Mark Cohen is a writer and speaker specializing in the Jewish American scene, from the novels of Saul Bellow to the pop culture comedy of Allan Sherman.

His articles have appeared in American Jewish History, Saul Bellow Journal, History of Photography, Modern Judaism and newspapers such as the Forward, Los Angeles Times, Daily News, and Newsday. He is a graduate of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.

Allan Sherman’s My Son, The Folk Singer lifted him from obscurity to the heights of American celebrity and kicked off one of the most sensational winning streaks in American comedy.

Sherman’s fame hit its peak in the summer of 1963 with the extraordinary international success of “Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh! (A Letter from Camp),” which won him a Grammy Award and was turned into a children’s book and even a board game. As an account of the record industry notes, in the early 1960s Sherman personified The Moment.