CAA's Joe Cohen Honored at UCLA Cancer Research Benefit

An industry gathering on Friday night raised funds for cancer research and honored Joe Cohen, co-head of Creative Artists Agency's television department, with a humanitarian award.

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The 18th annual "Taste for a Cure" fundraiser, held at at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel by the Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation at UCLA, saw Ryan Murphy, Robert Greenblatt, Clark Gregg, T Bone Burnett and Jennifer Grey as attendees. 

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Glee star Mike O'Malley, a longtime client of Cohen's, hosted the event. O'Malley recounted time spent in the CAA mailroom decades ago, saying that he realized Cohen would be a great agent when he was told to "get out of the mailroom and act!"

20th Century Fox Television co-chairmen Dana Walden and Gary Newman were also on hand. Walden shared a personal story about the Center. "I have a very personal connection to the Jonsson Center," Walden said. "My mother was treated there for the last five years, she was diagnosed at 70 with a rare lymphoma ... we brought her to UCLA specifically because of their approach to treating this kind of cancer."

After a rousing auction, a tribute film was played featuring many of Joe Cohen’s clients -- J.J. Abrams, Murphy, Terrance Winter, Jason Katims and Linda Wallem, among others -- paying heartfelt and eloquent homage to a man who has helped their careers for years.

A very surprised and moved Cohen was then presented with the Gil Nickel Humanitarian Award by FX’s John Landgraf.