Martin Cohen

COHEN, Martin
Affectionately known as "Mutt" to his friends and family, Martin died on July 29, 2002, after a long and courageous battle with cancer. Martin was born in Brooklyn on December 19, 1931, and raised in the Bronx. He served proudly in the U.S. Army in the early 1950s, stationed in Austria. After his Army service, he came to Los Angeles and worked his way through college and UCLA Law School, working at a butcher shop at the Farmer's Market, late nights managing the Ash Grove in Hollywood, and later The Unicorn coffee house on the Sunset Strip. After graduating from law school, Martin was admitted to the California Bar in 1961, when he began to practice entertainment law, which he continued to do for over 41 years. Martin's law practice primarily concerned music and copyright matters. His clients included many well-known recording artists and songwriters, as well as small entertainment firms, writers, producers, music publishers, and independent film producers. He was a well-respected authority on music publishing matters, and his opinions were highly valued by clients and colleagues alike. In addition to his law practice, Martin, along with his brother Herb, founded several successful music publishing firms. Over the course of his career, he practiced with several partners: Cohen and Boyle, with Barbara Boyle; Cohen and Steinhart with Terran T. Steinhart; Cohen and Luckenbacher with Frank C. Luckenbacher, and, finally, beginning in 1994, Cohen and Cohen, with his son, Evan S. Cohen. He served as president of the AIMP (Association of Independent Music Publishers), and was an instructor in international music publishing for over ten years at UCLA Extension. He also served as an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association in over 150 cases. Martin's life was filled with family, friends, good food, and fine wine. Martin had a small farm in the middle of the Hollywood Hills for well over three decades, where he raised turkeys, chickens, geese, ducks, pigeons, goats, and rabbits, on over two acres. He harvested bountiful crops of vegetables and fruit, from an incredible variety of plants and a huge collection of fruit trees. His underground wine cellars housed many thousands of bottles of fine wine, which he frequently and generously served guests. He was the consummate party host and connoisseur, together with his wife, Trish, and they graciously welcomed friends from all over the world. His home and wine cellar were featured in the Los Angeles Times and Wine Spectator Magazine. His house was a never-ending canvas for his many artistic creations, most notably in tile and mosaic, a skill which he taught himself, and all of which he completed with his own hands. Martin was a generous and charitable man, regularly contributing to the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles and an array of other local and international charities. Martin was the founder of Les Sauvages du Vin, a wine group made up of members with diverse backgrounds and was president of the Beverly Hills chapter of the Conferie de la Chaine des Rotisseurs, an international epicurean and oenophile association. Martin leaves behind loving family members, friends and employees who will miss him dearly. His immediate family includes his wife, Trish, son Evan, daughter Belissa, brothers Herb and Don, sister Brenda, mother Lillian, grandchildren Juliana and Charlotte, and daughter-in-law Roseanne. A memorial will be planned shortly.