Roy Cohn

"You know what my greatest accomplishment was, Joe, in my life? What I am able to look back on and be most proud of? And I have helped make presidents - and unmake them - and mayors and more goddamn judges than anyone in New York City ever, and several million dollars tax-free! And you know what means the most to me? You ever hear of Ethel Rosenberg? Huh, Joe, huh? Yeah, you heard of Ethel Rosenberg. Maybe even read about her in the history books. Well, if it wasn't for me, Joe, Ethel Rosenberg would be alive today, writing some personal-advice column for Ms. Magazine. She isn't... because, during the trial, Joe, I was on the phone every day talking with the judge. Every day, doing what I do best: talking on the telephone. Making sure that that timid Yid nebbish on the bench did his duty to America, to history. That sweet, unprepossessing woman, two kids, boo-hoo-hoo, reminded us all of our little Jewish mamas. She came this close to getting life. I pleaded 'til I wept to put her in the chair. Me, I did that. I'd have fucking pulled the switch if they let me. Why? Because I fucking hate traitors. Because I fucking hate communists. Was it legal? Fuck legal! Am I a nice man? FUCK nice! They say terrible things about me in The Nation? FUCK THE NATION! YOU WANNA BE NICE, OR YOU WANNA BE EFFECTIVE?! YOU WANNA MAKE THE LAW, OR SUBJECT TO IT?! CHOOSE!"

- Roy Coh, gloating over his part in Ethel Rosenberg's death.

Roy Cohn is a major villain in Tony Kushner's play Angels In America and the 2003 HBO TV adaptation. A lawyer infamous for his part in the McCarthy trials, the execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenburg, and the prosecution of homosexuals, Roy prides himself on having served as an adviser for both Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, and still maintains significant influence throughout the upper echelons of the American government. He is also extremely corrupt, having used blackmail, bribery, coercion and a variety of other illegal methods to unfairly sway courts and officials into abiding by his decisions.

Also, despite his well-publicized homophobia, he is actually homosexual himself - and at the beginning of the play is revealed to be suffering from AIDS. As such, he is determined to maintain his influence and his status even as he slowly succumbs to the disease, especially at the expense of others.

In the miniseries, he was played by Al Pacino.

Millennium Approaches
The play begins in 1985, during the height of the AIDS crisis. Introduced very early in the story, Roy Cohn is first encountered talking with multiple clients on the phone while also serving as a host to a visitor: Joe Pitt, an up-and-coming clerk at the judge's office, to whom Roy has been mentoring for greater things. During this first scene, the notorious lawyer barely pays attention to his guest, bombarding his callers with expletives and seemingly contradictory advice - up until Joe, a devout Mormon, takes issue with Roy's frequent blasphemies and asks him to cut down on saying "Jesus Christ." Amused, Roy turns his attention to Joe and asks him if he would like a more prestigious position in Washington D.C., offering to use his influence to find him a place in the Justice Department. Though fascinated by the idea, Joe asks for time to discuss the idea with his wife, who is currently addicted to valium, agoraphobic and extremely depressed by Joe's absences from their home.

Soon after, Roy is next seen at the office of his personal physician, being formally diagnosed with AIDS.