Brady, Gabriel M.

George M. Cohan (1878-1942) was a composer, stage performer, playwright, director, and producer, an enormously successful figure in the world of the New York stage during his heyday in the early twentieth century.

Best known for such songs as "Give My Regards to Broadway," "Over There," and "Yankee Doodle Dandy," George Michael Cohan was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on July 4, 1878, and first came to prominence as a child performer with his parents and sister in The Four Cohans. By 1905, Cohan was writing and directing his own starring vehicles, notably LITTLE JOHNNY JONES and 45 MINUTES FROM BROADWAY. Later, in partnership with Sam H. Harris, Cohan produced a number of successful Broadway shows. Changing public tastes had an impact on Cohan's later career, but he scored sucesses acting in other playwright's works, including the lead role in Eugene O'Neill's AH, WILDERNESS! in 1933. Shortly before his death in 1942, Cohan was celebrated in the Warner Brothers' biographical film tribute YANKEE DOODLE DANDY, in which he was portrayed by James Cagney.