George M. Cohan

He was not the amiable, gracious guy portrayed by Jimmy Cagney in the movie. If you have ever watched "Yankee Doodle Dandy" based on the life of George M. Cohan, you probable came away feeling Cohan must have been a felicitous gentleman: who would not like him? That question was emphatically answered during the Actors' Strike of 1919 when bitter contempt was directed toward Cohan by the majority of those who shared his profession, his fellow actors.

The strike was engendered by a long history of mistreatment of actors and the obstinate refusal of producers to recognize their union, the Actors Equity Association. Incredibly, the producer who was the most obdurate and vitriolic opponent of the actors' cause was George M. Cohan, a man who had spent his life on stage. Commenting on this paradox, Equity's first president, Francis Wilson, said, "It seems remarkable what with his theatrical lineage, he could have set his face against the fighting of long-standing abuses to the people of his profession. This attitude of his is still a matter of amazement."

Within "George M. Cohan: Yankee Doodle Union buster" discover Cohan's primary role in hindering negotiations and extending the strike. It was a part he willingly played and would defend until his death.