Mickey Cohen: Born On This Day in 1913

On this day in 1913 the King of Los Angeles was born, Meyer Harris who was better known as Mickey Cohen was part of the Jewish Mafia with strong ties to the Italian-American Mafia.

He operated through the 1930’s through to the 1960’s starting off his criminal career as an enforcer for the Chicago Outfit under the reign of Al Capone. By the late 1930’s Meyer Lansky had sent Cohen out to LA where he would work under Bugsy Siegel and during their partnership he would help Siegel in the creation of the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas.

On hearing the news of Bugsy Siegel’s death in 1947, Cohen reacted in a violent outburst, he entered the Hotel Roosevelt where he thought Siegel’s killers were staying and fired off a couple of rounds from a .45 semi-automatic into the lobby ceiling in an effort to draw out the hitmen. Nobody came down to meet Cohen and he left the scene shortly before the police arrived.

Hotel Roosevelt Lobby

During his time Cohen ducked out of many attempts to take his life, including the bombing of his house by rival Jack Dragna. He also hired Johnny Stompanato as his bodyguard until he was killed in 1958 by Lana Turner’s daughter Cheryl Crane.

Unlike his violent life in the mob, Cohen actually died peacefully in his sleep at the age of 62, in the year 1976.

On this day in 1913, Meyer Harris Cohen was born in the Brownsville neighbourhood of Brooklyn, New York, into a family of Ukrainian-Jewish immigrants. Better known to the world as Mickey Cohen, he would go on to become one of the most flamboyant and feared organised crime figures in American history, ruling the streets of Los Angeles with an iron fist for the better part of two decades and cementing his place among the most notorious figures of the Jewish Mafia.

Cohen's criminal education began early on the streets of Los Angeles, where his family had relocated during his childhood. A gifted boxer in his youth, he fought professionally before gravitating toward the more lucrative world of organised crime. His early career saw him working as an enforcer for the Chicago Outfit during the reign of Al Capone, a formative experience that shaped his ruthless approach to underworld business. It was through these connections that Cohen came to the attention of Meyer Lansky, the financial genius of the Jewish Mafia, who dispatched him to Los Angeles in the late 1930s to work under the charismatic Bugsy Siegel. The two men formed a powerful partnership, and Cohen played a supporting role in Siegel's ambitious vision for Las Vegas, contributing to the development of the now-legendary Flamingo Hotel.

When Siegel was murdered in June 1947, Cohen's grief translated immediately into rage. In a scene that perfectly encapsulated his volatile character, he stormed into the Hotel Roosevelt, where he believed the hitmen responsible were staying, and fired rounds from a .45 semi-automatic into the lobby ceiling in a furious attempt to draw them out. Nobody appeared, and Cohen slipped away just before the police arrived.

Taking control of Los Angeles following Siegel's death, Cohen faced constant threats from rival mobster Jack Dragna, who orchestrated multiple assassination attempts against him, including the bombing of Cohen's home. Despite the violence surrounding him, Cohen somehow survived it all, even employing the dangerous Johnny Stompanato as his bodyguard until Stompanato met his end in 1958 at the hands of actress Lana Turner's daughter, Cheryl Crane, in a sensational case that gripped the nation.

Cohen also served time in federal prison on tax evasion charges, much like his former mentor Al Capone before him, a fitting parallel for a man so deeply embedded in the American underworld. He died peacefully in his sleep on 4th July 1976, aged 62. His colourful life left an indelible mark on the history of organised crime in America, and his name remains synonymous with the golden age of the mob on the West Coast.