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George Michael Cohan

George M. Cohan
Born July 3, 1878(1878-07-03)
Providence, Rhode Island
Died November 5, 1942 (aged 64)
New York City, New York
Occupation Entertainer, Playwright, Composer, Lyricist, Actor, Singer, Dancer, Director, and Producer
Spouse Agnes Mary Nolan (29 June 1907–5 November 1942) (his death) 3 children
Ethel Levey (1899–1907) (divorced) 1 child
Children Georgette Cohan
Mary Cohan
Helen Cohan
George M Cohan, Jr. Events 324 - Battle of Adrianople Constantine I defeats Licinius, who flees to Byzantium. Year 1878 ( MDCCCLXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 1499 - Publication of the Catholicon in Treguier ( Brittany) Year 1942 ( MCMXLII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The City of New York New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous See also Entertainment (disambiguation and The Entertainer (disambiguation Entertainment is an activity designed to give people A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is a person who writes dramatic literature or Drama. A composer (literally meaning 'one who puts together' is a person who creates Music, usually in the medium of notation, for Interpretation and Performance A lyricist is a Writer who specializes in Song Lyrics, usually paid for by a band to write a custom song(s Dance (from French danser, perhaps from Frankish) is an Art form that generally refers to movement of the body usually rhythmic A film director, or filmmaker, is a person who directs the making of a Film. A theatrical producer is the person ultimately responsible for overseeing all aspects of mounting a theatre production. Events 512 - A Solar eclipse is recorded by a monastic chronicler in Ireland. Year 1907 ( MCMVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Events 1499 - Publication of the Catholicon in Treguier ( Brittany) Year 1942 ( MCMXLII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1899 ( MDCCCXCIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1907 ( MCMVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Helen Cohan (September 13 1910-September 14 1996 was an American stage dancer and briefly a Hollywood film actress
Parents Irish Catholics

George Michael Cohan (July 3, 1878 – November 5, 1942) was a United States entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer, director, and producer of Irish descent. Irish Catholics is a term used to describe people of Roman Catholic background who are Irish or of Irish descent. Events 324 - Battle of Adrianople Constantine I defeats Licinius, who flees to Byzantium. Year 1878 ( MDCCCLXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 1499 - Publication of the Catholicon in Treguier ( Brittany) Year 1942 ( MCMXLII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the See also Entertainment (disambiguation and The Entertainer (disambiguation Entertainment is an activity designed to give people A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is a person who writes dramatic literature or Drama. A composer (literally meaning 'one who puts together' is a person who creates Music, usually in the medium of notation, for Interpretation and Performance A lyricist is a Writer who specializes in Song Lyrics, usually paid for by a band to write a custom song(s An actor, actress, player or thespian (see terminology) is a person who Acts in a Dramatic production and who works Dance (from French danser, perhaps from Frankish) is an Art form that generally refers to movement of the body usually rhythmic A film director, or filmmaker, is a person who directs the making of a Film. A theatrical producer is the person ultimately responsible for overseeing all aspects of mounting a theatre production. The Irish people ( Irish: Muintir na hÉireann, na hÉireannaigh, na Gaeil) are a Western European Ethnic group who originate Known as "the man who owned Broadway" in the decade before World War I, he is considered the father of American musical comedy. Broadway theater, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Musical theatre is a form of Theatre combining Music, Songs spoken Dialogue and Dance.

Contents

Early career

Cohan was born in Providence, Rhode Island to Irish Catholic parents. Rhode Island ( officially named the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, is a state in the New England region of the United States Irish Catholics is a term used to describe people of Roman Catholic background who are Irish or of Irish descent. A baptismal certificate (which gave the wrong first name for his mother) indicated that he was born on July 3, but the Cohan family always insisted that George had been "born on the Fourth of July!" George's parents were traveling Vaudeville performers, and he joined them on stage while still an infant, at first as a prop, later learning to dance and sing soon after he could walk and talk. In Christianity, baptism ( Greek, "immersing" "performing Ablutions " is the ritual act with the use of water by which one is admitted Events 324 - Battle of Adrianople Constantine I defeats Licinius, who flees to Byzantium. Vaudeville was a Genre of variety entertainment prevalent on the stage in the United States and Canada, from the early 1880s A theatrical property, commonly referred to as a prop, is any object held or used on stage by an Actor for use in furthering the plot or story line of a Theatrical

He completed a family act called The Four Cohans, which included his father Jeremiah "Jere" Cohan (1848–1917), mother Helen "Nellie" Costigan Cohan (1854–1928), and sister Josephine "Josie" Cohan Niblo (1874–1916). The Four Cohans was a late 19th century Vaudeville family act that introduced 20th century Broadway legend George M Josie, who died of heart disease at a young age, was married to Fred Niblo Sr. Fred Niblo ( January 6, 1874 – November 11, 1948) was an American pioneer film Actor, director and producer (1874–1948), an important director of silent films, including Ben Hur (1925), and a founder of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Ben-Hur was a 1925 Silent film directed by Fred Niblo. It was a blockbuster hit for newly merged Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences ( AMPAS) is a professional honorary organization ostensibly dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of Motion Their son, Fred Niblo Jr. (1903–1973) was an Academy Award-nominated screenwriter. "The Oscar" redirects here for the film see The Oscar (film.

By his teens, Cohan became well-known as one of the stage's best male dancers, and he also started writing original skits and songs for the family act in both vaudeville and minstrel shows. The minstrel show, or minstrelsy, was an American entertainment consisting of comic skits variety acts dancing, and Music, Soon he was writing professionally, selling his first songs to a national publisher in 1893. Cohan had his first big Broadway hit in 1904 with the show Little Johnny Jones, which introduced his tunes "Give My Regards to Broadway" and "The Yankee Doodle Boy". Broadway theater, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located For the blues pianist see Little Johnny Jones (pianist Little Johnny Jones is a musical by George M "Give My Regards to Broadway" is a song written by George M " The Yankee Doodle Boy " also well-known as " (I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy " is a patriotic song from the Broadway musical Little Johnny

Cohan became one of the leading Tin Pan Alley songwriters, publishing upwards of 1500 original songs, noted for their catchy melodies and clever lyrics. Tin Pan Alley is the name given to the collection of New York City -centered music publishers and Songwriters who dominated the popular His other major hit songs included "You're a Grand Old Flag", "The Warmest Baby In The Bunch", "Life's A Funny Proposition After All", "I Want to Hear a Yankee Doodle Tune", "You Won't Do Any Business If You Haven't Got A Band", "Mary's a Grand Old Name", "The Small Town Gal", "I'm Mighty Glad I'm Living, That's All", "That Haunting Melody", and the popular war song, "Over There". " You're a Grand Old Flag " is a patriotic song of the United States. Forty-Five Minutes From Broadway is a musical play by George M " Over There " is a 1917 Song popular with United States soldiers in both World wars It was written by George M

From 1906 to 1926, Cohan and Sam Harris also produced over three dozen shows on Broadway,[1] including the successful Going Up in 1917, which became a smash hit in London the following year. Going Up is a musical comedy in three acts with music by Louis Hirsch and book and lyrics by Otto Harbach and James Montgomery

In 1925, Cohan published his autobiography, Twenty Years on Broadway and the Years It Took to Get There. An autobiography, from the Greek αὐτός autos "self" βίος bios "life" and γράφειν graphein "to write"

Later career

In 1932, Cohan starred in a dual role (as a cold, corrupt politician and his charming, idealistic campaign double) in the Hollywood musical The Phantom President, co-starring Claudette Colbert and Jimmy Durante, with songs by Rodgers and Hart. The Phantom President is a 1932 film directed by Norman Taurog, and starring George M Claudette Colbert ( IPA: /koʊlˈbɛɹ/ ( September 13, 1903 – July 30, 1996) was a French -born American stage Rodgers and Hart were an American songwriting partnership consisting of the composer Richard Rodgers (1902 &ndash 1979 and the lyricist

He earned acclaim as a serious actor in Eugene O'Neill's Ah, Wilderness! (1933), and in the role of a song-and dance President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Rodgers and Hart's musical, I'd Rather Be Right (1937). Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16 1888–November 27 1953 was a Nobel -prize winning American playwright Ah Wilderness! is a play by Eugene O'Neill, and has the distinction of being the only true Comedy he would ever write Rodgers and Hart were an American songwriting partnership consisting of the composer Richard Rodgers (1902 &ndash 1979 and the lyricist I'd Rather Be Right is a musical comedy by Moss Hart and George S

His final play, The Return of the Vagabond (1940) featured Celeste Holm in the cast; she was either 21 or 23 years old at the time. Celeste Holm (born April 29, 1917) is an American stage, Film, and Television actress, perhaps best remembered

In 1940, Judy Garland played the title role in a film version of his 1922 musical, Little Nellie Kelly. Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10 1922 – June 22 1969 was an American actress and singer Little Nellie Kelly is a musical comedy film based on the stage musical by George M Cohan's mystery play, Seven Keys to Baldpate, was first filmed in 1916 and has been remade seven times, most recently as House of Long Shadows (1983), starring Vincent Price. Vincent Leonard Price Jr ( May 27 1911 &ndash October 25 1993) was an American Film Actor, remembered

In 1942, a musical biopic of Cohan, Yankee Doodle Dandy, was released, and James Cagney's performance in the title role earned the Best Actor Academy Award. A biographical motion picture &mdash often shortened to biopic &mdash is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people Yankee Doodle Dandy ( is a biographical film about George M Cohan, the actor-singer-dancer-playwright-songwriter-producer-theatre owner-director-choreographer James Francis Cagney Jr ( July 17, 1899 &ndash March 30, 1986) was an Academy Award -winning American Film "The Oscar" redirects here for the film see The Oscar (film. The film was privately screened for Cohan as he battled the last stages of abdominal cancer.

His 1920 play The Meanest Man in the World was filmed with Jack Benny in 1943. Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky February 14, 1894 - December 26, 1974) was an American Comedian, vaudevillian

He died of cancer at the age of 64 on November 5, 1942, at his New York City home, 993 Fifth Avenue, directly across the street from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Events 1499 - Publication of the Catholicon in Treguier ( Brittany) Year 1942 ( MCMXLII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The City of New York The Metropolitan Museum of Art is an art museum located on the eastern edge of Central Park, along what is known as Museum Mile in New York City, After a large funeral at St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York on Fifth Avenue, Cohan was interred at the Bronx's Woodlawn Cemetery, in a private family mausoleum he had erected a quarter-century earlier for his sister and parents. St Patrick's Cathedral is a decorated Neo-Gothic -style Catholic Cathedral in North America This article refers to the Woodlawn Cemetery in the New York City borough of The Bronx

Influence and legacy

Cohan was the pioneer of the musical theater libretto. A libretto is the text used in an extended Musical work such as an Opera, Operetta, Masque, sacred or secular Oratorio and He is mostly remembered for his songs, later interpolated into musicals such as Anything Goes, Guys and Dolls, and Hello Dolly! However, he invented the "book musical," becoming the first showman to bridge the gaps between drama and music, operetta and extravaganza. Anything Goes is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. Guys and Dolls is a musical, with the music and lyrics written by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, based on Hello Dolly! is a musical with lyrics and music by Jerry Herman and a book by Michael Stewart, based on Thornton Wilder 's 1938 Operetta is a genre of light Opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter Extravaganza refers to a literary or musical work (often Musical theatre) characterized by freedom of style and structure and usually containing elements of burlesque

Cohan and his sister Josie in the 1890s
Cohan and his sister Josie in the 1890s

More than three decades before Agnes de Mille choreographed Oklahoma!, Cohan used dance not merely as razzle-dazzle but to advance the plot. Agnes George de Mille ( September 18, 1905 &ndash October 7, 1993) was an American Dancer and Choreographer Oklahoma! is the first musical written by composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The engaging books of his musicals supported the scores that yielded so many popular songs. As a storyteller, Cohan's main characters were "average Joes and Janes".

Characters like Johnny Jones and Nellie Kelly appealed to a whole new audience. He wrote for every American, instead of highbrow Americans. (see book by Thomas S. Hischak, Boy Loses Girl (ISBN 0-8108-4440-0).

In 1914, he became one of the founding members of ASCAP. The American Society of Composers Authors and Publishers ( ASCAP) is a non-profit Performance rights organization that protects its In 1919, he unsuccessfully opposed a historic strike by Actors' Equity Association, for which many in the theatrical professions never forgave him. Template talkInfobox Union for usage --> The Actors' Equity Association (AEA commonly referred to as Actors' Equity Cohan opposed the strike because in addition to being an actor in his productions, he was also the producer of the musical that set the terms and conditions of the actors's employment. During the strike, he donated $100,000 to finance the Actors' Retirement Fund in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Englewood Cliffs is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. New Jersey ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. After Actors' Equity was recognized, Cohan refused to join the union as an actor which hampered his ability to be in his own productions. After 1919, Cohan had to seek a waiver from Equity to act in any theatrical productions.

Cohan wrote numerous other Broadway musicals and straight plays, in addition to contributing material to shows written by others — more than 50 in all. Broadway theater, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located Cohan shows included Forty-five Minutes from Broadway (1905), George Washington, Jr. Forty-Five Minutes From Broadway is a musical play by George M (1906), The Talk of New York and The Honeymooners (1907), Fifty Miles from Boston and The Yankee Prince (1908), Broadway Jones (1912), Seven Keys to Baldpate (1913), The Cohan Revue of 1918 (co-written with Irving Berlin), The Tavern (1920), The Rise of Rosie O'Reilly (1923, featuring a 13-year-old Ruby Keeler among the chorus girls), The Song and Dance Man (1923), American Born (1925), The Baby Cyclone (1927, one of Spencer Tracy's early breaks), Elmer the Great (1928, co-written with Ring Lardner), and Pigeons and People (1933). Broadway theater, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located Irving Berlin (11 May 1888 &ndash 22 September 1989 was a Russian-born American Composer and Lyricist, and one of the most prolific American songwriters Ruby Keeler, born Ethel Hilda Keeler, ( August 25, 1909 – February 28, 1993) was an actress singer and dancer most famous for her Spencer Tracy ( April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was a two-time Academy Award -winning Actor of stage and Ringgold Wilmer Lardner ( March 6 1885 – September 25 1933) was an American sports columnist and Short story writer best At this point in his life it is often said that he walked in and out of retirement.

Cohan is arguably the most honored American entertainer. On June 29, 1936, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt presented him with The Congressional Gold Medal of Honor for his contributions to World War I morale, in particular the songs "You're a Grand Old Flag" and "Over There". Not to be confused with the Medal of Honor, sometimes called the "Congressional Medal of Honor" which is the highest military decoration of the United States World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All " You're a Grand Old Flag " is a patriotic song of the United States. " Over There " is a 1917 Song popular with United States soldiers in both World wars It was written by George M The Congressional Gold Medal of Honor is not the military Medal of Honor presented by the President in the name of Congress. The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government.

In 1959, at the behest of lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II, a $100,000 bronze statue of Cohan was dedicated in Times Square, at Broadway and 46th Street in Manhattan. Oscar Hammerstein II (ˈhæmɚstaɪn (born Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein) ( July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was Times Square is a major intersection in Manhattan, New York City at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West Broadway, as the name implies is a wide avenue in New York City. Manhattan Island, in New York Harbor, is much the largest part of the Borough of Manhattan, one of the Five Boroughs which form the City of New York The 8-foot bronze remains the only statue of an actor on Broadway. [1]He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970, and into the American Folklore Hall of Fame in 2003. The Songwriters Hall of Fame is an arm of the National Academy of Popular Music.

His star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is located at 6734 Hollywood Boulevard. The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a Sidewalk along Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood Los Angeles California, USA, that Hollywood Boulevard is a boulevard in Hollywood Los Angeles California, United States, beginning at Sunset Boulevard in the east and running northwest

The United States Postal Service issued a 15-cent commemorative stamp honoring Cohan on the anniversary of his centenary, July 3, 1978. A commemorative stamp is a Postage stamp issued to honor or commemorate a place event or person The stamp, one of the long-running Performing Arts Series of the USPS, depicts both the older Cohan and his younger self as a dancer, along with the tag line "Yankee Doodle Dandy". It was designed by Jim Sharpe.

Cohan was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame on October 15, 2006. The Long Island Music Hall of Fame is an organization located in Lake Grove New York. Events 533 - Byzantine General Belisarius makes his formal entry into Carthage, having conquered it from the Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.

Many of these honors were accepted posthumously by Cohan's large family.

In 1999, Regimental Band of the United States Merchant Marine Academy was instrumental in helping the local community and Park District of Great Neck, NY save his former residence, which was slated for demolition. The United States Merchant Marine Academy is one of the five United States service academies. Great Neck is a Village in Nassau County, New York, in the US Helen Ronkin Lafaso and Ms. Mary Ronkin Ross, the grandchildren of Mr. Cohan, formally thanked the band for their support and gave the band the honor to be called, "George M. Cohan's Own" for "now and in the future. " Thus, the Regimental Band became the first Federal Academy Band with an officially bestowed title. [2] The USMMA Regimental Band now owns the rights to all of George M Cohan's music. The bulk of George M. Cohan's music is in the Public Domain, as are all compositions created in the U. S. before 1923.

Family life

Cohan in 1933, photo by Carl Van Vechten
Cohan in 1933, photo by Carl Van Vechten

From 1899 to 1907 Cohan was married to Ethel Levey (1881–1955), a musical comedy actress who bore him a daughter, Georgette Cohan Souther Rowse (1900–1988). Carl Van Vechten ( June 17, 1880 &ndash December 21, 1964) was an American Writer and Photographer who was a

He married again in 1907 to Agnes Mary Nolan (1883–1972), who had been a dancer in his early shows; they remained married until his death. They had two daughters (Mary and Helen) and a son (George, Jr. ).

Mary Cohan Ronkin (1909–1983) had a brief career as a cabaret singer in the 1930s, and later composed a score for her father's non-musical play The Tavern, and in 1968 supervised musical and lyric revisions for the Broadway play George M!. Broadway theater, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located For the 2006 Off-Broadway musical see George M Cohan Tonight! George M! is a musical with a book by Michael Stewart

Helen Cohan Carola (1910–1996) made several movies, including Lightnin' (1930) starring Will Rogers, and was one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars of 1934. This page is about the humorist for others with similar names see William Rogers. The WAMPAS Baby Stars was a promotional campaign sponsored by the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers in the United States, which honored thirteen young

George M. Cohan, Jr. (1914–2000) graduated from Georgetown University and served in the entertainment corps during World War II. Georgetown University is a Jesuit Private university located in Georgetown Washington D World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including

In the 1950s, George Jr. reinterpreted his father's songs on recordings, in a nightclub act, and in television appearances on the Ed Sullivan and Milton Berle shows. Edward Vincent "Ed" Sullivan ( September 28, 1901 – October 13, 1974) was an American Entertainment Writer Mendel "Milton Berle" Berlinger ( July 12, 1908 &ndash March 27, 2002) was an Emmy -winning American Comedian George Jr. 's only child, Michaela Marie Cohan (1943–1999), was the last descendant named Cohan. She graduated with a theater degree from Marywood College, Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 1965.

From 1966 to 1968, she served in a civilian Special Services unit in Vietnam and Korea. Vietnam (ˌviːɛtˈnɑːm Việt Nam) officially Korea is a geographic area composed of two sovereign countries a civilization and a former state situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia. In 1996, she stood in for her ailing father at the ceremony marking her grandfather's induction into the Musical Theatre Hall of Fame, at New York University. New York University ( NYU) is a private, Nonsectarian, Coeducational Research University in New York City.

Pop culture

References

  1. ^ New York City Parks information and statue
  2. ^ USMMA Regimental Band History

External links

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