Multiple Oscar winner Swiss Hollywood legend Arthur Cohn (98) is dead
Basel film producer and multiple Oscar winner Arthur Cohn died on Friday at the age of 98. This was announced by his family in an obituary.
12.12.2025, 15:38
12.12.2025, 16:18
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- Swiss film producer Arthur Cohn has died in Jerusalem at the age of 98, his family has confirmed.
- Cohn won six Oscars for documentaries and feature films and was the first foreign producer to receive a star on the Walk of Fame.
- In addition to numerous international awards, he remained closely associated with his home town of Basel throughout his life.
Basel film producer Arthur Cohn died on Friday at the age of 98. This was announced by his family in an obituary. His children also confirmed the death to tachles.ch. Cohn died in Jerusalem. He was one of the most internationally successful Swiss filmmakers.
Arthur Cohn won a total of six Oscars for his productions. He received three awards for documentaries, including "Only Sky and Dirt" (1962), "American Dream" (1991) and "One Day in September" (2000). He received a further three Oscars in the "Best Foreign Language Film" category, including for "The Garden of Finzi Contini" and "Longing for Africa". In 1992, he was the first producer outside the USA to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Arthur Cohn was also an SF-DRS journalist
Cohn was born in Basel in 1927 and grew up there. He initially studied law at the University of Basel, but dropped out. He then worked as a journalist, including for the SRF radio program "Echo der Zeit". At the same time, he began writing screenplays and gradually found his way into the film business, where he specialized early on in documentaries and literary adaptations.
In addition to the Oscars, Cohn received numerous other honors. He has received four honorary doctorates, including from the University of Basel, and is a recipient of France's highest order, the Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. In 2019, a foundation in Berlin honored him for his life's work. Despite his international career, Cohn remained closely connected to his hometown of Basel throughout his life.
