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Georgette Cohan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Georgette Cohan
A young white woman with short dark hair, wearing a stylized laurel wreath and a low-cut satiny gown
Georgette Cohan, photographed by Nickolas Muray, from a 1920 issue of Harper's Bazaar
Born
Georgia Ethelia Cohan

August 26, 1900
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
DiedOctober 26, 1988
Other namesGeorgette Souther, Georgette Rowse
OccupationActress
Parent(s)George M. Cohan, Ethel Levey
RelativesMary Cohan Ronkin (half-sister), Helen Cohan Carola (half-sister)

Georgia Ethelia Cohan Southern Rowse (August 26, 1900 – October 26, 1988), known as Georgette Cohan, was an American actress, daughter of George M. Cohan and Ethel Levey. She played Peter Pan in London in 1919, and appeared in several Broadway productions.

Early life

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Georgette Cohan was the daughter of entertainers George M. Cohan and Ethel Levey.[1][2] Her parents divorced in 1907, and both remarried. Her stepfather was aviator Claude Grahame-White,[3] and her younger half-sisters were singer Mary Cohan and actress Helen Cohan. She was raised mainly in England[4] and attended a boarding school in France.[5] The National Portrait Gallery has three photos of her taken by Bassano in 1913, two of them with her mother.[6]

Career

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Cohan started her stage career in England.[7][8] She starred as Peter[9] in a Christmastime revival of Peter Pan at the New Theatre in 1919.[10][11][12] She also appeared with Leslie Howard in A. A. Milne's Mr. Pim Passes By, in Manchester in 1919[13] and in London in 1920.[14][15] Her Broadway credits included a starring role in Madeleine and the Movies (1922), written by her father,[16][17] and roles in Diplomacy (1928),[18] and The Rivals (1930).[1][19] "No all-star revival cast would be complete without the name of Georgette Cohan", commented one reporter in 1929.[20]

Personal life

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Cohan married twice.[21] Her first husband was businessman J. William Souther; they eloped in 1921, and he died from a ruptured appendix in 1925.[22] Her second husband was widowed manufacturer William Hamilton Rowse; they married in 1926, and divorced in 1927.[23][24][25] She died in 1988, aged 88 years. Her gravesite is in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx. There is a collection of her photographs and memorabilia in the New York Public Library's Billy Rose Theatre Division.[26]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Georgette Cohan Here May 16 Discusses Her Father's Art". Intelligencer Journal. 1930-04-29. p. 4. Retrieved 2022-08-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Georgette Cohan and her Father Come to Buffalo". The Buffalo Enquirer. 1920-03-17. p. 2. Retrieved 2022-08-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Georgette Cohan's Husband, J. W. Souther, Dies While Wife is in New York Hospital". The Yonkers Herald. 1925-01-13. p. 4. Retrieved 2022-08-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Georgette Cohan in Marriage Surprise; Daughter of George M. Cohan and J. William Souther Wed by Justice Near Palm Beach". The New York Times. 1921-02-25. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
  5. ^ "Miss Georgette Cohan Home with Foreign Air and Fame". New York Herald. 1920-03-28. p. 61. Retrieved 2022-08-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Georgette Cohan". National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
  7. ^ "New Theatres and Interesting Theatre Folk". Theatre Magazine. 32: 361. December 1920.
  8. ^ Walter, Margaret (1920-02-14). "Georgette Cohan Makes Hit with London Theatregoers". The Akron Beacon Journal. p. 11. Retrieved 2022-08-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Hanson, Bruce K. (2011-08-10). Peter Pan on Stage and Screen, 1904-2010, 2d ed. McFarland. p. 147. ISBN 978-0-7864-8619-9.
  10. ^ "The New Peter Pan". The Tatler. 74 (965): cover illustration. December 24, 1919.
  11. ^ "Wendy and Peter at the New" The Tatler 74 (December 31, 1919): 433.
  12. ^ Wearing, J. P. (2013-12-19). The London Stage 1910-1919: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-9300-9.
  13. ^ "Pan's Pipings". Pan. 1: 23. December 27, 1919.
  14. ^ "New Theatre". Arts Gazette. 2: 592–593. January 10, 1920.
  15. ^ Wearing, J. P. (2014-03-27). The London Stage 1920-1929: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-8108-9302-3.
  16. ^ "A Yankee Doodle Dandy". Judge. 82: 15. May 20, 1922.
  17. ^ Fisher, James; Londré, Felicia Hardison (2017-11-22). Historical Dictionary of American Theater: Modernism. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 424–425. ISBN 978-1-5381-0786-7.
  18. ^ Bahmer, W. J. (1928-03-07). "Clean Stage Will Survive". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 8. Retrieved 2022-08-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Georgette Cohan Back on the Coast". The Evening Sun. 1934-12-04. p. 20. Retrieved 2022-08-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "Georgette Cohan WIll be Star of New Play". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 1929-03-24. p. 85. Retrieved 2022-08-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ Lewis, Bob (1976-11-11). "Georgette M. Cohen indeed a 'Yankee Doodle Dandy'". Reno Gazette-Journal. p. 11. Retrieved 2022-08-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "Georgette Cohan's Husband Dies". Daily News. 1925-01-13. p. 99. Retrieved 2022-08-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ "Daughter's Fiance 'Great Guy', Exclaims George M. Cohan". The Times-Tribune. 1925-10-09. p. 30. Retrieved 2022-08-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ^ "Mrs. Georgette Cohan Souther to Wed Importer". Chicago Tribune. 1926-02-27. p. 10. Retrieved 2022-08-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ^ "On Daughter's Elopement with Orchestra Leader". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 1927-09-01. p. 2. Retrieved 2022-08-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ^ "Georgette Cohan photographs and memorabilia". New York Public Library, Billy Rose Theatre Collection. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
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