Ep 161 I Killed Bette Davis by Larry Cohen

If you're a fan of Larry Cohen, the maverick filmmaker behind such mind-bending genre pictures as It's Alive, God Told Me To, Q: The Winged Serpent and The Stuff, you owe it to yourself to check out his newly published memoir: I Killed Bette Davis and Other Confessions of Heinous Crimes Committed in the Name of Moviemaking. The legendary director recounts all the great anecdotes you've already heard - driving a cab on actual NYC sidewalks, firing machine guns from the top of the Chrysler Building with no permit - and about a thousand you haven't. He recounts his fascinating origins as a Borscht Belt comedian and in-demand television writer, includes tribute chapters to Bernard Herrmann and Samuel Fuller, details his ambitious cinematic efforts and the struggle to bring screen legend Bette Davis to the public one last time.
We're joined on the episode by James Kenney, who not only edited Cohen's memoir but also discovered and published an unproduced screenplay of Cohen's called Headhunter, the insane tale of a superhero who dresses like a doctor and "cures" criminals of their evil vices. We've also got Andrew Overbye, host of the Authorized Novelization Podcast and recent Cohen enthusiast, to share his feelings on the memoir and the nutty Headhunter. We love Larry Cohen and could have discussed him all day!
Find I Killed Bette Davis here:
stickingplacebooks.com/i-killed-bette-davis/
Find Headhunter here:
stickingplacebooks.com/headhunter/
James Kenney's website:
tremblesighwonder.com/
James Kenney on Twitter:
x.com/jfkenney
The Authorized Novelization Podcast on Bluesky:
bsky.app/profile/authorizedpod.bsky.social
The Authorized Novelization Podcast on Spotify:
open.spotify.com/show/68YhhFLKW5m6ibJJDZ147M