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George M. Cohan: The Man Who Owned Broadway
George M Cohan The Man Who Owned Broadway Author:John McCabe "I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy, a Yankee Doodle do or die. A real live nephew of my Uncle Sam's born on the fourth of July." — These words, written by George M. Cohan for Little Johnny Jones in 1904, might sum up both the author's pride in his heritage and the keystone of his star spangled success. Bright... more », brash, wise-cracking and intensely patriotic, Cohan was the most important man in the American theater for many years. From 1901 through 1940, he produced 80 Broadway shows -- many of which he wrote himself -- during a period that spanned some of this country's most ebullient years.
Much more than just the "song and dance man" that he loved to call himself, George M. Cohan is given additional perspective in these pages through underlining of his ability as an actor (in Ah, Wilderness! and I'd Rather Be Right), as a playwright (Seven Keys to Baldpate and The Tavern) and as a director (Cohan to Tracy, "Spencer, you have to act less.") Written with warmth, humor and a wealth of detail, this is an affectionate look at the American theater as it was epitomized by one unique and shining star.« less