The Return of Cohan
A short while back I posted footage here of the legendary George M. Cohan singing one of his songs, “Over There.” I mentioned at the time that it might be the only existent footage of him. But it turns out not to be the case, which isn’t terribly surprising. Reader Brian McNicholl mentioned a couple other pieces of film, including one for which he provided a link.
This is three minutes of film centering around the Rodgers & Hart musical, I’d Rather Be Right, for which Cohan made his Broadway return in the satire after a long retirement, playing the President of the United States, loosely patterned after Franklin Roosevelt. It wasn’t in one of his own shows, though, and apparently was very prickly about these young songwriters, who he kept referring to derisively as “Gilbert and Sullivan.”
The footage begins with an interview, and then includes a monologue that Cohan delivers. No singing alas, but any footage is a treat to see.
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