George M. Cohan

George Michael Cohan (July 3, 1878 – November 5, 1942) 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 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 Publishers (ASCAP). He displayed remarkable theatrical longevity, appearing in films until the 1930s and continuing to perform as a headline artist until 1940.
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 (1942) and the 1968 musical George M! A statue of Cohan in Times Square, New York City commemorates his contributions to American musical theatre.
==Links to Peel==
Peel played Cohan's track, 'The Small Town Gal', as part of the Peelenium 1908. No other tracks from the artist seem to have been played by Peel according to available tracklistings on this site, although it is possible that there may be cover versions of his many hit songs.
Cohan's 1904 hit song "Give My Regards To Broadway" inspired Paul McCartney to name his 1984 film musical Give My Regards To Broad Street.
==Shows Played==
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*02 June 1999: The Small Town Gal (Peelenium 1908)
==External Links==
*Wikipedia
*Discogs
Category:Artists
Category:Actors