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Jeff Cohen (actor)

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Jeff Cohen
Cohen in 2008
Born
Jeffrey Bertan McMahon

(1974-06-25) June 25, 1974 (age 50)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
EducationUniversity of California, Berkeley (BS)
University of California, Los Angeles (JD)
OccupationAttorney
Years active1983–1991 (actor)
2000–present (attorney)

Jeffrey Bertan Cohen (born Jeffrey Bertan McMahon; June 25, 1974) is an American attorney[1] and retired child actor best remembered for appearing as Chunk in the 1985 Steven Spielberg production The Goonies. He is a founding partner of law firm Cohen & Gardner.

Early life, family and education

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Cohen was born Jeffrey Bertan McMahon on June 25, 1974, in Los Angeles, California. He took his stage name from the maiden name of his mother, Elaine Cohen.[2] He is Jewish.[3]

Cohen attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in business. Cohen asked Goonies director Richard Donner for a recommendation for his college admissions application. Upon reading Cohen’s notes detailing some of his early life struggles, Donner and his wife offered to pay for Cohen’s college education.[4] Cohen later earned a Juris Doctor from the UCLA School of Law.[5]

Entertainment career

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Acting

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Cohen was one of the children describing words to the contestants on the 1982–83 CBS game show Child's Play. During the summer of 1985, he appeared as a celebrity on Body Language. In 1986, he was also in the Disney TV movie Ask Max. Cohen's sister, Eydie Faye, is a playwright and actress. In the final scene of The Goonies, when the families gather on the beach, Faye has a cameo as Chunk's sister.[6]

Cohen claimed in The Goonies DVD commentary track that every role he played as a child had him wearing either a Hawaiian shirt or a pair of plaid pants, and director Richard Donner had the idea to put him in both for The Goonies.[7] Before The Goonies started filming, Cohen contracted chickenpox. Afraid that they would re-cast the role, he told no one of his illness and showed up to work anyway. According to the commentary track on The Goonies DVD, the chickenpox on Cohen's chest can be seen during the "Truffle Shuffle" sequence.[7]

His acting had an incredible sense of genuineness, of reality. He was Jeff—he drew from himself, and I think that's who he is now. He's honest and straight. I think that was in his acting and now in his law practice.

— Director Richard Donner, Variety[8]

Law

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Cohen used introductions from Goonies director Richard Donner to get summer jobs on the business side of movie studios; he would say about that time in the ABA Journal story, "I grew up loving The Three Stooges and the Marx Brothers, but suddenly I had a new crop of heroes." He chose to pursue a legal career upon finding out that many of the most important figures on the business side of Hollywood had law degrees.[1]

After his time at Berkeley, Cohen earned a J.D. degree from the UCLA School of Law in 2000[1] and later became an entertainment lawyer in Los Angeles. In 2002, he co-founded the Cohen & Gardner firm in Beverly Hills.[8][9] In the September 24, 2008 issue of Variety, Cohen was profiled in the Dealmakers Impact Report.[8]

Additionally, Cohen was named to The Hollywood Reporter's "Next Generation: Hollywood's Top 35 Executives 35 and Under" in their 2008 November 5 issue.[10] Cohen was named to Variety's Dealmakers Impact Report in 2013.[11]

As of February 2014, he periodically "writes about business, legal and political matters for The Huffington Post and CNBC."[1]

Cohen negotiated the deal of his Goonies co-star Ke Huy Quan for his casting in Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022). Cohen was in attendance at the 95th Academy Awards where Quan won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor; Quan publicly thanked Cohen during his acceptance speech, calling him his "Goonies brother for life."[12][13]

Filmography

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Film work by Jeff Cohen
Year Title Role Notes
1983 Little Shots Ralph TV movie
1985 The Goonies Lawrence "Chunk" Cohen
1986 Ask Max Max Baxter TV movie
1988 Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School Grunt Voice
1991 Perfect Harmony Ward TV movie
Television work by Jeff Cohen
Year Title Role Notes
1983 Tales from the Darkside Timmy Muldoon Episode: "Trick or Treat" (pilot)
1983 Webster Dwight Episode: "A Question of Honor"
1984 Kids Incorporated Webster Bendetti Episode: "The Prankster"
1984 The Facts of Life Seymour Slavick Episode: "The Summer of '84"
1984 Family Ties Dougie Barker Episode: "4 Rms Ocn Vu"
1987 Marv Jr. Episode: "The Visit"
1985 Amazing Stories Ralph Episode: "Remote Control Man"
1986 Eddie Episode: "Magic Saturday"
1986 Wonderful World of Disney Max Baxter Episode: "Ask Max"
1987 She's the Sheriff Percy Episode: "Child's Play"

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Gordon, Leslie A. (February 1, 2014). "Child actor parlays his connections into an entertainment law practice". ABA Journal. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
  2. ^ "Dirty Irish Secret". Heeb. May 14, 2008. Archived from the original on July 9, 2008. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
  3. ^ Lapin, Andrew (March 13, 2023). "'Fabelmans' flops at the Oscars, but Hollywood's Jewish history gets a nod".
  4. ^ Lang, Brent (July 6, 2021). "Richard Donner Remembered: Jeff Cohen, Who Played Chunk in 'Goonies,' on Director's Astounding Generosity". Variety. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  5. ^ Cohen, Jeff B. (October 1, 2019). "I Wish I'd Known: Jeff B. Cohen". ABA for Law Students. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
  6. ^ "The Goonies: Full Cast and Crew". IMDB. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  7. ^ a b Donner, Richard (2001) [1985]. The Goonies DVD (Commentary track).
  8. ^ a b c "Dealmakers Impact Report '08: Jeff Cohen, Cohen & Gardner". Variety. September 23, 2008. Retrieved September 24, 2008.
  9. ^ "About the firm". Cohen Gardner Law. Archived from the original on February 10, 2011.
  10. ^ "THR Next Gen 2008: Legal". The Hollywood Reporter. November 5, 2008. Archived from the original on December 19, 2008.
  11. ^ "Showbiz Strategists: Variety's Dealmakers Impact Report, Law: Jeff B. Cohen". Variety. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
  12. ^ Feinberg, Scott (January 10, 2023). "Austin Butler, Colin Farrell, Brendan Fraser, Jeremy Pope, Ke Huy Quan, Adam Sandler and THR's Actor Roundtable". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  13. ^ "Ke Huy Quan gets Oscar congrats from 'Goonies' co-stars". torontosun. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
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