 James Cagney (qv) won an Oscar for playing Broadway producer  George M. Cohan (qv) in _Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)_ (qv). He  agreed to play Cohan again in this film on condition that he would  not be paid for the role. He did the role as a tribute to  Eddie Foy (qv), who had generously provided occasional meals for  struggling young actors, including Cagney, in 1920s New York.