Sam Levene

Sam Levene
Levene in The Killers (1946)
Born	Scholem Lewin (1905-08-28)August 28, 1905 Minsk, Russia
Died	December 28, 1980(1980-12-28) (aged 75) New York City, New York, U.S.
Resting place	Mount Carmel Cemetery, Glendale, Queens
Years active	1927–1980
Spouse(s)	Constance Kane (1953-?) (divorced) (1 child)
Children	Joseph Levene[1]

Sam Levene (born Scholem Lewin, August 28, 1905 – December 28, 1980) was a Russian-born American Broadway and film  actor that he was born in Minsk^[2] and arrived in the USA on October 8, 1908^[3][2] . He originated numerous legendary roles in 33 original Broadway productions, many considered a part of American theatrical history, including Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls (1950), Horace Vandergelder in The Matchmaker (1954), Sidney Black in Light Up the Sky (1948), Patsy in Three Men on a Horse (1935), Al Lewis in The Sunshine Boys (1972). Sam Levene also established himself as one of the great noir stalwarts with a long list of film noir credits, a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas.

Over a span of 54 years, Sam Levene had a legendary theatrical career, created starring roles in 33 original Broadway productions; 37 Broadway productions, numerous national tours and 2 appearances in the UK, including: Dinner at Eight (1932), Room Service (1937), Three Men on a Horse (1935), Margin For Error (1939), Light Up the Sky (1948), Guys and Dolls (1950), Fair Game (1957), The Devil's Advocate (1961), written, produced and directed by Dore Schary, based on the novel by Morris West, for which Sam Levene was nominated for 1961 Tony Award for Best Actor in a play, Neil Simon's The Sunshine Boys (1972). In 1954 Sam Levene originated the role of Horace Vandergelder in the world premiere production of Tyrone Guthrie's The Matchmaker in Newcastle, England, a role he also played in the UK production directed by Tyrone Guthrie.

Sam Levene established himself as one the great noir stalwarts; his film noir credits include: Golden Boy (1939), Action in the North Atlantic (1943), The Purple Heart (1944), The Killers (1946), Brute Force, (1947), Crossfire (1947), Boomerang (1947), Killer McCoy (1947), Dial 1119 (1950), Sweet Smell of Success (1957), Slaughter on Tenth Avenue (1957).

Sam Levene made his Broadway debut in a 1927 with a five line part in a play titled Wall Street, and over a span of 54 years, appeared on Broadway in 37 shows, of which 33 were original Broadway productions. Sam Levene made his film debut in 1936, recreating the role of Patsy that he had played for seventy weeks in the Broadway production of Three Men on a Horse (1935). He also appeared in the 1944 USO tour of this same show, the first legitimate production mounted overseas; the radio version; the musical version that opened on Broadway called Let It Ride (1961) as well as the 1969 Broadway revival of the play directed by George Abbott, the original Broadway director and co-author.

Sam Levene starred in several Broadway revivals, portraying the roles of: Boss Mangan in George Bernard Shaw's Heartbreak House (1959), Patsy in the revival of Three Men On A Horse (1969) and Oscar Wolfe in the all-star revival of George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber's The Royal Family (1975) directed by Ellis Raab; the production was filmed for the PBS series Great Performances on November 9, 1977,^[4]; this version was released on DVD. Sam Levene replaced comedian Alan King in the starring role of Dr. Jack Kingsley in The Impossible Years (1965), a role he also played in the 1967 national tour of the play .

Although not known as a singer, Sam Levene originated the role of Nathan Detroit in the original 1950 Broadway production and original cast recording of the musical Guys and Dolls, and later reprised the role of Nathan Detroit in 1953 in the first UK production of Guys and Dolls. His solo number, "Sue Me," was written in one octave to compensate for his lack of vocal range. Sam Levene lost the role to Frank Sinatra in the film version. Guys & Dolls director Joseph L. Mankiewicz wanted original Broadway star Sam Levene, but producer Sam Goldwyn insisted on giving the part to Frank Sinatra. Joseph L. Mankiewicz said "if there could be one person in the world more miscast as Nathan Detroit than Frank Sinatra that would be Laurence Olivier and I am one of his greatest fans; the role had been written for Sam Levene who was divine in it". Fordham Professor of Music Larry Stempel, author of "Showtime: A History of the Broadway Musical Theater" said if given a choice, he would cast Sam Levene, who created the role on Broadway, as the ideal Nathan Detroit instead of Nathan Lane, who played the part in the Broadway revival or Frank Sinatra, who played the part on film, stating "Musically, he may have been tone-deaf, but he inhabited Frank Loesser’s world as a character more than a caricature. Listen to Sam Levene sing “All right, already, I’m just a no-goodnick . . .” on the original Guys & Dolls cast recording of “Sue Me".

Sam Levene never received a Tony Award; by the time the Tony's were established in 1947, Sam Levene had already created roles in 16 original Broadway shows, including original Broadway productions of Dinner at Eight (1932), Three Men on a Horse (1935), Room Service (1937) and Margin For Error (1939). 43 years after making his Broadway debut, Levene made his Off-Broadway debut, starring in Irv Bauer's A Dream Out Of Time at the Promenande Theatre, his only Off-Broadway appearance.

In 1936 Sam Levene moved to Hollywood and made his film debut, re-creating his stage role as Patsy in the film Three Men on a Horse (1936) directed and produced by Mervyn LeRoy. Sam Levene was the only member of the original Broadway production of the play Yellow Jack to appear in the 1938 film of the same name. Sam Levene was cast as a police lieutenant in After the Thin Man (1936), The Mad Miss Manton (1938), Shadow of the Thin Man (1941) and The Killers (1946) which included the film debut of Burt Lancaster, who just a year prior was professionally credited as Burton Lancaster when Sam Levene helped the former circus acrobat land a part in the original Broadway production of A Sound of Hunting.

When several Hollywood studios initially wanted to sign Burt Lancaster, Sam Levene, Lancaster's co-star in the 1946 Broadway play A Sound of Hunting, agreed to represent him, eventually the two actors became lifelong friends. Together Lancaster and Levene were invited to restaurants, fielding offers from David O. Selznick, 20th Century-Fox and Hal B. Wallis, who had a deal at Paramount Pictures, and ultimately introduced Lancaster to Harold Hecht, his long-time agent and Hollywood film production partner. In addition to the Broadway production of A Sound of Hunting, Sam Levene appeared in four films with Burt Lancaster, including: The Killers (1946), Brute Force (1947), Three Sailors and a Girl (1953) and Sweet Smell of Success (1957). Burt Lancaster was one of the speakers at Sam Levene's 1980 West Coast services organized by Joseph K. Levene, the actor's son. Sam Levene played a small but vital role in the 1939 film classic Golden Boy as William Holden's taxi-driving brother-in-law "Siggie", a Doolittle Flyer and Japanese POW in The Purple Heart (1944), and many film noir classics, such as The Killers (1946), Brute Force (1947) and Crossfire (1947). Levene made 49 films total during his Hollywood career. His final film role was in the courtroom drama ...And Justice for All (1979).

In 1960 Sam Levene was awarded the prestigious Actors Fund Medal of Honor, at the time, only the second actor to be awarded the honor; Sam Levene's son Joseph K. Levene donated the medallion given to his dad along with Sam Levene archives collected and accumulated over the legendary actor's 54 year Broadway career to The Museum of The City of New York. In 1984, Levene was posthumously inducted in the Theatre Hall of Fame; his son, Joseph K. Levene, accepted the award stating "if my dad were here today; he would want to know one thing: why did it take you guys such a long time to give me this award?"

In December 1980, Sam Levene died of a heart attack in New York City.

Partial filmography

Broadway Performances

References

https://www.bard.org/news/nathan-detroits-through-time

External links

• Sam Levene on IMDb
• Sam Levene at the Internet Broadway Database
• Sam Levene at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Sam Levene at Playbill Vault
• Sam Levene at The Museum of The City of New York
• Sam Levene at Find a Grave
• Sam Levene at American Film Institute Catalogue