Mary Cohan (1909–1983), aka Mary Cohan Ronkin, was an American Broadway composer and lyricist, and the middle daughter of

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

and Broadway legend

George M. Cohan George Michael Cohan (July 3, 1878November 5, 1942) was an American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer and theatrical producer. Cohan began his career as a child, performing with his parents and sister in a vaudev ...

. George's mother's middle name was Mary, and it is believed that his daughter was named after her. (Mary's mother was named Agnes Mary Nolan.) Following a brief career as a cabaret singer, Mary Cohan established herself as a Broadway talent in 1930, when she composed a score for her father's non-musical play ''The Tavern''. Working with writers John Pascal, Francine Pascal, and Michael Stewart, Mary Cohan supervised the musical and lyrical revisions of her father's songs for the hit 1968 Broadway musical, '' George M!''.

Personal life

Like most of the Cohans, Mary was guarded about her private life. She married Neil Litt, an orchestra leader, in September 1927; they had one daughter; they were divorced in 1936. In 1940, she shocked her family by eloping with accordion player George Ronkin (aka Ranken), with whom she had three children. They remained married until Ronkin's death in 1967. In 1970, Mary married Eugene O. Fosdick, a native of Liberty, IN, in Florida. Fosdick died in 1976; Mary is not listed as a survivor in his various obituaries, implying they, too, divorced. Not much more is known about her personal life. What is known is that Mary Cohan was adored by her larger-than-life father. The song "Mary's a Grand Old Name," written by George M. Cohan for the Broadway musical ''Only 45 Minutes from Broadway'' and featured in the 1942 film ''

Yankee Doodle Dandy ''Yankee Doodle Dandy'' is a 1942 American biographical musical film about George M. Cohan, known as "The Man Who Owned Broadway". It stars James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, and Richard Whorf, and features Irene Manning, George Tobias, Ro ...

'', was reportedly written by Cohan for his daughter, Mary.''Yankee Doodle Dandy (Two-Disc Special Edition)''
narrated by

Rudy Behlmer Rudy or Rudi is a masculine given name, sometimes short for Rudolf, Rudolph, Rawad, Rudra, Ruairidh, or variations thereof, a nickname and a surname which may refer to: People Given name or nickname *Rudolf Rudy Andeweg (born 1952), Dutch polit ...

, Warner Home Video, 2003 Mary Cohan Ronkin died in 1983.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cohan, Mary American musical theatre composers American musical theatre lyricists 1909 births 1983 deaths Place of birth missing Place of death missing Mary 20th-century American composers