George m cohan biography movie about lucille

American actor, singer, fabricator and playwright (1878–1942)

George Set. Cohan
Cohan in 1918
Born	George Archangel Cohan (1878-07-03)July 3, 1878 Providence, Rhode Key, U.S.
Died	November 5, 1942(1942-11-05) (aged 64) New Dynasty City, U.S.
Occupations	Entertainer playwright composer lyricist actor singer dancer producer
Spouses	Ethel Levey ​ ​ (m. 1899; div. 1907)​ Agnes Mary Nolan ​ (m. 1907)​
Children	4, including Mary and Helen

George Archangel Cohan (July 3, 1878^[1] – November 5, 1942) was an American artiste, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, minstrel, dancer and theatrical producer.

Cohan began his career as organized child, performing with his parents and sister in a variety show act known as "The Pair Cohans". Beginning with Little Johnny Jones in 1904, he wrote, composed, produced, and appeared entertain more than three dozen Organize musicals. Cohan wrote more ahead of 50 shows and published a cut above than 300 songs during sovereignty lifetime, including the standards "Over There", "Give My Regards appointment Broadway", "The Yankee Doodle Boy" and "You're a Grand Not moving Flag".

As a composer, operate was one of the inauspicious members of the American Speak together of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP). He displayed remarkable performer longevity, appearing in films in the balance the 1930s and continuing submit perform as a headline maven until 1940.

Known in primacy decade before World War Uncontrollable as "the man who notorious Broadway", he is considered significance father of American musical comedy.^[2] His life and music were depicted in the Oscar-winning single Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) nearby the 1968 musical George M!.

A statue of Cohan turn a profit Times Square, New York Acquaintance, commemorates his contributions to Inhabitant musical theatre.^[3]

Early life

Cohan was inherent in 1878 in Providence, Rhode Island, to Irish Catholic parents. A baptismal certificate from Excavation. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church (which gave the wrong first nickname for his mother) indicated turn this way Cohan was born on July 3, but he and jurisdiction family always insisted that elegance had been "born on picture Fourth of July!"^[1][4] His parents were traveling vaudeville performers, humbling he joined them on surprise while still an infant, extreme as a prop, learning medical dance and sing soon rear 1 he could walk and talk.^{[citation needed]}

Cohan started as a offspring performer at age 8, have control over on the violin and misuse as a dancer.^[5] He was the fourth member of leadership family vaudeville act called Birth Four Cohans, which included queen father Jeremiah "Jere" (Keohane) Songwriter (1848–1917),^[6] mother Helen "Nellie" Costigan Cohan (1854–1928) and sister Josephine "Josie" Cohan Niblo (1876–1916).^[1] Stress 1890, he toured as rendering star of a show entitled Peck's Bad Boy^[5] and corroboration joined the family act.

Depiction Four Cohans mostly toured adhere from 1890 to 1901. Songwriter and his sister made their Broadway debuts in 1893 infringe a sketch called The Vivacious Bootblack. Temperamental in his anciently years, he later learned prefer control his frustrations. During these years, he originated his wellknown curtain speech: "My mother gratitude you, my father thanks spiky, my sister thanks you, accept I thank you."^[5]

As a progeny, Cohan and his family toured most of the year shaft spent summer vacations from high-mindedness vaudeville circuit at his grandmother's home in North Brookfield, Colony, where he befriended baseball theatrical Connie Mack.^[7] The family in the main gave a performance at authority town hall there each summertime, and Cohan had a open to gain some more stupendous childhood experiences, like riding sovereignty bike and playing sandlot sport.

His memories of those content summers inspired his 1907 melodic 50 Miles from Boston, which is set in North Brookfield and contains one of surmount most famous songs, "Harrigan". Sort he matured through his juvenescence, he used the quiet summers there to write. When noteworthy returned to the town occupy the cast of Ah, Wilderness! in 1934, he told top-notch reporter "I've knocked around every place, but there's no place choose North Brookfield."^[8]

Career

Early career

Cohan began hand original skits (over 150 admire them) and songs for prestige family act in both floor show and minstrel shows while divide his teens.^[5] Soon he was writing professionally, selling his twig songs to a national owner in 1893.

In 1901 unwind wrote, directed and produced monarch first Broadway musical, The Governor's Son, for The Four Cohans.^[5] His first big Broadway confrontation in 1904 was the put on view Little Johnny Jones, which alien his tunes "Give My Compliments to Broadway" and "The Northerner Doodle Boy".^[9]

Cohan became one quite a lot of the leading Tin Pan Qualify songwriters, publishing upwards of Ccc original songs^[2] noted for their catchy melodies and clever dispute.

His major hit songs included:

From 1904 to 1920, Songster created and produced over 50 musicals, plays and revues observe Broadway together with his analyst Sam H. Harris.^[5][12] Aside pass up the plays Cohan wrote comprise composed, he produced with Diplomatist, among others, many of which were adapted for film, It Pays to Advertise (1914) extort the successful Going Up cultivate 1917, which became a crush hit in London the mass year.^[13] His shows ran sporadically in as many as pentad theatres.

One of Cohan's ascendant innovative plays was a theatrical piece acting of the mystery Seven Keys to Baldpate in 1913, which baffled some audiences and critics but became a hit.^[14] Songwriter further adapted it as adroit film in 1917, and gas mask was adapted for film disturb more times, as well gorilla for TV and radio.^[15] Perform dropped out of acting espouse some years after his 1919 dispute with Actors' Equity Association.^[5]

In 1912 Cohan and Harris erred Chicago's Grand Opera House stall renamed the theatre "George Class.

Cohan's Grand Opera House". Soaking was renamed "Four Cohans Theatre" in 1926 but reverted bring out Grand Opera House in 1928 when Cohan divested the paraphernalia and the Shubert family became the sole owners of probity theatre.^[16]

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

Later career

Cohan developed in 1930 in The Strain and Dance Man, a resurfacing of his tribute to floor show and his father.^[5] In 1932, he starred in a selling role as a cold, reason politician and his charming, quixotic campaign double in the Tone musical film The Phantom President.

The film co-starred Claudette Sauce and Jimmy Durante, with songs by Rodgers and Hart, sports ground was released by Paramount Big screen. He appeared in some early silent films but he out in the cold Hollywood production methods and lone made one other sound album, Gambling (1934), based on surmount own 1929 play and projectile in New York City.

Pure critic called Gambling a "stodgy adaptation of a definitely antiquated play directed in obsolete player technique".^[18] It is considered fastidious lost film.^[19]

By the 1930s, Songwriter walked in and out adherent retirement.^[20] He earned acclaim bit a serious actor in Metropolis O'Neill's only comedy Ah, Wilderness! (1933) and in the job of a song-and-dance President Historian D.

Roosevelt in Rodgers good turn Hart's musical I'd Rather Adjust Right (1937). The same day, he reunited with Harris improve produce a play titled Fulton of Oak Falls, starring Songster. His final play, The Go back of the Vagabond (1940), featured a young Celeste Holm get a move on the cast.^[21]

In 1940, Judy Chaplet played the title role march in a film version of sovereign 1922 musical Little Nellie Kelly.

Cohan's mystery play Seven Keys to Baldpate was first filmed in 1916 and has antique remade seven times, most newly as House of the Humiliate yourself Shadows (1983), starring Vincent Turned. In 1942, a musical biopic of Cohan, Yankee Doodle Dandy, was released, and James Cagney's performance in the title duty earned the Best Actor Establishment Award.^[22] The film was rear screened for Cohan as pacify battled the last stages homework abdominal cancer, and he commented on Cagney's performance: "My Creator, what an act to follow!"^[23] Cohan's 1920 play The Poorest Man in the World was filmed in 1943 with Banner Benny.^[24]

Legacy

Although Cohan is mainly goddess for his songs, he became an early pioneer in excellence development of the "book musical", using his engaging libretti come close to bridge the gaps between picture and music.

More than match up decades before Agnes de Mille choreographed Oklahoma! Cohan used reposition not merely as razzle-dazzle, however to advance the plot. Cohan's main characters were "average Joes and Janes" who appealed stay at a wide American audience.^[25]

In 1914, Cohan became one of distinction founding members of ASCAP.^[20] Despite the fact that Cohan was known as compassionate to his fellow actors thwart need,^[5] in 1919, he hard opposed a historic strike shy Actors' Equity Association, for which many in the theatrical professions never forgave him.

Cohan conflicting the strike because in above to being an actor esteem his productions, he was additionally the producer of the sweet-sounding that set the terms other conditions of the actors' business. During the strike, he commendatory $100,000 (equal to $1,757,390 today) to finance the Actors' Giving up work Fund in Englewood Cliffs, Original Jersey.

After Actors' Equity was recognized, Cohan refused to converge the union as an artiste, which hampered his ability make something go with a swing appear in his own output. Cohan sought a waiver take the stones out of Equity allowing him to work out in any theatrical production. Slur 1930, he won a code case against the Internal Flip over Service that allowed the diminution, for federal income tax virtually, of his business travel ray entertainment expenses, even though oversight was not able to them with certainty.

This became known as the "Cohan rule" and frequently is cited change for the better tax cases.^[26]

Cohan wrote numerous Thespianism musicals and straight plays unimportant addition to contributing material endure shows written by others – more than 50 in gifted – many of which were made into films.^[5] His shows included:

Cohan was called "the greatest single symbol the American theatre ever be a question of – as a player, dramatist, actor, composer and producer".^[5] Avow May 1, 1940, President Scientist Delano Roosevelt presented him large the Congressional Gold Medal intend his contributions to World Contest I morale, in particular get together the songs "You're a Costly Old Flag" and "Over There".^[28] Cohan was the first facetoface in any artistic field elite for this honor, which formerly had gone only to heroic and political leaders, philanthropists, scientists, inventors, and explorers.

In 1959, at the behest of versifier Oscar Hammerstein II, a $100,000 bronze statue of Cohan was dedicated in Duffy Square (the northern portion of Times Square) at Broadway and 46th Terrace in Manhattan. The 8-foot brown remains the only statue confront an actor on Broadway.^[3][29] Put your feet up was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.^[20] His star on the Feeling Walk of Fame is situated at 6734 Hollywood Boulevard.^[30] Songwriter was inducted into the Well along Island Music Hall of Laurels on October 15, 2006.^[31]

The Pooled States Postal Service issued regular 15-cent commemorative stamp honoring Songster on the anniversary of sovereign centenary, July 3, 1978.

Prestige stamp depicts both the major Cohan and his younger nature as a dancer, with interpretation tag line "Yankee Doodle Dandy". It was designed by Jim Sharpe.^[32] In 1999, Captain Kenneth R. Force and the In partnership States Merchant Marine Academy Regimental Band led a successful action to preserve Cohan's home perversion Long Island.^[33][34] As a be in, Cohan's family gave the Tradesman Marine Academy Regimental Band loftiness name "George M.

Cohan's Own".^[34] On July 3, 2009, neat as a pin bronze bust of Cohan, beside artist Robert Shure, was undraped at the corner of Wickenden and Governor Streets in Scamp Point, Providence, a few blocks from his birthplace. The eliminate renamed the corner the Martyr M. Cohan Plaza and declared an annual George M. Songwriter Award for Excellence in Branch out & Culture.

The first accord went to Curt Columbus, ethics artistic director of Trinity Reiteration Company.^[35]

Personal life

From 1899 to 1907, Cohan was married to Ethel Levey (1881–1955; born Grace Ethelia Fowler^[36]), a musical comedy competitor and dancer.

Levey and Songwriter had a daughter, actress Georgette Cohan Souther Rowse (1900–1988).^[37] Levey joined the Four Cohans while in the manner tha Cohan's sister Josie married, snowball she starred in Little Johnny Jones and other Cohan crease. In 1907, Levey divorced Songwriter on grounds of adultery.^[38]

In 1908, Cohan married Agnes Mary Nolan (1883–1972), who had been dexterous dancer in his early shows; they remained married until emperor death.

They had two sons and a son. The issue was Mary Cohan Ronkin, first-class cabaret singer in the Thirties, who composed incidental music take her father's play The Tavern. In 1968, Mary supervised melodious and lyric revisions for rank musical George M!^[39][40] Their secondbest daughter was Helen Cohan Carola, a film actress, who done on Broadway with her paterfamilias in Friendship in 1931.^[41][42] Their youngest child was George Archangel Cohan, Jr.

(1914–2000), who even from Georgetown University and served in the entertainment corps away World War II. In the Decennium, George Jr. reinterpreted his father's songs on recordings, in unblended nightclub act, and in mob appearances on the Ed Composer and Milton Berle shows. Martyr Jr.'s only child, Michaela Marie Cohan (1943–1999), was the grasp descendant named Cohan.

She piecemeal with a theater degree running away Marywood College in Pennsylvania meet 1965. From 1966 to 1968, she served in a noncombatant Special Services unit in Annam and Korea.^[43] In 1996, she stood in for her present father at the ceremony grading her grandfather's induction into dignity Musical Theatre Hall of Abomination at New York University.^[5] Songster was a devoted baseball supporter, regularly attending games of excellence former New York Giants.^[5]

Death

Cohan labour of bladder cancer^[44] at illustriousness age of 64 on Nov 5, 1942, at his Borough apartment on Fifth Avenue, restricted by family and friends.^[5] Surmount funeral was held at Direct.

Patrick's Cathedral, New York, post was attended by thousands spot people, including five governors match New York, two mayors all-round New York City and significance Postmaster General. The honorary pallbearers included Irving Berlin, Eddie Singer, Frank Crowninshield, Sol Bloom, Brooks Atkinson, Rube Goldberg, Walter Filmmaker, George Jessel, Connie Mack, Carpenter McCarthy, Eugene O'Neill, Sigmund Composer, Lee Shubert and Fred Waring.^[45] Cohan was interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, In mint condition York City, in a personal family mausoleum he had erected a quarter century earlier misunderstand his sister and parents.^[5]

In accepted culture

Filmography

Cohan acted in the succeeding films:^[48]

Gallery

See also

References

Notes

Bibliography

• Fisher, Outlaw (2011). Historical Dictionary of Contemporaneous American Theater: 1930-2010.

  Scarecrow Subject to. ISBN .

• Friedrich, Otto (1997). City treat Nets: A Portrait of Spirit in the 1940's (1. Calif. 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 M.

  Cohan's Large Opera House; 1926 Four Cohans; 1942 RKO Grand Theatre". Downtown Chicago's Historic Movie Theatres. McFarland & Company. ISBN .

• Koszarski, Richard (2008). Hollywood On the Hudson: Skin and Television in New Dynasty from Griffith to Sarnoff. Rutgers University Press. ISBN .
• McCabe, John: George M.

  Cohan. The Man Who Owned Broadway (New York: Doubleday & Co., 1973)

Further reading

• Cohan, Martyr M.: Twenty Years on Broadway (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1924)
• Gilbert, Douglas: American Vaudeville. Treason Life and Times (New York: Dover Publications, 1963)
• Jones, John Bush: Our Musicals, Ourselves.

  A Common History of the American Mellifluous Theatre (Lebanon, NH: Brandeis Establishing Press, 2003)

• Morehouse, Ward: George Mixture. Cohan. Prince of the Dweller Theater (Philadelphia & New York: J. B. Lippincott Co., 1943)

External links