Arthur Cohn, the iconic Jewish Swiss producer who won six Academy Awards, died Friday in Jerusalem at age 98, his family announced. A religious Jew, Cohn lived for years between Basel, Los Angeles and Jerusalem. His funeral will be held in Jerusalem on Saturday at 9 p.m.
In the 1970s, Cohn was such a powerful force in Hollywood that it was said competing against one of his productions at the Oscars was likely a losing battle. In 1992, he became the first non-American producer to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2021, Bar-Ilan University awarded him an honorary doctorate in recognition of “decades of achievement in film production, his identification with the Jewish people and his passion for advancing a just society inspired by lofty values.”
Israeli filmmakers Mihal Brezis and Oded Binnun said Friday that Cohn entrusted them with directing his international production The Etruscan Smile, starring Brian Cox, despite it being their first feature film. “That boldness was one of Arthur’s defining traits,” they said. “He always followed his heart and instincts. The film deals with a meaningful farewell to life, and it was clear to us that this was a deeply personal story for him.”
Cohn was born in Basel in 1927. His grandfather, for whom he was named, served as the city’s chief rabbi. His father, Mordechai Marcus Cohn, was a lawyer and notary who specialized in international and Hebrew law and helped save many Jews during the Holocaust by providing foreign documents and passports. Cohn initially studied international law, then worked in journalism and screenwriting before turning to film production.
He won his first Oscar in 1961 for the documentary Le ciel et la boue. In 1972, The Garden of the Finzi-Continis, directed by Vittorio De Sica, won the Academy Award for best foreign-language film. Based on Giorgio Bassani’s autobiographical novel about a wealthy Jewish family in Ferrara from the rise of fascism through World War II, the film premiered in Jerusalem in the presence of then-Prime Minister Golda Meir and President Zalman Shazar. Cohn later recalled that Meir was moved to tears during the screening. He went on to produce De Sica’s final six films.
On the way to its Oscar win, The Garden of the Finzi-Continis defeated The Policeman by Israeli filmmaker Ephraim Kishon. In 1985, Cohn’s Dangerous Moves, starring Liv Ullmann and Michel Piccoli, beat Israeli film Beyond the Walls for best foreign-language film. “It was strange for me to compete against Israeli films, especially against Ephraim Kishon, whom I admired greatly,” Cohn said in a 2019 interview.
Cohn later won three more Oscars: in 1976 for Black and White in Color, in 1991 for the documentary American Dream and in 2000 for One Day in September, about the murder of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics.
Known for his hands-on approach, Cohn said he often spent years developing a script, arranged financing, selected the creative team and actors and was present on set every day. He also insisted on final cut, which he acknowledged was not always easy for directors. He produced nearly 30 films, including Central Station and Behind the Sun by Brazilian director Walter Salles.
His final production was The Etruscan Smile in 2018, adapted from the novel by Jose Luis Sampedro. The film starred Cox alongside Rosanna Arquette, Treat Williams and Peter Coyote.
Cohn is survived by his wife, Naomi, the daughter of the late Moshe Shapira, a signatory of Israel’s Declaration of Independence and a former finance minister, as well as five children and eight grandchildren. Two of his children studied film at Jerusalem’s Maale School, and two of his sons served in the Israeli military.