Cohan, George M.

George Michael Cohan (1878 - 1942), known professionally as George M. Cohan, was a major American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer, and producer. In the decade before World War I, he was known as "the man who owned Broadway" and is considered the father of the American Musical Comedy, although the melodrama Seven Keys to Baldpate is certainly his most popular work and is considered one of the best plays of the early 20th Century.