This week, we are in Manhattan’s famed Duffy Square between Broadway and Seventh Avenue for “The Yankee Doodle Birthday Party.” The décor centerpiece is the bronze statue of George M. Cohan dancing with top hat and cane created by sculptor, Georg John Lober, and lifted onto a light gray granite plinth September 11, 1959.
Steps away from our party are tourists and New Yorkers eagerly searching for deals at the TKTS theater tickets booth. A tap-dancing busker with stage-worthy pipes belts out these George M. Cohan lyrics: “Give my regards to Broadway, remember me to Herald Square. Tell all the gang at 42nd Street, that I will soon be there.”
JOIN US…
You feel the joy as we near the red, white and blue party décor and the talented busker comes over to share this rousing song-and-dance number: “I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy, a Yankee Doodle, do or die. A real live nephew of my Uncle Sam born on the Fourth of July. I’ve got a Yankee Doodle sweetheart. She’s my Yankee Doodle joy…I am the Yankee Doodle boy!” Now, HOORAY FOR THE JOY-GIVERS! (Note: The comments attributed to these famous joy-givers come from words they have written or said.)
PLEASE GIVE A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR THESE AMERICAN JOY-GIVERS CELEBRATING A BIRTHDAY THIS WEEK:
June 26—NICK OFFERMAN is a professional woodworker, comedian, writer and actor. He is best known for his role as Ron Swanson in the NBC television sitcom, “Parks and Recreation” for which he won the Television Critics Association Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy. He has also starred in the FX black comedy crime drama, “Fargo” and co-hosted the NBC reality competition series, “Making It,” with Amy Poehler.
June 27—VERA WANG is an American fashion designer whose parents are of Chinese descent. She began her work in fashion after years of competitive ice skating but failing to make the Olympics. She is best known for her wedding gown collection.
June 28—MEL BROOKS (born Melvin Kaminsky) is a comedian, actor and filmmaker. He is known as a creator of mega-popular, broad film farces and comedic parodies. He began his career as a television writer for Sid Caesar’s “Your Show of Shows.” Brooks’ greatest hit films are: “The Producers, “Blazing Saddles,” “Young Frankenstein,” “High Anxiety,” “Spaceballs” and “History of the World, Part 1.” He is a rare EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) winner and has received a Kennedy Center Honor, as well as a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
June 29—DAVID ALAN GRIER is an actor and comedian who proudly hails from Detroit. He is best known for his sketch comedy on the television variety show, “In Living Color.” He also WOW-ed as Bernard on “Damon,” as David Bellows on “Life with Bonnie,” as “Joe Carmichael on “The Carmichael Show” and as Hal on “A Series of Unfortunate Events.” He is included in Comedy Central’s roster of the “100 Greatest Stand-Ups.”
June 30—ESTEE LAUDER was the only woman on “Time Magazine’s” list of the “20 Most Influential Business Geniuses.” She started her eponymous cosmetics company with her husband, Joseph Lauter (later Lauder) in their kitchen in Queens, New York City.
July 1—LARRY DAVID is a humorist, writer, actor, director and television producer. He, along with Jerry Seinfeld, created the hit television comedy, “Seinfeld.” David was the head writer and executive producer for the first seven seasons. Larry David won even greater acclaim for creating and starring in “Curb Your Enthusiasm” which is based on a semi-fictionalized version of himself. He has received 27 Primetime Emmy Award nominations, along with some wins. His fellow comedians and comedy insiders ranked him as “23rd greatest comedy star (aka JOY-GIVER) ever” in a British poll to select “The Comedians’ Comedian.”
July 2—GEORGE M. COHAN is considered the “father of American musical comedy.” The entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer and theatrical producer was known as “the man who owned Broadway” in the years prior to WWI. He wrote, composed, produced and appeared in more than three dozen Broadway musicals. “George M” published 300 songs including these standards: “Give My Regards to Broadway,” “You’re a Grand, Old Flag” and “The Yankee Doodle Boy.” His Oscar-winning biopic is “Yankee Doodle Dandy.”
COMMENTS OVERHEARD AT “THE YANKEE DOODLE BIRTHDAY PARTY:”
“I awaken. I consume oxygen, then bacon, eggs and black coffee, then my wife, then bacon.”—Nick Offerman
“Don’t be afraid to take time to learn. It’s good to work for other people. I worked for others for 20 years. They paid me to learn.”—Vera Wang
“I’m accused of vulgarity. I say that’s bullsh*t.”—Mel Brooks
“I’ve tried actively to define myself and redefine myself, and not be pigeonholed.”—David Alan Grier
“Beauty is an attitude; there’s no secret.”—Estee Lauder
“Being Larry David on ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ was the best thing to happen to Larry David in life.”—Larry David
“Ev’ry heart beats true ‘neath the Red, White and Blue.”—George M. Cohan
“Always maintain the attitude of a student. If you think you’re done learning, bitterness sets in, but if you have more to achieve every day, in any arena, that makes each morning’s awakening full of potential and cheery portent.”—Nick Offerman
“Fashion offers no greater challenge than finding what works for night without looking like you are wearing a costume.”—Vera Wang
“Hope for the best. Expect the worst. Life is a play. We’re unrehearsed.”—Mel Brooks
“Be talented enough to make it and stupid enough to keep trying.”—David Alan Grier
“I never dreamed about success, I worked for it.”—Estee Lauder
“Give a guy a girlfriend and a great job and he doesn’t need therapy.”—Larry David
“Whatever you do kid, always serve it with a little dressing.”—George M. Cohan
“Don’t tell ‘em—SHOW ‘em.”—George M. Cohan
“Every time you take a deep breath and maintain your temper, your power increases.”—Nick Offerman
“When you love doing something, every day goes by in 10 minutes.”—Vera Wang
“Humor is just another defense against the universe.”—Mel Brooks
“I, myself, identify as a heathen.”—David Alan Grier
“Don’t let anyone try to tell you who you are. Define yourself.”—David Alan Grier
“Be strong. Be confident. Be the star of your own life.”—Estee Lauder
“A date is an experience you have with another person that makes you appreciate being alone.”—Larry David
“I don’t care what you say about me, as long as you say something about me, and as long as you spell my name right.”—George M. Cohan
“Love one another, make something with your hands and exalt the farmer.”—Nick Offerman
“I am not the sort of woman who would wear high heels with a bathing suit. Let’s get that straight right now.”—Vera Wang
“Life literally abounds in comedy if you just look around you.”—Mel Brooks
“Serenity is pleasant, but it lacks the ecstasy of achievement.”—Estee Lauder
“I’m trying to elevate small talk to medium talk.”—Larry David
“Never half-ass two things. Whole-ass one thing.”—Nick Offerman
“Success isn’t about the end result; it’s about what you learn along the way.”—Vera Wang
“Pretty good. Pretttty, pretttttty, prettttygood.”—Larry David
PARTY MENU FOR “THE YANKEE DOODLE BIRTHDAY PARTY:”
APPETIZER—Nick Offerman Wood-Smoked Bacon Explosion (insanelygoodrecipe.com)
SALAD/SOUP—Larry David “Seinfeld” Mango Salad (allrecipes.com)
ENTRÉE—Mel Brooks Blazing Saddleback BBQ Chicken (saddlebackbbq.com)
SIDE DISH—George M. Cohan Yankee Noodle Dandy (see below)
BREAD—Estee Lauder Fragrant Orange Bread (monpetitfour.com)
BEVERAGE—David Alan Grier “Dirty Detroit” Quarantini’s (detroitnews.com)
DESSERT—Vera Wang Wedding Cookies (kingarthurbaking.com)
ONE TO GROW ON—The Mel Brooks Collection (Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, Silent Movie/Robin Hood: Men in Tights/To Be or Not To Be/History of the World, Part 1/The Twelve Chairs/High Anxiety) is available for only $39.97 with FREE SHIPPING on Amazon.com. There are only six in stock—at least according to Amazon. This would be a wonderful way to spend the entire July 4, VERY AMERICAN, holiday weekend.
“The Yankee Doodle Birthday Party” concludes with a fireworks show and the talented Broadway busker comes back to share these George M. Cohan rousing words: “You’re a grand, old flag, you’re a high-flying flag, and forever in peace may you wave. You’re the emblem of, the land I love, the home of the free and the brave…”
Mr. Cohan steps off his granite stage on Broadway to speak for all the party-going celebrants, saying, “Ladies and gentleman, our mothers thank you, our fathers thank you, our sisters thank you, our brothers thank you…and we thank you.”
GEORGE M. COHAN YANKEE NOODLE DANDY
(source: cooks.com)
INGREDIENTS
2 cups medium egg noodles
½ cup chopped onion
½ cup chopped green pepper
2 tablespoons butter
1 (12 ounce) can whole corn, drained
1 (16 ounce) can green beans, drained
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (16 ounce) can whole tomatoes, coarsely chopped
½ cup sliced ripe olives
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
DIRECTIONS
Cook noodles, rinse and drain. Saute’ onion and green pepper in butter. Combine noodles, sauteed mixture and all ingredients except Parmesan cheese in 2-quart casserole dish. Sprinkle with cheese and bake at 375F for 45 minutes.
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