He earned two graduate degrees in education administration and psychology at Columbia University and City College of New York.
Cohen led seven group trips to the Amazon Rainforest and wrote three college textbooks in the fields of bilingual education, school evaluation, and race relations.
He was President of BCR&D, a large private research and development group that specialized in assessing public education programs.
He created the role of Morris Bober in the first stage adaptation of Bernard Malamud's The Assistant at New York's Turtle Shell Theater.
His other principal film roles include Tickling Leo with Eli Wallach, 27 Dresses with Katherine Heigl, Fallen Star (formerly Goyband) with Tovah Feldshuh, and Brooklyn Rules with Alec Baldwin.