 The family lived in Great Neck on King's Point Road next door to musician George M. Cohan.It was Cohan who encouraged young Werner to continue to play piano and explore his passion for music.Cohan describes the interplay of families as he states, "I'll hold to my dying day that Werner became a musician because his dad made him practice the piano all day to keep me awake, just to get even with me for playing all night and keeping him awake."