Topic: BROADWAY
3 JULY 1878 - Birth of George M. Cohan, American playwright, songwriter, producer for Broadway.
Cohan's baptismal certificate, which is his only written birth record, verifies that he was born in Providence, Rhode Island on July 3rd, 1878. However, Cohan's family unfailingly insisted that George and his country shared birthdays on the 4th. Known as "the man who owned Broadway" in the decade before World War I, he is considered the father of American musical comedy.Cohan had his first big Broadway hit in 1904 with the show Little Johnny Jones, which introduced his tunes "Give My Regards to Broadway" and "The Yankee Doodle Boy". Cohan became one of the leading Tin Pan Alley songwriters, publishing upwards of 1500 original songs, noted for their catchy melodies and clever lyrics. His other major hit songs included "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", and the popular war song, "Over There". More Wiki Bio | ON THE WEB | IMAGES | SHOP George M Cohan