Joel Cohen

Joel Cohen is an Emmy Award winning writer for The Simpsons, the longest running American comedy in television history. Armed with a BSc from the University of Alberta and an MBA from York, Cohen found some work, in Toronto, as a writer but not enough to make a living. Cohen did what so many before him have done and moved to Los Angeles. The Calgary native's first job in Hollywood was anything but glamorous, selling advertising for CNN in Latin America. His first break came when comedian Kathy Griffin hired him to write for the comedy series "Suddenly Susan". Joel used that as a launching pad to the become a writer for the Simpsons where he has spent the last ten years as a writer and now co-executive producer. When not writing about antics of Springfield's most famous family, Cohen works as a motivational speaker for corporations and business groups. Ken Rockburn spoke to Joel Cohen in Ottawa.