• King Cohn

  • The Life and Times of Hollywood Mogul Harry Cohn
  • By: Bob Thomas
  • Narrated by: John Landis
  • Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (29 ratings)

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King Cohn  By  cover art

King Cohn

By: Bob Thomas
Narrated by: John Landis
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Publisher's summary

Harry Cohn left no writings, made no speeches, rarely submitted to interviews and abhorred personal publicity. Despite all of those facts, the notoriously rough and tough studio chieftain is brilliantly rendered in what may be Thomas's finest work. King Cohn details the mogul's rise as a New York City song-plugger to a Poverty Row impresario, to his reign as one of the most powerful men in Hollywood during the studio golden era. Updated and revised in 2003 with forward written and read by Peter Bart, former editor in Chief, Daily Variety.

For nearly seven decades writing for the AP, Bob Thomas, the gentlemanly, soft-spoken reporter with the wry sense of humor, enjoyed access to the stars that modern journalists rarely attain. Thomas possessed an encyclopedic knowledge of the industry as well as a filing system at his home that rivaled that of any news bureau. At the time of his death in 2014, he had penned nearly three dozen biographies and was considered the last link to the golden age of motion pictures.

©1968, 1990, 2003 Bob Thomas (P)2003, 2014 New Millennium Entertainment, Phoenix Books

Critic reviews

John Landis superbly narrates Bob Thomas' insightful biography of a notoriously gruff and tough studio head ...King Cohn is a flawlessly produced audiobook." - Midwest Book Review

What listeners say about King Cohn

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Very limited

I was hoping for a nuanced biography of the tyrannical mogul. Instead, I got a series of anecdotes with descriptions of successful Columbia movies thrown in. A lot of important details were skipped in order to paint a favorable picture.

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A Thin Bio

The late Bob Thomas is no Jeanine Basinger and here gives a light once-over to the life of Columbia Pictures founder Harry Cohn. Not an in-depth examination of Cohn, this book is more a collection of vignettes and war stories, light on detail and over before you know it. The narrator mispronounces many pedestrian words and proper names alike, which is jarring, and he has a nasal delivery. A good producer might have prevented the mispronunciations with some careful prep. Disappointing.

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King Cohn

I loved it. A friend recommended it. I love old movies and I'm a fan of celebrities and there bio's this book was entertaining with out being trashy. I even listened to it twice.thanks I plan to get more from this author too.

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