Louis G. Cowan

Louis G. Cowan (December 12, 1909 – November 18, 1976[1]) was a President of CBS Networks, a creator of quiz shows (including Quiz Kids radio program, Stop the Music, and The $64,000 Question for television), a television producer[1][2] and was director of the Voice of America from 1943–1945.[3]

Louis G. Cowan
BornDecember 12, 1909
Chicago
DiedNovember 18, 1976
New York City (age 66)
NationalityUnited States
EducationB.A. University of Chicago
Spouse(s)Pauline Spiegel
Children4 including Paul Cowan
Geoffrey Cowan

He and his wife died in a house fire in New York City, believed to be caused by “smoking carelessness”. Survivors included his sons Paul Cowan and Geoffrey Cowan.[1]

Early life

Cowan was born Louis Cohen in 1909 in Chicago but changed his name at age 21.[4][2] Cowan's parents were Orthodox Jews. His father was Jacob Cohen, a failed businessman, and his mother was Hetty Smitz Cohen.[4][2] He graduated from the University of Chicago, where he met his wife Pauline "Polly" Spiegel,[1][5] granddaughter of Joseph Spiegel, founder of the Spiegel catalog.[6]

Career

He produced more than 50 programs during his three years with CBS, including “Captain Kangaroo,” and won two Peabody Awards. After he left CBS, he founded Chilmark Press, was director of the Brandeis University Communications Center, special lecturer at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and founded the William E. Wiener Oral History Library for the American Jewish Committee.[1]

Personal life

In 1976, Cowan died along with his wife in a house fire.[1] They had four children: Paul Cowan, Geoffrey Cowan, Holly Cowan Shulman, and Liza Cowan.[1]

Legacy

Cowan's papers and archives, along with the archives of Chilmark Press, are held at Columbia University.[7]

References
  1. "Louis Cowan. Killed With Wife in a Fire; Created Quiz Shows". NY Times. November 19, 1976. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  2. Cowan, Paul (1982). An Orphan in History: Retrieving a Jewish Legacy. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.
  3. "Louis G. Cowan (1943–1945)". VOA. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  4. Leigh, David (2020). "The Remaking of an American Jew: Paul Cowan's An Orphan in History". Circuitous Journeys: Modern Spiritual Autobiography. New York: Fordham University Press. pp. 178–196.
  5. Shulman, Holly C. "Polly Spiegel Cowan, Civil Rights Activist, 1913 – 1976". Jewish Women's Archive. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  6. Silberman, Charles E. (October 19, 1982). "Living in 1982 and 5743". The New York Times.
  7. "Louis G. Cowan papers". Columbia University Libraries Archival Collections. 1989. Retrieved August 23, 2020.


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