It is often said that comedy comes in threes; nevertheless, for Joel Cohen, an I.L. Peretz School Grade 6, 1979 alumnus, it came before the punchline. With his wit, Joel decided that the only natural path for him was to become a television comedy writer and to share his love of comedy with the world. As luck would have it, the world that witnesses his writing is for none other than fans of the hit animated comedy series The Simpsons. Joel has written for it for nearly 25 years and lives in Los Angeles, California.
Now, although Joel loved floor hockey as a child, he soon realized there was no such thing as YESFHL (Yiddish Elementary School Floor Hockey League) and decided he might need to pursue other avenues… So, he pursued a Bachelor of Science at the University of Calgary and went on to earn his MBA at York University shortly after. Still, Joel had a creative calling too loud to ignore: writing.
Joel first made his big break writing for Suddenly Susan. Nevertheless, Joel started his journey from where most do: a small classroom with fond memories that have carried him throughout his life. The I.L. Peretz School gave Joel not only memories of his “very brief, one-sided love affair with lawn bowling,” as he puts it, but also inspiration for his writing. Joel amusingly shares that a very vague “Old Jewish Man” character was based on an I.L. Peretz teacher, and says, “He often speaks in Yiddish which is usually written by me, or more likely by one of my better Yiddish-speaking, Peretz school alumni family members, who in many cases are old and Jewish themselves.”
He has won several Emmy and Writers’ Guild Awards, and won the Jewish Image Award in 2003. Joel not only writes for laughter but also proves that dreaming big is possible.