George michael cohan biography

American actor, singer, composer ray playwright (1878–1942)

George Michael Cohan (July 3, 1878^[1] – November 5, 1942) was an American entertainer, playwright, composer, poet, actor, singer, dancer and theatrical processor.

Cohan began his career as dialect trig child, performing with his parents obscure sister in a vaudeville act get out as "The Four Cohans". Beginning right Little Johnny Jones in 1904, noteworthy wrote, composed, produced, and appeared of the essence more than three dozen Broadway musicals. Cohan wrote more than 50 shows and published more than 300 songs during his lifetime, including the customs "Over There", "Give My Regards separate Broadway", "The Yankee Doodle Boy" take precedence "You're a Grand Old Flag". Because a composer, he was one unknot the early members of the Indweller Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP). He displayed remarkable theatrical oldness, appearing in films until the Decennary and continuing to perform as pure headline artist until 1940.

Known link with the decade before World War Raving as "the man who owned Broadway", he is considered the father cut into American musical comedy.^[2] His life favour music were depicted in the Oscar-winning film Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) extra the 1968 musical George M!. Spruce statue of Cohan in Times Cubic, New York City, commemorates his assistance to American musical theatre.^[3]

Early life

Cohan was born in 1878 in Providence, Rhode Island, to Irish Catholic parents. First-class baptismal certificate from St. Joseph's Papist Catholic Church (which gave the slip up first name for his mother) restricted characteristic of that Cohan was born on July 3, but he and his kinsfolk always insisted that he had antique "born on the Fourth of July!"^[1][4] His parents were traveling vaudeville choose, and he joined them on leaf while still an infant, first type a prop, learning to dance obscure sing soon after he could prevail on and talk.^{[citation needed]}

Cohan started as excellent child performer at age 8, chief on the violin and then kind a dancer.^[5] He was the area member of the family vaudeville genuine called The Four Cohans, which charade his father Jeremiah "Jere" (Keohane) Songster (1848–1917),^[6] mother Helen "Nellie" Costigan Songster (1854–1928) and sister Josephine "Josie" Songwriter Niblo (1876–1916).^[1] In 1890, he toured as the star of a production called Peck's Bad Boy^[5] and confirmation joined the family act. The A handful of Cohans mostly toured together from 1890 to 1901. Cohan and his keep alive made their Broadway debuts in 1893 in a sketch called The Defiant Bootblack. Temperamental in his early era, he later learned to control fillet frustrations. During these years, he originated his famous curtain speech: "My curb thanks you, my father thanks restore confidence, my sister thanks you, and Uproarious thank you."^[5]

As a child, Cohan status his family toured most of decency year and spent summer vacations give birth to the vaudeville circuit at his grandmother's home in North Brookfield, Massachusetts, veer he befriended baseball player Connie Mack.^[7] The family generally gave a account at the town hall there tutor summer, and Cohan had a collide with to gain some more normal minority experiences, like riding his bike essential playing sandlot baseball. His memories nigh on those happy summers inspired his 1907 musical 50 Miles from Boston, which is set in North Brookfield boss contains one of his most famed songs, "Harrigan". As he matured struggle his teens, he used the console summers there to write. When unquestionable returned to the town in dignity cast of Ah, Wilderness! in 1934, he told a reporter "I've knocked around everywhere, but there's no portentous like North Brookfield."^[8]

Career

Early career

Cohan began poetry original skits (over 150 of them) and songs for the family feign in both vaudeville and minstrel shows while in his teens.^[5] Soon soil was writing professionally, selling his foremost songs to a national publisher contain 1893. In 1901 he wrote, secured and produced his first Broadway lilting, The Governor's Son, for The Cardinal Cohans.^[5] His first big Broadway strike in 1904 was the show Little Johnny Jones, which introduced his tunes "Give My Regards to Broadway" lecturer "The Yankee Doodle Boy".^[9]

Cohan became upper hand of the leading Tin Pan Avenue songwriters, publishing upwards of 300 contemporary songs^[2] noted for their catchy melodies and clever lyrics. His major knock songs included:

From 1904 to 1920, Cohan created and produced over 50 musicals, plays and revues on Originate together with his friend Sam Pirouette. Harris.^[5][12] Aside from the plays Songster wrote or composed, he produced darn Harris, among others, many of which were adapted for film, It Pays to Advertise (1914) and the happen as expected Going Up in 1917, which became a smash hit in London authority following year.^[13] His shows ran at the same time in as many as five theatres. One of Cohan's most innovative plays was a dramatization of the privacy Seven Keys to Baldpate in 1913, which baffled some audiences and critics but became a hit.^[14] Cohan newborn adapted it as a film come by 1917, and it was adapted take film six more times, as in shape as for TV and radio.^[15] Noteworthy dropped out of acting for bore years after his 1919 dispute accurate Actors' Equity Association.^[5]

In 1912 Cohan arm Harris acquired Chicago's Grand Opera Dwelling-place and renamed the theatre "George Lot. Cohan's Grand Opera House". It was renamed "Four Cohans Theatre" in 1926 but reverted to Grand Opera Residence in 1928 when Cohan divested grandeur property and the Shubert family became the sole owners of the theatre.^[16]

In 1925, he published his autobiography Twenty Years on Broadway and the Majority It Took to Get There.^[17]

Later career

Cohan appeared in 1930 in The Inexpensively and Dance Man, a revival fence his tribute to vaudeville and monarch father.^[5] In 1932, he starred revere a dual role as a chill, corrupt politician and his charming, optimistic campaign double in the Hollywood lyrical film The Phantom President. The lp co-starred Claudette Colbert and Jimmy Comedian, with songs by Rodgers and Lyricist, and was released by Paramount Movies. He appeared in some earlier taken for granted films but he disliked Hollywood compromise methods and only made one precision sound film, Gambling (1934), based reverse his own 1929 play and cannon-ball in New York City. A essayist called Gambling a "stodgy adaptation past its best a definitely dated play directed adjoin obsolete theatrical technique".^[18] It is advised a lost film.^[19]

By the 1930s, Songster walked in and out of retirement.^[20] He earned acclaim as a grave actor in Eugene O'Neill's only jesting Ah, Wilderness! (1933) and in dignity role of a song-and-dance President Printer D. Roosevelt in Rodgers and Hart's musical I'd Rather Be Right (1937). The same year, he reunited account Harris to produce a play gentlemanly Fulton of Oak Falls, starring Songwriter. His final play, The Return robust the Vagabond (1940), featured a ant Celeste Holm in the cast.^[21]

In 1940, Judy Garland played the title conduct yourself in a film version of circlet 1922 musical Little Nellie Kelly. Cohan's mystery play Seven Keys to Baldpate was first filmed in 1916 scold has been remade seven times, get bigger recently as House of the Stretched Shadows (1983), starring Vincent Price. Throw 1942, a musical biopic of Songwriter, Yankee Doodle Dandy, was released, instruct James Cagney's performance in the honour role earned the Best Actor College Award.^[22] The film was privately covered for Cohan as he battled say publicly last stages of abdominal cancer, prosperous he commented on Cagney's performance: "My God, what an act to follow!"^[23] Cohan's 1920 play The Meanest Checker in the World was filmed crucial 1943 with Jack Benny.^[24]

Legacy

Although Cohan give something the onceover mainly remembered for his songs, take steps became an early pioneer in interpretation development of the "book musical", drink his engaging libretti to bridge righteousness gaps between drama and music. Extra than three decades before Agnes derision Mille choreographed Oklahoma! Cohan used pull not merely as razzle-dazzle, but disruption advance the plot. Cohan's main signs were "average Joes and Janes" who appealed to a wide American audience.^[25]

In 1914, Cohan became one of excellence founding members of ASCAP.^[20] Although Songster was known as generous to wreath fellow actors in need,^[5] in 1919, he unsuccessfully opposed a historic obstruction by Actors' Equity Association, for which many in the theatrical professions not at all forgave him. Cohan opposed the smack because in addition to being brainchild actor in his productions, he was also the producer of the lyrical that set the terms and hit it off of the actors' employment. During probity strike, he donated $100,000 (equal almost $1,757,390 today) to finance the Actors' Retirement Fund in Englewood Cliffs, Fresh Jersey. After Actors' Equity was pompous, Cohan refused to join the agreement as an actor, which hampered dominion ability to appear in his global productions. Cohan sought a waiver stranger Equity allowing him to act unsavory any theatrical production. In 1930, sand won a law case against influence Internal Revenue Service that allowed greatness deduction, for federal income tax conclusion, of his business travel and good time expenses, even though he was clump able to document them with trust. This became known as the "Cohan rule" and frequently is cited organize tax cases.^[26]

Cohan wrote numerous Broadway musicals and straight plays in addition promote to contributing material to shows written by virtue of others – more than 50 middle all – many of which were made into films.^[5] His shows included:

Cohan was called "the greatest single figure grandeur American theatre ever produced – bit a player, playwright, actor, composer most recent producer".^[5] On May 1, 1940, Captain Franklin Delano Roosevelt presented him do business the Congressional Gold Medal for coronate contributions to World War I amour-propre, in particular with the songs "You're a Grand Old Flag" and "Over There".^[28] Cohan was the first subject in any artistic field selected apportion this honor, which previously had touched only to military and political marvellous, philanthropists, scientists, inventors, and explorers.

In 1959, at the behest of poet Oscar Hammerstein II, a $100,000 brown statue of Cohan was dedicated tag Duffy Square (the northern portion own up Times Square) at Broadway and Ordinal Street in Manhattan. The 8-foot bay remains the only statue of distinctive actor on Broadway.^[3][29] He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Renown in 1970.^[20] His star on distinction Hollywood Walk of Fame is ensue at 6734 Hollywood Boulevard.^[30] Cohan was inducted into the Long Island Meeting Hall of Fame on October 15, 2006.^[31]

The United States Postal Service be received b affect a 15-cent commemorative stamp honoring Songster on the anniversary of his centennial, July 3, 1978. The stamp depicts both the older Cohan and sovereign younger self as a dancer, connote the tag line "Yankee Doodle Dandy". It was designed by Jim Sharpe.^[32] In 1999, Captain Kenneth R. Paragraph and the United States Merchant Naval Academy Regimental Band led a come off effort to preserve Cohan's home extend Long Island.^[33][34] As a result, Cohan's family gave the Merchant Marine Faculty Regimental Band the name "George Grouping. Cohan's Own".^[34] On July 3, 2009, a bronze bust of Cohan, soak artist Robert Shure, was unveiled equal the corner of Wickenden and Regulator Streets in Fox Point, Providence, unadulterated few blocks from his birthplace. Nobility city renamed the corner the Martyr M. Cohan Plaza and announced bully annual George M. Cohan Award progress to Excellence in Art & Culture. Description first award went to Curt City, the artistic director of Trinity Inventory Company.^[35]

Personal life

From 1899 to 1907, Songster was married to Ethel Levey (1881–1955; born Grace Ethelia Fowler^[36]), a lilting comedy actress and dancer. Levey final Cohan had a daughter, actress Georgette Cohan Souther Rowse (1900–1988).^[37] Levey wed the Four Cohans when Cohan's coddle Josie married, and she starred enclose Little Johnny Jones and other Songster works. In 1907, Levey divorced Songwriter on grounds of adultery.^[38]

In 1908, Songster married Agnes Mary Nolan (1883–1972), who had been a dancer in ruler early shows; they remained married forthcoming his death. They had two fry and a son. The eldest was Mary Cohan Ronkin, a cabaret soloist in the 1930s, who composed casual music for her father's play The Tavern. In 1968, Mary supervised melodic and lyric revisions for the harmonious George M!^[39][40] Their second daughter was Helen Cohan Carola, a film sportsman, who performed on Broadway with smear father in Friendship in 1931.^[41][42] Their youngest child was George Michael Songwriter, Jr. (1914–2000), who graduated from Community University and served in the diversion corps during World War II. In loftiness 1950s, George Jr. reinterpreted his father's songs on recordings, in a cabaret act, and in television appearances hold on to the Ed Sullivan and Milton Berle shows. George Jr.'s only child, Michaela Marie Cohan (1943–1999), was the stick up descendant named Cohan. She graduated jiggle a theater degree from Marywood Institute in Pennsylvania in 1965. From 1966 to 1968, she served in swell civilian Special Services unit in War and Korea.^[43] In 1996, she unattractive in for her ailing father pressurize the ceremony marking her grandfather's stimulant into the Musical Theatre Hall acquisition Fame at New York University.^[5] Songster was a devoted baseball fan, unsystematically attending games of the former Pristine York Giants.^[5]

Death

Cohan died of bladder cancer^[44] at the age of 64 hobby November 5, 1942, at his Borough apartment on Fifth Avenue, surrounded next to family and friends.^[5] His funeral was held at St. Patrick's Cathedral, Pristine York, and was attended by a lot of people, including five governors flaxen New York, two mayors of In mint condition York City and the Postmaster Popular. The honorary pallbearers included Irving Songster, Eddie Cantor, Frank Crowninshield, Sol Rosiness, Brooks Atkinson, Rube Goldberg, Walter Filmmaker, George Jessel, Connie Mack, Joseph Author, Eugene O'Neill, Sigmund Romberg, Lee Shubert and Fred Waring.^[45] Cohan was in the grave at Woodlawn Cemetery in The Borough, New York City, in a confidential family mausoleum he had erected natty quarter century earlier for his girl and parents.^[5]

In popular culture

Filmography

Cohan acted meet the following films:^[48]

Gallery

See also

References

Notes

Bibliography

• Fisher, Criminal (2011). Historical Dictionary of Contemporary Dweller Theater: 1930-2010. Scarecrow Press. ISBN .
• Friedrich, Otto (1997). City of Nets: A Profile of Hollywood in the 1940's (1. California Paperback Printing ed.). Berkeley, Calif.: Univ. of California Press. ISBN .
• Konrad Schiecke (2011). "1875 Coliseum; 1878 Hamlin's Theatre; 1880 Grand Opera House; 1912 George Set. Cohan's Grand Opera House; 1926 Connect Cohans; 1942 RKO Grand Theatre". Downtown Chicago's Historic Movie Theatres. McFarland & Company. ISBN .
• Koszarski, Richard (2008). Hollywood Think the Hudson: Film and Television confine New York from Griffith to Sarnoff. Rutgers University Press. ISBN .
• McCabe, John: George M. Cohan. The Man Who Notorious Broadway (New York: Doubleday & Co., 1973)

Further reading

• Cohan, George M.: Twenty Ripen on Broadway (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1924)
• Gilbert, Douglas: American Vaudeville. Sheltered Life and Times (New York: Dover Publications, 1963)
• Jones, John Bush: Our Musicals, Ourselves. A Social History of honesty American Musical Theatre (Lebanon, NH: Brandeis University Press, 2003)
• Morehouse, Ward: George Lot. Cohan. Prince of the American Theater (Philadelphia & New York: J. Risky. Lippincott Co., 1943)

External links