To: Douglas Cohen: Do you happen to know if your Uncle Sam Cohen was the same Sam Cohen who booked amateur nights throughout Boston in the 20s and gave Fred Allen the comedian his first big break (there’s a chapter about him in Fred’s autobiography). That Sam Cohen was my grandfather’s brother, so perhaps we are related. If anyone knows anything about this, please feel free to contact me at I’m doing some family research.
To: Douglas Cohen: Do you happen to know if your Uncle Sam Cohen was the same Sam Cohen who booked amateur nights throughout Boston in the 20s and gave Fred Allen the comedian his first big break (there’s a chapter about him in Fred’s autobiography). That Sam Cohen was my grandfather’s brother, so perhaps we are related. If anyone knows anything about this, please feel free to contact me at I’m doing some family research.