Cult horror creator Cohen dies

Cohen worked with horror actor Bela Lugosi

Hollywood producer Herman Cohen, who was behind cult horror classics such as I Was a Teenage Werewolf, has died at the age of 74.

A writer, producer and cameo actor, Herman was behind a host of camp horror films that although pilloried in their day, have become part of horror history.

He was also responsible for launching the film career of Michael Landon, best-known as the father in Little House on the Prairie.

Cohen died of throat cancer at the Cedar-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

During his movie career, Herman covered many of the classic horror characters including Dracula and Frankenstein.

He worked with horror master Bela Lugosi on the movie Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla, also titled The Boys from Brooklyn.

Low-budget

I Was a Teenage Werewolf starred Landon as a adolescent who finds himself hypnotised into a hairy killer by full moon.

Against all the critics, the 1957 movie became a hit as teen cinema-goers saw a new genre of films aimed at them.

It cost less than $100,000 (£68,466) to make but grossed more than $2m (£1.3m).

Cohen went onto make six more features based around the premise of a teenager being transformed into evil including I Was a Teenage Frankenstein and How to Make a Monster.

Cinema cleaner

In the mould of Alfred Hitchcock he wrote in cameo appearances for himself and also named many of the characters after friends and family.

Born in Detroit, Cohen started his career in the industry early when he became an assistant to a theatre janitor, getting paid in free movie passes.

Following time in the Army he went to work at Columbia Pictures in the publicity department.

His first screen credit is as an assistant producer on the Bride of the Gorilla in 1951

Among the star names who appeared in his films were Mickey Rooney, Barbara Stanwyck and Joan Crawford.

His last picture, Craze, was made in 1973 and starred Jack Palance, Trevor Howard and Diana Dors.