The Essential Cohan

Today, I indulged myself to an all-too-infrequent treat: I sat down and watched James Cagney in Yankee Doodle Dandy. In this 1942 film, Cagney plays the part of George M. Cohan, the great Broadway actor, playwright, composer and producer from an era long since past. Many of the patriotic songs we grew up singing in grade school were penned by this giant of the stage, whose statue stands opposite Times Square.

I had hoped to pen something special to commemorate Independence Day. However, I found myself being the one needing a lift. As my leaky eyes will attest, there is no question that Cohan tapped into the essential American Spirit. May your celebration today be joyous, full of gratitude to God and to those who laid the foundation of our freedoms.


And be sure to click here, for the essential Cohan favorite, "Over There".

Update July 2012: Apparently Warner Bros. disapproves of developing a wider audience for classics such as these. The original YouTube account that I had linked to for the above videos was apparently terminated, meaning we can no longer enjoy these scenes online. I'm all for copyrights, mind you, but you'd think that a little common sense could be turned into a positive marketing strategy. Oh well, my apologies for the lack of videos. The blog post will remain, however.