Cartoon Network Legend David Steven Cohen Has Died

David Steven Cohen, the head writer of Cartoon Network’s Courage the Cowardly Dog, has died.

Cohen passed away at the age of 66 following a battle with cancer, his friend, animation historian and producer Jerry Beck, announced in a March 17 Facebook tribute. In the post, Beck remembered the producer as “an accomplished writer, composer, producer – animation lover and friend.”

The Brooklyn-born Cohen played an instrumental role in Courage the Cowardly Dog. Often regarded as Cartoon Network’s scariest show, the cult classic animated series centered around Courage, the timid pink dog with paranoia problems who lives on a remote farm with his elderly owners Eustace and Muriel, whom he must save from ghosts and paranormal spirits. The series ran for four seasons from 1999 until 2022.

Although Courage the Cowardly Dog was created by John R. Dilworth and originally began as an animated short, The Chicken from Outer Space, Cohen joined the show in its first season as a writer. He was later promoted to head writer. He penned some of the show’s most memorable episodes, including “The Clutching Foot,” “The Great Fusilli,” “The Mask,” “Klub Katz,” “1000 Years of Courage,” “Forbidden Hat of Gold,” and “The Sand Whale Strikes,” among dozens of others, per his IMDb profile. His last credit on the series was the show’s finale episode, “Perfect,” during which Courage encountered the Bugle Monster, who whispers the phrase, “You’re not perfect.”

Outside of Courage the Cowardly Dog, Cohen also wrote for the 1995 film Balto, two episodes of Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, Disney’s Phil of the Future, Arthur, and The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss. His final writing credit was a 2019 episode of Treasure Trekkers. As a producer, he was attached to titles including Homeroom, Parker Lewis Can’t Lose, A Cool Like That Christmas, Living Single, Kirk, and Strangers with Candy.

According to the Writers Guild of America East, of which Cohen was a member since 1985, he as honored with the WGAE’s Jablow Award for Devoted Service to the Guild on 2010.

Tributes poured in for Cohen following his passing, with one fan writing on Instagram, “#RIP to one of the coolest and kindest people I was lucky enough to chat with and befriend while doing this podcast.” On Reddit, somebody else said Cohen “shaped my freakin childhood. Rest in peace to a legend,” with another fan writing, “RIP. Thank you for helping traumatize my childhood Mr Cohen. I have so many scary (and beloved) memories from that cartoon.”

Editor's note: The above article has been updated to correct Cohen's age to 66. It previously incorrectly stated he was 58.