Bully, Coward, Victim: The Story Of Roy Cohn (HBO Documentary)

(2019)

Available Now

Synopsis

Directed by Ivy Meeropol (HBO’s Heir to an Execution), Bully. Coward. Victim. The Story of Roy Cohn offers an unflinching look at the infamous attorney Roy Cohn, who prosecuted Meeropol’s grandparents, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, and later argued persuasively for their execution in what became known as the “atomic spies” case. The film examines Cohn’s life as chief counsel to Senator Joseph McCarthy in the late 1950s – when the young Cohn first learned to wield political power – through the 1980s, when he became a darling of the Reagan White House, a rabid anti-homosexuality activist (despite being a closeted gay man), and mentor to Donald J. Trump, before meeting his death from AIDS in 1986. This vivid portrait is cast by Cohn’s friends, family, colleagues, employees, and lovers, some of whom were, at times, political targets of Cohn, and all of whom were profoundly affected by their interactions with him. The documentary features recently discovered audiotapes of candid discussions between Cohn and journalist Peter Manso, recorded at the height of Cohn’s career as a power broker in the rough and tumble world of New York City’s business and politics, as well as interviews with such figures as Cindy Adams, Alan Dershowitz, Tony Kushner, Nathan Lane, and John Waters, among others

Cast

Cindy Adams, Joey Adams, Wayne Barrett, Tom Brokaw, Roy M. Cohn