- Mickey Cohen is still renowned as one of the most dangerous gangsters to have worked the earth, yet, he was born into a humble home
- The childhood newsboy had an unsuccessful run at professional boxing before resigning to a lifetime of crime
- Despite ascending the ranks of dangerous criminals and even getting married in the process, his marriage did not outlive his criminal activities
Are gangsters/ crime bosses made or born? In Mickey Cohen’s case, he was born into a humble background but through chutspah and raw guts, he passed through many stages to be the ‘King of the Sunset Strip’ and leave an enduring legacy mostly portrayed in film and print.
Mickey not only lived and breathed crime, but he also made it his creed and may have joined the ranks of a ‘Christian Gangster’ if he had his way. For a hardened crime lord, he married his only known wife. How did he take to crime naturally as a fish takes to water, leaving a trail of vain glory, tears, and blood in his wake?
A Look Into The Early Life Of Mickey Cohen
The man who would later be known as Mickey Cohen was born Meyer Harris Cohen on September 4, 1913, in Brooklyn, New York. Shortly after his birth, his father died leaving the responsibility of raising 6 children to his mother – who ran a small grocery store in order to feed her family.
Cohen never really liked school and while his peers were in school learning, he was learning how to brew illicit drinks and hustle on the streets right from a very tender age. As the story goes, his older brothers ran a drug store where they made bootleg alcohol during the US prohibition era. At the time, alcohol was forbidden, yet the Cohen boys found a way of making a living out of it. So it is that Cohen started honing his skill on running the underground market.
“Mickey” lived a very eventful life, most of it on the wrong side of the law, and we have some shocking facts about his life and times that you may find very interesting:
Elusive Facts About Mickey Cohen You Never Knew
1. He launched his hustle by selling newspapers
Cohen started off as a young kid selling newspapers. While selling the papers was quite legit, he made money on the underside by making illicit liquor, a skill he learned from his brothers.
As time went on, he started extorting money from other kids selling newspapers for a choice spot.
2.’The Gangster Mickey Cohen’ started as a boxer
Mickey entered the world of hustling the street through many avenues. One of such is becoming a boxer. He ran away to Cleveland to continue with his hustling by becoming a boxer. He had fought illegally in Los Angeles when he was only 15 before shifting his sights to Cleveland.
Cohen fought his debut professional match on April 30, 1930, in Cleveland under the ring name Irish Mickey Cohen. Following this, he fought and lost many matches. A highlight of one of his losses against Tommy Paul in 1931 which earned him the nickname The Gangster Mickey Cohen.
His inability to change the tide of his boxing losses to wins would eventually force him out. Cohen’s last match was on May 14, 1933.
Despite his chutspah, he moved on to another hustle by becoming an enforcer for mobsters in Cleveland. At first, he became a bouncer at nightclubs. This marked his initiation into the crime world and later robbery.
3. How The Gangster Mickey Cohen became king of the Sunset Strip
Since he made his grand entrance into the crime world as an enforcer, it was not long before he started having clashes with other power brokers. First, he clashed with the law leading to a prison stint due to his role in the deads of other gangsters after a card game.
His turn around came after meeting with Bugsy Siegel which gave him a foothold in the criminal world.
Relatedly, it was Bugsi that gave him the backing when he moved to Los Angeles. He helped to set up many businesses like the Flamingo Hotel while working under Bugsy.
In a twist of events, the crime families passed the order for the take out of Bugsy whom they felt was skimming money from the hotel. After Bugsy was assassinated, Cohen is said to not have taken it well. Yet, there are many speculations that suggest otherwise. In fact, some sources claim Cohen was involved in planning it.
Whatever the case, he stepped up to take his mentor’s place, becoming one of the mafia bosses in Los Angeles. His antics were so gruesome that even the police started paying close attention to.
4. There were multiple assassination attempts on his life
After the death of his mentor/boss, Bugsy Siegel, and Mickey’s ascension to the “throne” vacated by Bugsy, rival mafia bosses – chief amongst them Jack Dragna, set up very elaborate plans to assassinate him.
Mickey Cohen was ambushed in restaurants and on the streets, his home was bombed and even law enforcement agents on the payroll of rival bosses were set on him, but like a cat with 9 lives, he survived them all.
5. Cohen had ties with Al “Scarface” Capone
It is on record that the famous mob boss Al Capone was one of Cohen’s mentors. It’s also well known that while Cohen was in Chicago, he developed and established very strong ties with Capone’s underworld operations.
Since his links to Al Capone are proven, it is also certain that the crime boss was involved in every crime in the area. Mickey and his lieutenants did just about anything to get money, one of which was Blackmail and Extortion of Hollywood stars. One of his popular cases involves his bodyguard, John Stompanato, and Cheryl Crane, daughter of actress Lana Turner. The case fingered Cohen since it involved; sex, blackmail of the actress, and the death of his Stompano.
When Stompanato was found dead in the actress’s home and investigations revealed he was killed in self-defense by the actress’s daughter, Cohen protested otherwise and released love letters sent by Turner to Stompanato to the press.
6. He maintained a friendship with Hollywood stars and politicians
As Cohen acquired more wealth and status in society, he began to “roll” more with political influencers and Hollywood stars like Sammy Davis Jr, Frank Sinatra, Jerry Lewis, and several others.
In fact, he was one of the driving forces for the mobilization of politicians to raise money in support of Menachem begins Irgun. Irgun, a now-defunct Zionist paramilitary organization started by Menachem.
7. Mickey Cohen was captured twice for tax evasion
Though Cohen tried to buy off as many politicians or cops as he could, the long arm of the law eventually caught up with him twice.
His first conviction came in 1951 for Tax evasion and he bagged 4 years in a federal penitentiary. Upon his release in 1955, he stepped up his activities which the law did not overlook.
In 1961, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for Tax evasion again and was attacked while in jail so viciously it left him paralyzed.
8. There was an attempt to convert him to Christianity
After Mickey got out of jail in 1955 he was professing and projecting the image that he was now a reformed citizen. Somehow, this got the attention of the most revered religious figure at the time – Billy Graham, who tried earnestly to convert him to Christianity.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t successful, as Mickey and the crime life were inseparable. Moreso, Cohen only viewed it as another extension of a Christian gangster and nothing more, yet, many of his Christian acquaintances tried to prevail upon him.
9. Mickey Cohen died in his sleep
Cohen survived a total of 11 assassination attempts in his lifetime – mostly in his prime years. The mob boss, who didn’t drink or smoke, died peacefully in his sleep on July 29, 1976, as a result of complications from a Stomach Ulcer at the age of 62.
See Also: Nikko Jenkins Facts- 10 Horrifying Details About The Spree Killer
10. Mickey was previously married to Lavonne Weaver- A sex worker
In 1939, Cohen met a sex worker by the name of Lavonne Weaver, who also used the name, Simoni King. By 1940, they walked down the aisle and became man and wife.
According to records, Weaver was a prostitute since the age of 14. As no record shows any evidence of children, it is highly likely that the couple did not have any children.
Their marriage lasted until 1951 when it came to an end in divorce.
11. Mickey Cohen died of natural causes
Considering how Micky Cohen who stood on a physical height of 5’5” in his lifetime but lived larger than life in the world of crime, one would expect Mickey Cohen to live forever.
But in the way of all mortals, he also passed away in July 1976 at the age of 62. His death was a result of complications from the stomach cancer surgery he had undergone.
12. Mickey Cohen is the inspiration behind many works
You can’t live the life Cohen lived and not be immortalized. Though he lived on the fringes of society, The Gangster Mickey Cohen has remained relevant in popular culture.
He is portrayed in movies, books, and documentaries. The 2013 movie Gangster Squad was about a group of LAPD officers battling with Cohen and his gang in order to keep Los Angeles safe; actor Sean Penn starred as Cohen in the movie.
In the 1991 movie Bugsy which centers around the life of his mentor, Cohen’s character is played by Harvey Keitel. He was portrayed in L.A. Confidential (1997) where Paul Guilfoyle played his character. Other portrayals of the crime boss are in;
Movies/Television
- The Lincoln Lawyer(2011)
- L.A. Nooire Game(2011)
- Mob City(2013)
- The Offer(2022)
Books
- L.A. Confidential(1990)
- The Big Nowhere(1988)
- The Retired Gangster’s Butler(2017)
