Larry Cohen reigned as Sleep King

In his famous Sleep King ad from 1983, Larry Cohen offered free two-hour naps and proclaimed he would get you your mattress on the same day, even if he had to deliver it on his back. He never changed the ad.

“It’s the same ad that has run for years and years,” his brother, Eliot Cohen, said. “A lot of people think it’s his son. People would go into a restaurant and say, ‘Are you the guy on television?’ and they would be excited they just met the guy from television.”

His dedication to the business continued more than three decades later.

In recent years, Cohen had been vision-impaired, but he remained devoted to his shop and showed up to work — even when someone had to pick him up and drive him there.

“He was very involved with Sleep King, no matter what,” Sleep King Office Manager Del Coyle said. “He loved to work. He loved to be here.”

Cohen, of Longboat Key, who founded Sleep King, died April 16. He was 78.

Cohen’s retail experience went back to his childhood, when his family owned a children’s toy and furniture store. Beginning in 1972, Cohen operated a chain of retail mattress stores in Boston, named Sleep King.

He moved to the area from Boston in 1980 while vacationing on the Key. He visited the Columbia Restaurant the day before he was set to leave. There, he laid eyes on Judy Dear and never returned to Boston.

When he moved down to the area, he opened a Sarasota store on South Tamiami Trail. 

“He was a real hands-on boss,” Eliot Cohen said. “The name Larry Cohen and Sleep King became synonymous.”

In addition to his devotion to his mattress store, Cohen also had a passion for charitable work.

Cohen supported the Cat Depot, Salvation Army, Jewish Family and Children’s Services and Sarasota youth sports.

He also donated Sleep King trucks to the All Faiths Food Bank to carry donated food, and he donated mattresses to the Safe Place and Rape Crisis Center (SPARCC).

“He was the type to take a homeless person and give them food and shelter and a job,” Eliot Cohen said. “That’s just the person he was.”

Cohen’s friends, family and loved ones won’t just remember him for his corporate and philanthropic legacy. Rather, they will remember his kind personality and sunny disposition.

“He was just a very outgoing person,” Coyle said. “He was very well-liked.”

One of Cohen’s final wishes was for Sleep King to continue to thrive for years to come.

“The business is continuing with his loyal, loyal employees,” Eliot Cohen said. “He didn’t want the business to close, and he didn’t want Sleep King and the Sleep King name to end with his demise. He was getting young people whose grandparents bought from him. He didn’t want that to go down the drain.”

Cohen was preceded in death by his partner, Judy Dear, who died in September. He is survived by his brothers, Eliot, of Fort Lauderdale, and Burton, of Los Angeles; and two nieces.