He continued to publish sheet music without Schwartz and in 1917 published the enormously successful "Over There" for George M. Cohan; he eventually sold the publishing rights to the song to Leo Feist for $25,000, the most ever paid for a song at the time. On the strength of his Broadway comedy writing credentials, he was recruited by Mack Sennett as a writer for the Keystone Film Company. He was among the first board members (1914–1925) of the American Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers (ASCAP).