Who was David Steven Cohen and what happened to him? Tributes pour in as Courage the Cowardly Dog writer dies at 58

Writer, composer, and producer, David Steven Cohen recently passed away at 58. Cohen's passing was announced by his animation historian friend, Jerry Beck via a Facebook post confirming the cause of death as cancer. While Cohen worked on several projects throughout his life, his most popular one was the Cartoon Network show, Courage the Cowardly Dog.

According to his social media, Cohen served as the senior writer of the animated television series. He was known for his writing proficiency as he wrote several memorable episodes of the show including, 1000 Years of Courage, The Sand Whale Strikes, Forbidden Hat of Gold, and more.

For the unversed, Courage The Cowardly Dog aired on Cartoon Network for four seasons between 1999 and 2002. It was one of the rarest and most unique shows for kids due to its horror theme.

The TV series follows the story of a pink-colored dog named Courage who is a coward. He lived with his elderly owners, Muriel and Eustace Bagge, in the town of Nowhere, Kansas. Despite their house being in a deserted area, the family of three always had some supernatural visitors. Their uninvited guests usually created some bizarre situations due to which Courage had to live up to his name and save his owners.

Courage The Cowardly Dog is among the most popular animated television series. However, it is not the only one on which David Steven Cohen worked. Other shows to his credit are The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss, Phil Of The Future, Balto, Pee-Wee's Playhouse, Parker Lewis Can't Lose, and more.

Talking about his writing brilliance, Jerry Beck wrote,

"R.I.P. David Steven Cohen - I just heard that my friend has passed from cancer. He was an accomplished writer, composer, producer - animation lover and friend."

"Among his work, live action comedy series (Pee-Wee's Playhouse, Alf, Parker Lewis Can't Lose, etc) and hilarious work on FUNNY animated series like ALF TALES, COURAGE THE COWARDLY DOG, and many others) - and the feature film, BALTO - among much else," Beck added.

Lastly, he promised his friend that he would not be forgotten.

Cartoon Network also paid a heartfelt tribute to Cohen as they thanked him for his contribution to the create the "strangely beautiful world of Courage." The network further mentioned that David Steven Cohen also taught children an important life lesson i.e. a person can do anything despite being afraid.

"How you've brought to life a scared but courageous little dog reminds us that we can do anything, even if we're afraid. Rest well."

Netizens pay heartwarming tribute to David Steven Cohen

The social media platform X (formerly Twitter) is filled with tributes to David Steven Cohen. Netizens thank the late writer for making their childhood special with Courage The Cowardly Dog. An X user wrote,

"Thank you David Steven Cohen for creating my childhood show and getting me into horror films."

Another one penned,

"R.I.P Steven. He truly wrote some of the best stories of our childhood. Equally as creepy as it was hilarious and heartwarming."

Several netizens took a trip down memory lane and reminisced about the time when they used to watch animated TV series as a kid. As they talked about their childhood, they expressed gratitude toward David Steven Cohen for his writing.