George Michael Cohan (July , â€" November , ) was an American
entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer and
theatrical producer.Cohan began his career as a child, performing with
his parents and sister in a vaudeville act known as "The Four Cohans".
Beginning with Little Johnny Jones in , he wrote, composed, produced,
and appeared in more than three dozen Broadway musicals. Cohan wrote
more than shows and published more than songs during his lifetime,
including the standards "Over There", "Give My Regards to Broadway",
"The Yankee Doodle Boy" and "You're a Grand Old Flag". As a composer,
he was one of the early members of the American Society of Composers,
Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP). He displayed remarkable theatrical
longevity, appearing in films until the s, and continuing to perform
as a headline artist until .Known in the decade before World War I as
"the man who owned Broadway", he is considered the father of American
musical comedy. His life and music were depicted in the Oscar-winning
film Yankee Doodle Dandy () and the musical George M!. A statue of
Cohan in Times Square New York City commemorates his contributions to
American musical theatre.Cohan was born in in Providence, Rhode
Island, to Irish Catholic parents. A baptismal certificate from St.
Joseph's Roman Catholic Church (which gave the wrong first name for
his mother) indicated that he was born on July , but Cohan and his
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, first as a prop, learning
to dance and sing soon after he could walk and talk.[citation needed]
entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer and
theatrical producer.Cohan began his career as a child, performing with
his parents and sister in a vaudeville act known as "The Four Cohans".
Beginning with Little Johnny Jones in , he wrote, composed, produced,
and appeared in more than three dozen Broadway musicals. Cohan wrote
more than shows and published more than songs during his lifetime,
including the standards "Over There", "Give My Regards to Broadway",
"The Yankee Doodle Boy" and "You're a Grand Old Flag". As a composer,
he was one of the early members of the American Society of Composers,
Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP). He displayed remarkable theatrical
longevity, appearing in films until the s, and continuing to perform
as a headline artist until .Known in the decade before World War I as
"the man who owned Broadway", he is considered the father of American
musical comedy. His life and music were depicted in the Oscar-winning
film Yankee Doodle Dandy () and the musical George M!. A statue of
Cohan in Times Square New York City commemorates his contributions to
American musical theatre.Cohan was born in in Providence, Rhode
Island, to Irish Catholic parents. A baptismal certificate from St.
Joseph's Roman Catholic Church (which gave the wrong first name for
his mother) indicated that he was born on July , but Cohan and his
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, first as a prop, learning
to dance and sing soon after he could walk and talk.[citation needed]
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