Who is Jerry Cohan in the motion picture, Yankee Doodle Dandy?

Jerry Cohan is a vaudeville player along with his wife, Nellie, and his children, George and Josie. Jerry loves the stage, and he makes no apology for moving his wife and children on the road with him. He makes sure that his family never goes hungry even when he has to forget his pride in order to do it.

Jerry influences George to become not only a famous, talented man, but also to become a good, moral man. Jerry tells his son that at the end of the day, every actor he's ever met would rather be a great guy than a great actor. Eventually, George comes to realize the truth of this statement and becomes a great man like his dad.