Known for writing songs with "catchy tunes and clever lyrics" George was also a rebel.
From here:
In 1914, Cohan became one of the founding members of ASCAP. Although Cohan was known as extremely generous to his fellow actors in need, in 1919, he unsuccessfully opposed a historic strike by Actors' Equity Association, for which many in the theatrical professions never forgave him. Cohan opposed the strike because in addition to being an actor in his productions, he was also the producer of the musical that set the terms and conditions of the actors' employment. During the strike, he donated $100,000 to finance the Actors' Retirement Fund in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. After Actors' Equity was recognized, Cohan refused to join the union as an actor, which hampered his ability to appear in his own productions. Cohan sought a waiver from Equity allowing him to act in any theatrical production. In 1930, Cohan sued the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, winning a ruling that allowed the deduction, for federal income tax purposes, of business travel and entertainment expenses.
In the life of a travelling singer, that's no small thing. To paraphrase George "My wife thanks you, my children thank you and I thank you."
Here is that great Caruso recording:
Thank you George M. Cohan for making being an opera singer financially possible. But most importantly, thank you to all those who have served in the Armed Forces. Your sacrifice is great.
2 comments:
Well said. Thank you, George, and thank you, servicemen and women.
Post a Comment