Jeff Cohen (child actor)
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| Jeff Cohen | |
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| Born | Jeffrey Bertan Cohen June 25, 1974 Los Angeles, California |
| Years active | 1985 — 1996 |
Jeffrey Bertan Cohen (born June 25, 1974) is an American former child actor whose rose to fame at the age of eleven after appearing as Chunk in the 1985 Steven Spielberg production The Goonies. Since the part of "Chunk" entailed a lot of mockery at Cohen's considerable girth, he took up high school football and has since lost a great deal of weight as an adult. Jeff attended the University of California, Berkeley, earning a B.S. in Business Administration from the Haas School of Business in 1996. While at UC Berkeley, Cohen was a resident assistant in Putnam Hall and became President of the Associated Students. His campaign posters featured a picture of himself from his Goonies days and the simple slogan, "Chunk for president". He was also known for his energy at football games, performing the now famous Truffle Shuffle on the sidelines to raise applause from the crowd. While at Berkeley, Jeff also was initiated as a brother into the Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity.
After his time at Berkeley, Jeff studied at the UCLA School of Law and later became an entertainment lawyer in Los Angeles. He is currently practicing at Cohen & Gardner, LLP in Beverly Hills [1].
Cohen claimed in The Goonies DVD commentary track that every role he played as a child had him wearing either a Hawaiian shirt or a pair of plaid pants.[2]
Before The Goonies started filming, Cohen caught chicken pox. Afraid that they would re-cast the role, he told no one of his illness and showed up to work anyway. According to the commentary track on The Goonies DVD, you can see the chicken pox on Cohen's chest during the famous "Truffle Shuffle" sequence[2].
Cohen's sister, Eydie Faye, is a successful playwright and actress. In the final scene of The Goonies, when the families gather on the beach, Faye has a cameo as Chunk's sister. In another scene, Chunk tells the Fratellis that he once pushed his sister Eydie down the stairs and blamed it on the dog.
