George Michael Cohan, more commonly known as George M. Cohan, was a songwriter and Broadway producer. It s fitting that there are American flags stuck on his tomb.
George Michael Cohan
(b. 1878 Providence, Rhode Island – d. NYC 1942)
was a Catholic Irish-American entertainer, singer, songwriter, actor, dancer and producer. He was a giant in his day. Born to a showbusiness family, his parents were traveling Vaudeville performers. He spent his childhood traveling across the United States with his family as a member of the Four Cohans. He had little formal schooling. Eventually they became one of the highest paid acts on the Vaudeville circuit, earning $1,000 per week. With his family, he developed his trademark speech, which he recited when the audience demanded extra bows, 'Ladies and gentlemen, my mother thanks you, my father thanks you, my sister thanks you, and I thank you.'He sold his first songs to publishers in 1893. Cohan cast himself as an impertinent quipster with a heart of gold. Audiences loved him. He teamed up with Sam Harris, a gambler and boxing promoter, to form a producing team. His first Broadway hit (1904) was 'Little Johnny Jones,' in which he introduced his tunes 'Give My Regards To Broadway' and 'The Yankee Doodle Boy.' Cohan became an important Tin Pan Alley songwriter. Some of his hit songs include: '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 'Over There.' ohan was an egomaniac and a philanthropist, particularly in regards to 'show folk.' The latter is ironic because of his virulent anti-union attitude. In the 1919 Actors Equity strike, Cohan pledged $100,000 to the anti-union Fidelity League. He later became president of it. Equity members called it 'Fido' for short. Actors Equity never forgave Cohan. He never signed up as an Actor's Equity producer, but was given a special exemption. He wrote many hit plays: 'Forty-five Minutes from Broadway' (1905), 'The Talk of New York' (1907), 'Broadway Jones' (1912), 'The Song and Dance Man' (1923), 'American Born' (1925), 'Ah, Wilderness!' (1933), and 'I'd Rather Be Right' (1937). In 1925, he published his autobiography, 'Twenty Years on Broadway and the Years It Took to Get There.' In 1932, fearing his time had passed, he starred in his only musical film 'The Phantom President.' In 1942, the biographical musical film of Cohan's life, 'Yankee Doodle Dandy,' was released, with Jimmy Cagney starring as Cohan. It is how he is remembered today. Cohan died shortly after the film's release. He is buried in Woodlawn, Cemetery in the Bronx.
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1) Woodlawn Cemetery Map [46]
