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29-582: The show was Cohan's first full-length musical. A famous American jockey, Tod Sloan , had gone to England in 1903 to ride in the Derby for King Edward VII of England. This gave Cohan the idea for the story. The musical is patriotic in tone and contains a number of quips aimed at European targets, such as, "You think I'd marry an heiress and live off her money? What do you take me for? An Englishman?" and, "French pastry ain't worth 30¢ compared to American apple pie." In Little Johnny Jones Cohan introduced some of

58-576: A book on Sloan, but it too was never published because of Markham's own problems. In 1907, Sloan was married to the stage actress Julia Sanderson . He claimed at the time of the marriage that he had given up racing and gambling, but in the words of his obituary, "neither his decision nor his marriage lasted very long"; Sloan and Sanderson were divorced in 1913. In 1920, he married Elizabeth Saxon Malone, also an actress; they were divorced in 1927, with Elizabeth accusing him of "mental cruelty and habitual intemperance". He had one daughter, Ann Giroux (b. 1922);

87-607: A drunkard, searches for evidence to clear Johnny's name and finds out that it was Anstey that framed Jones. Jones tells his friends who are returning to America, "Give My Regards to Broadway," but he stays in London to try to regain his reputation. Jones returns to America with his name cleared, eager to propose marriage to Goldie, but he finds that Anstey has kidnapped her. He and his detective search for her in San Francisco's Chinatown, eventually finding her. Little Johnny Jones

116-790: A jockey. By 1886, Sloan was working at Latonia Race Track in Covington, Kentucky , where trainer Sam Hildreth gave him the opportunity to ride one of his horses. Sloan's performance was not impressive, and his horse finished in the back of the pack. However, he persisted and a few years later was riding at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans , and on March 6, 1889, scored his first win there. In 1893, Sloan went to race in northern California where he enjoyed considerable success. In 1896 he moved to New York City after being hired by "Pittsburgh Phil" , where within

145-531: A music publisher in New York City . Magidson then moved to Hollywood, Los Angeles, California in 1929 while under contract to Warner Bros. to write music for films. In 1934, he won the first Academy Award for Best Original Song along with Con Conrad for his lyrics to " The Continental ", used in The Gay Divorcee (1934) starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers . Magidson also co-wrote

174-463: A number of important races including the 1899 1,000 Guineas aboard Sibola and in 1900 the Ascot Gold Cup riding Merman for owner, Lily Langtry . The prestigious Derby was a race that Sloan always felt he would have won, had it not been for a terrible tragedy. In the 1899 race, his horse Holocauste took the early lead, and rounding Tattenham Corner Holocauste and Flying Fox , winner of

203-483: A personal valet and a trunk full of clothes. His reputation was such that he was the "Yankee Doodle" in the George M. Cohan Broadway musical Little Johnny Jones and the basis for Ernest Hemingway 's short story My Old Man . Although Sloan's racing career was spectacular, it was relatively short, ending by 1901 under a cloud of suspicion that he had been betting on races in which he had competed. Advised by

232-675: A short time he was the dominant rider in the thoroughbred racing circuit on the East Coast. Despite his many career victories, Sloan said that Hamburg (1895–1915) was the only great horse he ever rode. Sloan took over as jockey for Hamburg when the horse's career was near its end after the three-year-old had been soundly defeated in the Belmont Stakes . Ridden by Sloan, the horse won the Lawrence Realization , easily defeating Kentucky Derby winner Plaudit , then scored

261-656: A small bistro into what became the famous Harry's New York Bar (located at 5 rue Daunou between the Avenue de l'Opéra and the Rue de la Paix ). Financial problems from overspending on a lavish lifestyle forced Sloan to sell the bar and return to the U.S. His money gone, in 1920 he tried acting in motion pictures , but by then his name no longer had the star value to carry him. Married and divorced twice, Sloan died of cirrhosis in 1933, aged 59, in Los Angeles, California , and

290-401: The 2,000 Guineas , were racing head-to-head in front of the rest of the field. At that point in the race Sloan said he was still holding back on the horse, in preparation for a full-out drive down the straight , when his horse stopped abruptly and collapsed to the ground with a shattered pastern . Holocauste was put down while Flying Fox went on to win the race. Later that year Flying Fox won

319-599: The Liberty Theatre on November 7, 1904. The first Broadway run of only 52 performances was followed by tours, during which some rewrites were made. One of these was a new song Life's a Funny Proposition After All , added to the finale in May 1905. Little Johnny Jones was revived twice in 1905 at the New York Theatre , playing successfully for over 200 performances through most of that year, and touring until

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348-524: The Newmarket Racecourse . It was Sloan who popularized the forward seat style of riding, or the "monkey crouch" as the British called it, when he began riding there in 1897. Initially mocked, his style revolutionized the sport worldwide. (Although he did not invent it. The "American Seat" of short stirrups and crouching over the horse's neck and withers was used in the colonies as far back as

377-467: The St. Leger to become the 1899 Triple Crown Champion . In 1900, Edward , Prince of Wales offered Sloan the job to ride for his stable in the 1901 racing season. Sloan's success on the racetrack, combined with a flamboyant lifestyle filled with beautiful women, made him one of the first to become a major international celebrity in the sport. He hung out with the likes of Diamond Jim Brady and traveled with

406-561: The 1942 film, Yankee Doodle Dandy . David Cassidy starred in a touring revival in 1981. After previewing at Connecticut's Goodspeed Opera House and touring, a 1982 revival, adapted by Alfred Uhry and starring Donny Osmond in the lead closed at the Alvin Theatre after only one performance. An adaptation of the show was produced by the Light Opera of Manhattan in the late 1980s, called Give My Regards to Broadway and

435-608: The British Jockey Club that they would not renew his license, he never rode for the Prince of Wales. The ban in Britain was maintained by American racing authorities, and Sloan's jockey career came to an end. After Sloan left racing, Oscar Hammerstein arranged for him to star in a one-man show in a New York vaudeville theatre, but it did not last. He eventually went to Paris , France , where in 1911 he converted

464-581: The English Derby. Jones falls in love with Goldie Gates, a San Francisco copper heiress, who follows him to Britain, disguising herself as a man to discover if Jones really loves her. Anthony Anstey, an American who runs a Chinese gambling establishment in San Francisco , offers Jones a bribe to lose the race deliberately, but he refuses. After Jones loses, Anstey spreads rumors that he threw the race intentionally. Jones' detective, pretending to be

493-927: The Parsons Theatre in Hartford, Connecticut on October 10, 1904, moving to the Shubert Hyperion Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut three days later. It opened at the Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia on October 17, 1904 for a two-week engagement, then finished its tryout period at the Grand Opera House in Wilmington, Delaware starting October 31, 1904. Little Johnny Jones opened on Broadway at

522-554: The dance steps and comedy features for which he would become famous. This musical is credited as the first American musical, albeit with several rivals to the title such as The Black Crook and Evangeline . For clarity, only the principal speaking parts are listed. Lead Supporting Featured Settings: Act I - Courtyard of Cecil Hotel, London; Act II - American Line dock at Southampton; Act III - Chinatown, San Francisco A brash, patriotic American jockey, Johnny Jones, goes to England to ride his horse, Yankee Doodle, in

551-956: The lyrics to the 1937 Allie Wrubel song " Gone with the Wind " (no connection to the novel of the same name nor used in the 1939 film). Magidson received Oscar nominations for the songs, "Say a Prayer for the Boys Over There" from the film Hers to Hold (1943), and "I'll Buy That Dream" from the film Sing Your Way Home (1945). He first wrote lyrics for The Show of Shows (1929), and many more films, including: No, No, Nanette (1930), Gift of Gab (1934), The Gay Divorcee (1934), Here's to Romance (1935), George White's 1935 Scandals (1935), King Solomon of Broadway (1935), Miss Pacific Fleet (1935), The Great Ziegfeld (1936), Hats Off (1936), I'd Give My Life (1936), Radio City Revels (1938), and Sing Your Way Home (1945). Magidson had his last hits in 1951, including

580-523: The most impressive win of his career in the 2¼-mile American Brighton Cup. Such were Sloan's abilities that in 1896 he won nearly 30% of all his races, increased it to 37% in 1897, and upped it to an astonishing 46% in 1898. Charles F. Dwyer, a close friend and son of prominent racehorse owner Mike Dwyer , was part of a syndicate that backed Sloan's mounts when he rode in England . Racing there on September 30, 1898, Sloan rode five consecutive winners at

609-475: The next Broadway revival in 1907 for a short run at the Academy of Music. The production was mounted with a huge cast. Little Johnny Jones was adapted twice for the motion pictures, first as a silent film released in 1923 by Warner Bros. First National followed this in 1929 with an early talkie musical version directed by Mervyn LeRoy , who played a bit part in the 1923 film. Eddie Buzzell , who co-wrote

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638-597: The quarter mile dashes along tracks cut in the wilderness as well as being the preferred riding style of the Native Americans . Not only that, but two years before Sloan rode in England, the African American jockey, Willie Simms had ridden exactly that way taking England's Crawfurd Plate (sic) at Newmarket against England's finest bolt-upright riders. ) Returning to England the following year he won

667-439: The screenplay with Adelaide Heilbron, played the title role. Only two of Cohan's original songs survived the transition to the screen ("Give My Regards To Broadway" and "Yankee Doodle Boy"). The five other tunes in the film's score were contributed by various other songwriters, mainly Herb Magidson and Michael H. Cleary . James Cagney appeared in a play-within-a-play staging of numbers and dances from Little Johnny Jones in

696-542: The son of a Union Army soldier. He was a tiny and frail child, and after his mother died when he was five, his father sent him to live with a nearby family. He was still a young boy when he struck out on his own, taking jobs in the nearby gas and oil fields. For a time he ended up working at a horse racing stable in St. Louis , but later in Kansas City was employed by a thoroughbred horse trainer who encouraged him to take advantage of his diminutive stature and become

725-659: The two were estranged. The name of Tod Sloan left a mark on the English language . His name was already famous in London because he rode many winners in England where his first name was adopted into the rhyming slang used by the Cockneys of the East end of London to mean 'own' as in 'on his own' (from Tod Sl'oan'). Hence, someone 'on his tod' is alone. Herb Magidson Herbert A. Magidson (January 7, 1906 – January 2, 1986)

754-603: Was an American popular lyricist . His work was used in over 23 films and four Broadway revues. He won the first Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1934. Magidson was born and raised in Braddock, Pennsylvania . He had an early interest in the art of magic and was a member of the Pittsburgh Association of Magicians in his youth. He attended the University of Pittsburgh and then worked briefly for

783-746: Was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale . Ultimately, British racing historians restored his reputation, as his betting on races had been a dubious charge at best. He was posthumously inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1955. Sloan told his life story in a book titled " Tod Sloan by Himself " that was published in 1915 of which 200 were signed by Sloan and are highly sought after. Following his death, Beryl Markham received an advance from Houghton Mifflin to write

812-406: Was produced by Sam H. Harris and directed by George M. Cohan , who also performed in it. Other members of The Four Cohans in the cast were his parents, and his then wife Ethel Levey , who had replaced Cohan's sister Josie in the family act. Cast lists were not a usual feature of theater reviews in 1904-1905, so the following is dependent on a few exceptions. The musical was first tried out at

841-471: Was successful for that company. Tod Sloan (jockey) International race wins: 1,000 Guineas (1899) Ascot Gold Cup (1900) James Forman "Tod" Sloan (August 10, 1874 - December 21, 1933) was an American thoroughbred horse racing jockey . He was elected to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1955. James Forman Sloan was born in Bunker Hill , Indiana , near Kokomo ,

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