Sam Levene

Sam Levene

Born: August 28, 1905
Died: December 28, 1980
in Šack, Belarus
Sam Levene was a Broadway, film, radio and television actor who in a career spanning 5 decades created some of the most legendary comedic roles in American theatrical history. Levene appeared in a staggering list of 38 Broadway productions, 33 of which were the original Broadway productions, including Nathan Detroit, the craps-shooter extraordinaire, in the 1950 original Broadway production of "Guys and Dolls", Max Kane, the hapless agent, in the original 1932 Broadway production of "Dinner at Eight", Patsy, the comedic gambler, in the 1935 Broadway farce "Three Men on a Horse" , Gordon Miller, the shoestring producer, in the original 1937 Broadway production of "Room Service", Sidney Black, the theatrical producer, in " Light Up the Sky" , Horace Vandergelder, the crotchety merchant of Yonkers, in the 1954 premier UK production of Thornton Wilder's "The Matchmaker" and Al Lewis, the retired vaudevillian, in the original 1972 Broadway production of Neil Simon's "The Sunshine Boys". Levene was a consistent presence on Broadway for 5 decades; Levene's first Broadway play was in 1927, the last in 1980. Throughout his career Levene effortlessly segued between starring roles in over 100 productions on stage, radio, television and film, appearing in a variety of roles, including policemen, servicemen, gamblers, gangsters, newspaper reporter, theatrical producer, actor's agent, dress manufacturer and even a psychiatrist and was equally adept in segueing from comedy to farce and drama. 9 years after making his Broadway debut, Levene was lured to Hollywood where he made his motion picture debut as Patsy in the 1936 film version of "Three Men on a Horse" earning $1,000 a week. Known as a dependable character actor, Levene appeared in 50 films, including 14 at MGM, which included two appearances as Police Lieutenant Abrams in the "Thin Man" series. During his five-decade Hollywood career, Levene established himself as one the great film noir stalwarts. Levene's film noir credits include his riveting performance as Samuels, the murdered GI, in "Crossfire" (1947), considered by many as one of RKO’s if not perhaps of any studio’s best film noirs. Other film noir credits include: William Holden's taxi-driving brother-in-law "Siggie" in "Golden Boy" (1939), "Action in the North Atlantic" (1943), a Doolittle Flyer and Japanese POW in "The Purple Heart" (1944), a police lieutenant in "The Killers" (1946), "Brute Force" (1947), "Boomerang" (1947), "Killer McCoy" (1947), "Dial 1119" (1950), "Sweet Smell of Success" (1957), "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" (1957).

In 1961 Levene was nominated for the 1961 Tony Award for Best Actor in a play for his performance as Dr. Aldo Meyer in Dore Schary's "The Devil's Advocate". Levene never received a Tony; by the time the Tony's were established in 1947, Levene had already created roles in 16 original Broadway shows, including legendary performances in the original Broadway productions of "Dinner at Eight"(1932), "Three Men on a Horse" (1935), "Room Service" (1937) and "Margin For Error" (1939). In 1984, Levene was posthumously inducted in the American Theatre Hall of Fame and in 1998, Sam Levene along with the original Broadway cast of the 1950 "Guys and Dolls" Decca cast album posthumously inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Movies for Sam Levene...

James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
Title: James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: November 22, 1988
Type: Movie
Documentary about James Stewart's long career as an actor and positive personal life.
bee
...And Justice for All
Title: ...And Justice for All
Character: Arnie
Released: October 19, 1979
Type: Movie
An ethical Baltimore defense lawyer disgusted with rampant legal corruption is forced to defend a judge he despises in a rape trial under the threat of being disbarred.
bee
Last Embrace
Title: Last Embrace
Character: Sam Urdell
Released: May 4, 1979
Type: Movie
Secret agent Harry Hannan suffers a mental breakdown when a botched mission in Mexico results in the death of his wife. He is sent to a mental asylum, after which he eventually returns to work. But, once again, he begins to doubt his sanity when he receives a bizarre death threat written in Hebrew. Not knowing which of his colleagues wants to kill him, Hannan teams up with pretty young college student Ellie Fabian to attempt to unravel the mystery.
bee
The Royal Family
Title: The Royal Family
Character: Oscar Wolfe
Released: November 9, 1977
Type: Movie
George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber collaborated on this 1927 hit comedy about an eminent and slightly eccentric theatrical clan. A Barrymore-like brood, the Cavendishes are as flamboyant offstage as they are on. Their real-life family drama occurs in a Manhattan apartment when the grand matriarch, Fanny Cavendish, learns that her daughter and granddaughter may both be giving up the stage for marriage. Theatre legends Rosemary Harris, Eva LeGallienne, Sam Levene and Ellis Rabb have great fun portraying characters they know all too well from their years on stage.
bee
God Told Me To
Title: God Told Me To
Character: Everett Lukas
Released: October 22, 1976
Type: Movie
A repressed Catholic NYPD detective uncovers a netherworld of deranged faith, alien insemination and his own unholy connection to a homicidal messiah with a perverse plan for the soul of mankind.
bee
The Money
Title: The Money
Character: Lou Maurice
Released: May 31, 1976
Type: Movie
A prominent businessman's children become the target of a young, unemployed man, who sees them as his ticket to wealth.
bee
Such Good Friends
Title: Such Good Friends
Character: Uncle Eddie
Released: December 16, 1971
Type: Movie
Julie Messinger is an intense woman who hides her wild emotions and desires under her conventional facade. Her husband Richard checks into the hospital for a simple mole removal that goes seriously wrong.
bee
A Dream of Kings
Title: A Dream of Kings
Character: Cicero
Released: December 15, 1969
Type: Movie
A Greek American father of a dying boy decides to take his son to Greece to breathe the clean air of his ancestors, in an attempt to save the boy's life. However, money is a problem.
bee
A Small Rebellion
Title: A Small Rebellion
Character: Noel Greb
Released: February 9, 1966
Type: Movie
An angry young man of the theatre, who has written a play that could be a hit, if actress Sara Lescaut agrees to play the lead. Kolinos, however, is determined not to alter one word of his script to make it a more commercial vehicle.
bee
Act One
Title: Act One
Character: Richard Maxwell
Released: December 26, 1963
Type: Movie
This autobiographical story traces the career of playwright Moss Hart. Moss struggles as a dramatic writer until he concentrates his efforts on writing comedy. He suffers through a series of professional and romantic failures before a meeting with George S. Kaufman which changes his fortunes.
bee
Title: Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
Released: October 4, 1963
Type: TV
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre is an American anthology series, sponsored by Chrysler Corporation, which ran on NBC from 1963 through 1967. The show was hosted by Bob Hope, but it had a variety of formats, including musical, dramatic, and comedy.
bee
Title: The Merv Griffin Show
Character: Self
Released: October 1, 1962
Type: TV
The Merv Griffin Show is an American television talk show, starring Merv Griffin. The series ran from October 1, 1962 to March 29, 1963 on NBC, September 20, 1965 to August 15, 1969 in first-run syndication, from August 18, 1969 to February 11, 1972 at 11:30 PM ET weeknights on CBS and again in first-run syndication from February 14, 1972 to September 5, 1986.
bee
Title: The Aquanauts
Character: Lieutenant Maharis
Released: September 14, 1960
Type: TV
The Aquanauts is an American adventure/drama series that aired on CBS in the 1960-1961 season. The series stars Keith Larsen, Jeremy Slate and Ron Ely.
bee
The World of Sholom Aleichem
Title: The World of Sholom Aleichem
Character: Mendele
Released: December 14, 1959
Type: Movie
This omnibus release consists of three playlets filmed and aired during television's Golden Age, and starring some of the legends of film and television. The collection originally ran as a two-hour segment on December 14, 1959, on the anthology series The Play of the Week, broadcast locally in New York City via the independent radio station WNTA. Each "tale" in the anthology was adapted from a single tale by the inimitable Sholom Aleichem, regarded by many as the "Yiddish Mark Twain". Included are: "A Tale of Chelm" starring Zero Mostel and Nancy Walker in the story of a bookseller attempting to buy a goat; "Bontche Schweig" about a poor man (Jack Gilford) whose recent arrival in Heaven makes the angels cry; and "The High School" about a Jewish merchant (Morris Carnovsky) persuaded by his wife (Gertrude Berg) to let their son attend a particular high school despite the enforcement of quotas for Jewish students.
bee
Kathy O'
Title: Kathy O'
Character: Ben Melnick
Released: September 24, 1958
Type: Movie
A movie publicist is assigned to keep the public from learning that a beloved child star is an egotistical little brat.
bee
Slaughter on 10th Avenue
Title: Slaughter on 10th Avenue
Character: Howard Rysdale
Released: September 1, 1957
Type: Movie
A rookie assistant DA is assigned to investigate the murder of a longshoreman, killed for exposing gangster involvement on the piers, and meets up with a "code of silence" amongst all potential witnesses.
bee
Sweet Smell of Success
Title: Sweet Smell of Success
Character: Frank D' Angelo
Released: July 4, 1957
Type: Movie
New York City newspaper writer J.J. Hunsecker holds considerable sway over public opinion with his Broadway column, but one thing that he can't control is his younger sister, Susan, who is in a relationship with aspiring jazz guitarist Steve Dallas. Hunsecker strongly disapproves of the romance and recruits publicist Sidney Falco to find a way to split the couple, no matter how ruthless the method.
bee
Designing Woman
Title: Designing Woman
Character: Ned Hammerstein
Released: May 16, 1957
Type: Movie
A sportswriter who marries a fashion designer discovers that their mutual interests are few, although each has an intriguing past which makes the other jealous.
bee
The Opposite Sex
Title: The Opposite Sex
Character: Mike Pearl
Released: November 15, 1956
Type: Movie
Former radio singer Kay learns from her gossipy friends that her husband, Steve, has had an affair with chorus girl Crystal. Devastated, Kay tries to ignore the information, but when Crystal performs one of her musical numbers at a charity benefit, she breaks down and goes to Reno to file for divorce. However, when she hears that gold-digging Crystal is making Steve unhappy, Kay resolves to get her husband back. The Opposite Sex is a remake of the 1939 comedy The Women.
bee
Three Sailors and a Girl
Title: Three Sailors and a Girl
Character: Joe Woods
Released: November 23, 1953
Type: Movie
A group of sailors invest in a musical revue.
bee
Title: Omnibus
Released: November 9, 1952
Type: TV
Omnibus is an American, commercially sponsored, educational television series.
bee
Dial 1119
Title: Dial 1119
Character: John D. Faron
Released: November 3, 1950
Type: Movie
A deranged killer escapes from a mental institution, intent on locating the psychiatrist whose testimony sent him to the asylum, holds the patrons of a bar hostage.
bee
Title: The Colgate Comedy Hour
Character: Self
Released: September 10, 1950
Type: TV
The Colgate Comedy Hour is an American comedy-musical variety series that aired live on the NBC network from 1950 to 1955. The show starred many notable comedians and entertainers of the era, including Eddie Cantor, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Fred Allen, Donald O'Connor, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, Bob Hope, Jimmy Durante, Ray Bolger, Gordon MacRae, Ben Blue, Robert Paige, Tony Curtis, Burt Lancaster, Broadway dancer Wayne Lamb and Spike Jones and His City Slickers.
bee
With These Hands
Title: With These Hands
Character: Alexander Brody
Released: June 15, 1950
Type: Movie
Produced by the International Ladies Garment Workers Union, the film used actors to recreate the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire and compare working conditions of the early 20th century to that of the 1950s.
bee
Guilty Bystander
Title: Guilty Bystander
Character: Captain Tonetti
Released: April 20, 1950
Type: Movie
A drunken ex-cop gets a shot at redemption when his young son is kidnapped after a smuggling deal goes belly up.
bee
Leather Gloves
Title: Leather Gloves
Character: Bernie
Released: November 11, 1948
Type: Movie
A fallen prizefighter must choose between two women from vastly different walks of life.
bee
Title: Studio One
Character: Ben Weber
Released: November 7, 1948
Type: TV
An American radio–television anthology series, created in 1947 by Canadian director Fletcher Markle, who came to CBS from the CBC. Studio One, presented by Westinghouse, was one of the first of the anthology TV programs. The episodes were often abridged remakes of movies from years gone by and many future well-known television and movie actors appeared in the productions.
bee
Title: Studio One
Character: Ben Selig
Released: November 7, 1948
Type: TV
An American radio–television anthology series, created in 1947 by Canadian director Fletcher Markle, who came to CBS from the CBC. Studio One, presented by Westinghouse, was one of the first of the anthology TV programs. The episodes were often abridged remakes of movies from years gone by and many future well-known television and movie actors appeared in the productions.
bee
The Babe Ruth Story
Title: The Babe Ruth Story
Character: Phil Conrad
Released: September 16, 1948
Type: Movie
The baseball player goes from wayward youth to Boston Red Sox pitcher to New York Yankees home-run hero.
bee
Killer McCoy
Title: Killer McCoy
Character: Happy
Released: December 1, 1947
Type: Movie
Tommy McCoy grew up poor and scrappy. As a young man he discovers that he can fight with his powerful right arm. He becomes successful at boxing, however he has an alcoholic father.
bee
Crossfire
Title: Crossfire
Character: Samuels
Released: August 15, 1947
Type: Movie
A man is murdered, apparently by one of a group of soldiers just out of the army. But which one? And why?
bee
Brute Force
Title: Brute Force
Character: Louie Miller #7033
Released: July 16, 1947
Type: Movie
Timeworn Joe Collins and his fellow inmates live under the heavy thumb of the sadistic, power-tripping guard Captain Munsey. Only Collins' dreams of escape keep him going, but how can he possibly bust out of Munsey's chains?
bee
A Likely Story
Title: A Likely Story
Character: Louie
Released: April 18, 1947
Type: Movie
A shell-shocked young GI mistakenly believes he is dying, and a young artist takes it upon herself to prove to him that he's not.
bee
Boomerang!
Title: Boomerang!
Character: Morning Record's Reporter Dave Woods
Released: February 28, 1947
Type: Movie
When a kindly priest is murdered while waiting at a street corner in a quiet Connecticut town, the citizens are horrified and demand action from the police. All of the witnesses identify John Waldron, a nervous out-of-towner, as the killer. District Attorney Henry Harvey is then put on the case and faces political opposition in his attempt to prove Waldron's innocence.
bee
The Killers
Title: The Killers
Character: Lt. Sam Lubinsky
Released: August 30, 1946
Type: Movie
Two hit men walk into a diner asking for a man called "the Swede". When the killers find the Swede, he's expecting them and doesn't put up a fight. Since the Swede had a life insurance policy, an investigator, on a hunch, decides to look into the murder. As the Swede's past is laid bare, it comes to light that he was in love with a beautiful woman who may have lured him into pulling off a bank robbery overseen by another man.
bee
The True Glory
Title: The True Glory
Character: Commentator
Released: October 4, 1945
Type: Movie
A documentary account of the allied invasion of Europe during World War II compiled from the footage shot by nearly 1400 cameramen. It opens as the assembled allied forces plan and train for the D-Day invasion at bases in Great Britain and covers all the major events of the war in Europe from the Normandy landings to the fall of Berlin.
bee
Follow the Boys
Title: Follow the Boys
Character: Sgt. Leo Andreof (archive footage) (uncredited)
Released: May 5, 1944
Type: Movie
During World War II, all the studios put out "all-star" vehicles which featured virtually every star on the lot--often playing themselves--in musical numbers and comedy skits, and were meant as morale-boosters to both the troops overseas and the civilians at home. This was Universal Pictures' effort. It features everyone from Donald O'Connor to the Andrews Sisters to Orson Welles to W.C. Fields to George Raft to Marlene Dietrich, and dozens of other Universal players.
bee
The Purple Heart
Title: The Purple Heart
Character: Lt. Wayne Greenbaum
Released: February 25, 1944
Type: Movie
This is the story of the crew of a downed bomber, captured after a run over Tokyo, early in the war. Relates the hardships the men endure while in captivity, and their final humiliation: being tried and convicted as war criminals.
bee
Shoe Shine Boy
Title: Shoe Shine Boy
Character: Lucky
Released: December 25, 1943
Type: Movie
A teenaged shoeshine boy urgently tries to raise the remaining amount of money he needs to purchase a secondhand bugle before 6p.m.
bee
Gung Ho!
Title: Gung Ho!
Character: Leo 'Transport' Andreof
Released: December 20, 1943
Type: Movie
A true-life epic that revolves around an exclusive bataillon of the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II, "Carlson's Raiders," whose assignment is to take control of a South Pacific island once possessed by the United States but now under Japanese command.
bee
Whistling in Brooklyn
Title: Whistling in Brooklyn
Character: Creeper
Released: December 1, 1943
Type: Movie
Radio crime show host "The Fox" finds himself on the trail of a serial killer while a suspect himself.
bee
I Dood It
Title: I Dood It
Character: Ed Jackson
Released: September 1, 1943
Type: Movie
Constance Shaw, a Broadway dance star, and Joseph Rivington Reynolds, a keen fan of hers, marry after she breaks up with her fiancé. Connie thinks Joseph owns a gold mine, but he actually works as a presser at a hotel valet shop. When everyone learns what he really is, Joseph is banned from the theater. When he sneaks in again, he learns of a plot to set off a bomb in the adjoining munitions warehouse.
bee
Action in the North Atlantic
Title: Action in the North Atlantic
Character: Abel 'Chips' Abrams
Released: June 12, 1943
Type: Movie
Merchant Marine sailors Joe Rossi (Humphrey Bogart) and Steve Jarvis (Raymond Massey) are charged with getting a supply vessel to Russian allies as part of a sea convoy. When the group of ships comes under attack from a German U-boat, Rossi and Jarvis navigate through dangerous waters to evade Nazi naval forces. Though their mission across the Atlantic is extremely treacherous, they are motivated by the opportunity to strike back at the Germans, who sank one of their earlier ships.
bee
Destination Unknown
Title: Destination Unknown
Character: Victor, Elena's Aide
Released: October 9, 1942
Type: Movie
Foreign spies and police pursue an attractive Dutch spy throughout Peking.
bee
The Big Street
Title: The Big Street
Character: Horsethief
Released: August 13, 1942
Type: Movie
Meek busboy Little Pinks is in love with an extremely selfish showgirl who despises and uses him.
bee
Sunday Punch
Title: Sunday Punch
Character: Roscoe
Released: May 8, 1942
Type: Movie
Ma Galestrum (Connie Gilchrist) is a boardinghouse owner whose tenants are a group of aspiring boxers. When her young niece, Judy (Jean Rogers), comes to stay for a visit, college dropout Ken Burke (William Lundigan) and Swedish janitor Ole (Dan Dailey Jr.) immediately fall for her charms. Ken considers going back to college for Judy, but his fight promoter is less than thrilled with this idea. Meanwhile, Ole is determined to meet Ken in the ring to vie for Judy's heart.
bee
Grand Central Murder
Title: Grand Central Murder
Character: Inspector Gunther
Released: May 1, 1942
Type: Movie
Conniving Broadway starlet Mida King has plenty of enemies, so when she's found murdered at Grand Central Station, Inspector Gunther calls together a slew of suspects for questioning. Mida's shady ex-flame, Turk, seems the most likely culprit, but when smart-mouthed private eye Rocky Custer -- also a suspect himself -- begins to piece together the crime, a few clues that Gunther has overlooked come to light.
bee
Sing Your Worries Away
Title: Sing Your Worries Away
Character: Smiley Clark
Released: March 6, 1942
Type: Movie
This package for comedy and the musical numbers has Luke Brown being drugged by the gangster operators of the swank Boathouse Inn; most notably Roxie a sexy pickpocket. Brown has information that Chow Brewster and his cousin have inherited $3,000,000. The owner of the Inn intends to keep Brown under wraps until they can drive Chow to suicide. He will then marry Chow's cousin before she finds out about her inheritance.
bee
Shadow of the Thin Man
Title: Shadow of the Thin Man
Character: Lieutenant Abrams
Released: November 21, 1941
Type: Movie
High society sleuths Nick and Nora Charles run into a variety of shady characters while investigating a race-track murder.
bee
Married Bachelor
Title: Married Bachelor
Character: Cookie Farrar
Released: October 16, 1941
Type: Movie
A man's marriage suffers when he pretends to be a bachelor while promoting "his" best-selling book about married life (actually written by an eccentric professor) in order to pay off a debt to a gangster.
bee
Golden Boy
Title: Golden Boy
Character: Siggie
Released: September 5, 1939
Type: Movie
Despite his talent as a musician, a city boy decides to become a boxer. He's successful as a fighter — much to the dismay of his parents. When gangsters try to by a piece of him, he begins to have second thoughts.
bee
The Mad Miss Manton
Title: The Mad Miss Manton
Character: Lieutenant Brent
Released: October 21, 1938
Type: Movie
When the murdered body discovered by beautiful, vivacious socialite Melsa Manton disappears, police and press label her a prankster until she proves them wrong.
bee
The Shopworn Angel
Title: The Shopworn Angel
Character: 'Leer'
Released: July 15, 1938
Type: Movie
During WWI Bill Pettigrew, a naive young Texan soldier is sent to New York for basic training. He meets worldly wise actress Daisy Heath when her car nearly runs him over.
bee
Yellow Jack
Title: Yellow Jack
Character: Busch
Released: May 19, 1938
Type: Movie
A fairly accurate historical account of Walter Reed's search for the cause of "Yellow Jack" or Yellow Fever and those who risked their lives in the pursuit.
bee
After the Thin Man
Title: After the Thin Man
Character: Lt. Abrams
Released: December 25, 1936
Type: Movie
Nick and Nora Charles investigate when Nora's cousin reports her disreputable husband is missing, and find themselves in a mystery involving the shady owners of a popular nightclub, a singer and her dark brother, the cousin's forsaken true love, and Nora's bombastic and controlling aunt.
bee
Three Men on a Horse
Title: Three Men on a Horse
Character: Patsy
Released: November 21, 1936
Type: Movie
A meek salesman with an uncanny ability to pick horses is virtually kidnapped by a trio of gamblers.
bee
The Talk of Hollywood
Title: The Talk of Hollywood
Character: Film Buyer
Released: December 10, 1929
Type: Movie
Schlock-movie producer J. Pierpont Ginsburg, after declaring, in a Yiddish accent, that "talking pictures are in their infantry," decides to put all of his savings into a big-budgeted musical, starring the sensation of Paris (with a bad French accent), Adore Renee, and a swishy leading man, Reginald Whitlock. Meanwhile, his daughter, Judy Ginsburg, gets involved in a romance with Ginsburg's Gentile lawyer, John Applegate. His efforts aren't helped any by the projectionist who mixes up the sound-disc reels, with the images not matching the dialogue and sound effects, during a showing for prospective film buyers and exhibitors.