Sam Levene, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

    

Sam Levene

actor

Date of Birth: 28-Aug-1905

Place of Birth: Russian Empire

Date of Death: 28-Dec-1980

Profession: actor, stage actor, film actor

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Virgo


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About Sam Levene

  • Sam Levene (born Scholem Lewin, August 28, 1905 – December 28, 1980) was a Broadway, film, radio and television actor who in a career spanning more than five decades created some of the most legendary comedic roles in American theatrical history, including Nathan Detroit, the craps-shooter extraordinaire, in the 1950 original Broadway production of Guys and Dolls (1950), Max Kane, the hapless agent, in the original 1932 Broadway production of Dinner at Eight (1932); Patsy, a professional if not always successful gambler, in the 1935 original and longest running Broadway production of Three Men on a Horse (1935); Gordon Miller, the shoestring producer, in the original 1937 Broadway production of Room Service (1937); Sidney Black, a theatrical producer, in Moss Hart's original Broadway production of Light Up the Sky (1948), Horace Vandergelder, the crotchety merchant of Yonkers, in the 1954 premier UK production of Thornton Wilder's The Matchmaker (1954), a play that became the basis for the musical Hello Dolly, Lou Winkler, a businessman in the original Broadway production of Fair Game (1957) a comedy by Sam Locke that Larry Gelbart attributed its 217 performance run mostly to the performance and star drawing power of Sam Levene who appeared in the comedy with Ellen McRae in her Broadway debut and would later change her name to Ellen Burstyn; and Al Lewis, the retired vaudevillian, in the original 1972 Broadway production of The Sunshine Boys (1972), Neil Simon’s beloved salute to vaudevillians opposite Jack Albertson as Willie Clark, a role Levene performed 466 times on Broadway, first with Jack Albertson until October 28, 1974 and later opposite Jack Gilford, October 30, 1974 until February 10, 1974.
  • 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.
  • 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 reporters, theatrical producer, actor's agent, dress manufacturer and even a psychiatrist was equally adept in segueing from comedy to farce and drama.
  • Levene was the archetypal New Yorker on stage and screen who shined in creating rough character parts, often playing working class roles with names like Patsy, Dino and Hymie and appeared with a legendary roster of stars and directors.
  • For 54 years Levene was a consistent presence on Broadway; in 1927 Levene made his Broadway debut in the melodrama Wall Street with a five line part and in 1980, his last Broadway appearance, a starring role in a comedy directed by Joshua Logan.
  • Levene appeared in a staggering list of 39 Broadway productions, 33 of which were the original Broadway productions.
  • Levene was a consummate actor known for his comedic expertise who routinely received critical acclaim, even when the productions were not of top quality.
  • Levene earned a niche in American theatrical history by perfecting a certain species of comic hero and for the majority of those appearances, Levene was a Broadway star, even starring in Horowitz and Mrs.
  • Washington in 1980, the year he passed away, with Esther Rolle.
  • Levene's longevity was due in part to his ability to show the amiability and even sweetness beneath the rough hewn tough exteriors of his characters, however bad they may have seemed.
  • Laurence Maslon and Michael Kantor observe "the theater has always embraced certain stars as one of their own, comedians who both ennoble and energize a live event with their presence", and include Levene on a list of Broadway stars along with Beatrice Lillie, Carol Channing, Robert Morse, Zero Mostel and Nathan Lane.

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