Connor Freff Cochran

Connor Freff Cochran ("Freff") is an American author and illustrator of comic books and science fiction / fantasy literature,[1][2][3][4] journalist,[2][5] musician and songwriter,[2][5][6] graduate of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College,[2][7][5] actor,[5][8] screenwriter,[8] producer,[5] product interface and robotics demo designer,[2][5] BBC Television technology reporter,[2][5][8] and founder of Conlan Press, a publisher originally formed to assist creators in overcoming personal and career problems.[5][7]

Cover art by Freff for 1st ed. of Roger Zelazny's The Courts of Chaos

In addition to computer industry journalism,[2] Freff wrote Creative Options, an award-winning 14-year series on creativity, for the musician magazine Keyboard, and these essays have been reprinted in college English curriculum materials, the journal of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, and in books.[9][10][6] Writing for Keyboard and Electronic Musician, Cochran also interviewed prolific contributors to electronic music such as Bob Moog and Wendy Carlos.[11][12] Freff appears on the commentary track of the Shout! Factory DVD and Blu-ray editions of Rankin/Bass Productions' 1982 animated adaptation of Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn.[13]

In 2015, Beagle sued Connor Cochran for 52 million dollars. In June 2019, in a seventeen page decision, California Superior Court judge Michael M. Markman found Cochran liable for financial elder abuse, fraud, and breach of fiduciary duty, awarding Beagle $325,000, as well as an additional $7,500 for defamation, and an undetermined amount in attorney's fees. The suit also included claims of conversion, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, which the judge found to be unproven. Due to Cochran and his companies filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2018, these awards cannot be collected until the bankruptcy proceedings are complete, at which point legal action against Conlan Press and Avicenna Development Corporation may be pursued (in addition to the now-concluded suit against Cochran as an individual). In his decision, the judge stated:[14]

The Court was convinced that Cochran really did believe he had Beagle’s best interests in mind when working for Beagle. Cochran was convinced that he needed to take care of Beagle’s finances, rationing cash and paying bills, and to otherwise help Beagle with day-to-day tasks (most of which involved money). At a certain point, however, the evidence reflects that Cochran allowed his role as the trusted advisor to get the better of him. He crossed the line from business manager to over-paternalistic friend, exercising a surprising degree of control over Beagle’s finances and, in effect, Beagle’s life. His own testimony reveals that he had convinced himself that controlling Beagle was in Beagle’s best interests because he viewed Beagle as a spendthrift (and Beagle viewed himself that way). He also convinced himself that only he could rescue Beagle and transform Beagle’s works into an intellectual property mega-estate. And, Cochran convinced himself, he should benefit accordingly.