George M. Cohan

American entertainer, composer and playwright

George M. Cohan was an American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer, and theatrical producer. He began his career as a child performer and went on to write over 50 Broadway musicals and 300 songs, including classics like “Over There” and “You’re a Grand Old Flag”. Cohan was known as “the man who owned Broadway” and his life and music were depicted in the Oscar-winning film Yankee Doodle Dandy.

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About the George M. Cohan

George Michael Cohanwas 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 1904, he wrote, composed, produced, and appeared in more than three dozen Broadway musicals. Cohan wrote more than 50 shows and published more than 300 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 Publishersand the 1968 musical George M!. A statue of Cohan in Times Square, New York City, commemorates his contributions to American musical theatre.

Frequently Asked Questions

George M. Cohan was born on July 3, 1878.

George M. Cohan was an American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer, and theatrical producer.

George M. Cohan began his career as a child, performing with his parents and sister in a vaudeville act known as ‘The Four Cohans’.

George M. Cohan wrote and composed standards such as ‘Over There’, ‘Give My Regards to Broadway’, ‘The Yankee Doodle Boy’, and ‘You’re a Grand Old Flag’.

George M. Cohan’s life and music were depicted in the Oscar-winning film ‘Yankee Doodle Dandy’ (1942) and the 1968 musical ‘George M!’.

A statue of George M. Cohan in Times Square, New York City, commemorates his contributions to American musical theatre.

George M. Cohan was known in the decade before World War I as ‘the man who owned Broadway’.