| Interment Location | Visited | |
|---|---|---|
| New York, NY | September 7, 2019 |
Fast Facts
Born: July 3, 1878 in Providence, Rhode Island
Spouses: Ethel Levey (m. 1899-1907); Agnes Mary Nolan Cohan (m. 1907-1942)
Died: November 5, 1942 in Manhattan, New York, New York
Cause of Death: Bladder Cancer
Age: 64
Interment: Woodlawn Cemetery, The Bronx, New York, New York
Despite popular myth, George M. Cohan was not born on Independence Day 1878. Rather, his birth occurred the previous day, July 3rd. Cohan entered this world in Providence, Rhode Island, on Wickenden Street in the city’s Fox Point neighborhood. One of the early scenes in the 1942 film Yankee Doodle Dandy perpetuates the narrative that Cohan was born on the Fourth of July, and although it correctly notes Providence as his birthplace, the landscape shown in the film is also inaccurate. The movie’s location scout was either unaware or indifferent to the fact that there are no mountains in the state of Rhode Island. As a native member of the Ocean State, I found this mistake jarring. On the other hand, I was satisfied by the memorial erected to Cohan on the corner of Wickenden Street and George Street. The sculpture was created by Robert Shure at the Skylight Studios and dedicated on July 3, 2009 — the 131st anniversary of Cohan’s birth. A plaque on the front hails Cohan as “Father of the American musical comedy.”
