life Above Illness: A Reluctant Memoir. ^[8]

Cohen married television personality Meredith Vieira (NBC News Special Correspondent and former co-anchor of NBC's Today Show ) on June 14, 1986. They lived in Irvington, Westchester County, New York and had three children. Their middle child, Gabe Cohen, was a reporter at KHQ-TV in Spokane, Washington ^[9] and at KOMO-TV in Seattle, Washington and is now a reporter for CNN based out of their Washington, D.C. bureau. ^[10]

Jewish website 18 Doors noted that Vieira described Cohen as "a cultural Jew, but not an observant one," though they would celebrate holidays like Passover. ^[11]

Cohen died from respiratory failure at a hospital in Sleepy Hollow, New York, on December 24, 2024, after battling pneumonia for two months. ^[4]

References

1. Richard M. Cohen at IMDb
2. Richard Cohen (February 22, 2004). "Larry King Live transcript". Larry King: Live (Interview). Interviewed by Larry King. CNN. Retrieved 2008-09-08.
3. "Meredith Vieira Today". iVillage. June 2007. Archived from the original on 2008-01-20. Retrieved 2008-09-08.
4. Sandomir, Richard (January 9, 2025). "Richard M. Cohen, News Producer Who Wrote of a Health Challenge, Dies at 76" . The New York Times . Retrieved January 9, 2025.
5. "Cohen, Benjamin MD". Hartford Courant. February 24, 2008. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
6. Judith Newman (2002). "Meredith Vieira: A Look Back". The Ladies' Home Journal. Archived from the original on 2007-02-16. Retrieved 2007-09-03.
7. "TV's Meredith Viera, Husband Cope With Illness". ABC News 20/20 website. January 30, 2004. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
8. Cohen, Richard M. (2004). Blindsided: A Reluctant Memoir. HarperCollins Publishers.
9. "Gabe Cohen: Meet the KHQ Local News Team". KHQ-TV.
10. "Meredith Vieira Is Moved to Tears After Mystery Guest Delivers Mother's Day Surprise—Watch the Emotional Clip". EOnline.com. 2015-05-10. Retrieved 2015-09-15.
11. "Meredith Vieira: The New Talk Show Host on Her Interfaith Family". 18Doors. 25 August 2014.

Published works

• Cohen, Richard M. (2004). Blindsided: Lifting a Life Above Illness: A Reluctant Memoir. HarperCollins. ISBN   978-0060014094.
• Cohen, Richard M. (2008). Strong At The Broken Places. Harper. ISBN   978-0060763114.
• Cohen, Richard M. (2012). I Want to Kill the Dog . Blue Rider Press. ISBN   978-0399162039.