Russian-American actor Sam Levene appeared in over 50 theatrical stage productions in the United States and abroad. A master of farce and comedy, Levene was equally effective in drama as well. Levene's Broadway credits include performances in 39 Broadway productions, 33 of which were performances Levene created in the original Broadway productions, and a 10-month USO tour. For 54 years, Sam Levene was a Broadway audience favorite playing cops, con men, theatrical types, businessmen, gamblers, hassled husbands, and even doctors.McMorrow, Tom (April 18, 1976). "Sacred Cows Slaughtered by Sam". The Sunday News, page 3 Leisure.
Levene had 50 film credits. Levene worked with every major Hollywood studio over his five-decade Hollywood career; 14 of Levene's films were at MGM, which include two appearances as Police Lieutenant Abrams in the Thin Man series: After the Thin Man (1936) and Shadow of the Thin Man (1941), plus Yellow Jack (1938), The Shopworn Angel (1938), Married Bachelor (1941), Sunday Punch (1942), Grand Central Murder (1942), Whistling in Brooklyn (1943), I Dood It (1943), Shoe Shine Boy (1943 short), Dial 1119 1950, The Opposite Sex (1956), Designing Woman (1957) and The Champ (1979). Levene appeared in five RKO films, including The Mad Miss Manton (1938); Sing Your Worries Away (1942); The Big Street (1942) and A Likely Story (1947) and Crossfire, the first B picture to receive a best picture nomination. Levene appeared in six Universal Pictures films: Destination Unknown (1942), Gung Ho! (1943), The Killers (1946), Brute Force (1947), Slaughter on Tenth Avenue (1957), Kathy O'.
Other Hollywood actors who Levene worked with include Anthony Quinn: A Dream of Kings (1969); four films with Burt Lancaster: The Killers (1946), Brute Force, (1947), Three Sailors and a Girl (1953), Sweet Smell of Success (1957); Humphrey Bogart: Action in the North Atlantic (1943); two films with Henry Fonda: The Big Street (1942), The Mad Miss Manton (1938); Robert Ryan: Crossfire; Vincente Minnelli: Sing Your Worries Away (1942); two films with Myrna Loy & William Powell as Police Lt. Abrams: ‘’After the Thin Man’’ (1936), Shadow of the Thin Man (1941); Gregory Peck: Designing Woman (1957); two films with Red Skelton: Whistling in Brooklyn (1943), I Dood It (1943); Al Pacino: ...And Justice for All (1979); his final film role.
Film Year Film Role Notes 1929 The Talk of Hollywood Film Buyer uncredited 1936 Three Men on a Horse Patsy 1936 After the Thin Man Police Lt. Abrams 1938 Yellow Jack Busch 1938 The Shopworn Angel "Leer" 1938 The Mad Miss Manton Lieutenant Brent 1939 Golden Boy Siggie 1941 Married Bachelor Cookie Farrar 1941 Shadow of the Thin Man Police Lt. Abrams 1942 Sing Your Worries Away Smiley Clark 1942 Sunday Punch Roscoe 1942 Grand Central Murder Inspector Gunther 1942 The Big Street Horsethief 1942 Destination Unknown Victor 1943 Action in the North Atlantic Abel "Chips" Abrams 1943 I Dood It Ed Jackson 1943 Gung Ho! Leo "Transport" Andreof 1943 Shoe Shine Boy Lucky short 1943 Whistling in Brooklyn Creeper 1944 The Purple Heart Lt. Wayne Greenbaum 1945 The True Glory Commentator 1946 The Killers Police Lt. Sam Lubinsky 1947 Boomerang Dave Woods 1947 A Likely Story Louie 1947 Brute Force Louie Miller 1947 Crossfire Samuels 1947 Killer McCoy Happy 1948 The Babe Ruth Story Phil Conrad 1948 Leather Gloves Bernie 1950 Guilty Bystander Capt. Tonetti 1950 With These Hands Alexander Brody 1950 Dial 1119 Dr. John D. Faron 1953 Three Sailors and a Girl Joe Woods 1956 The Opposite Sex Mike Pearl 1957 Designing Woman Ned Hammerstein 1957 Sweet Smell of Success Frank D' Angelo 1957 Slaughter on Tenth Avenue Howard Rysdale 1957 A Farewell to Arms Swiss Sergeant uncredited 1958 Kathy O' Ben Melnick 1959 The World of Sholom Aleichem Mendele TV movie 1963 Act One Richard Maxwell 1966 A Small Rebellion Noel Greb TV movie 1969 A Dream of Kings Cicero 1971 Such Good Friends Uncle Eddie 1976 Atlantic City Jackpot Lou Maurice 1976 God Told Me To Everett Lukas 1977 The Royal Family Oscar Wolfe TV movie 1979 The Champ Uncle Eddie uncredited 1979 Last Embrace Sam Urdell 1979 An Adventure for Two 1979 ...And Justice for All Arnie
Television Date Program Network Title CharacterApril 2, 1949 John Chapman Video Show WPIX-TVJohn Chapman interviews Sam Levene, Moss HartHimself June 14, 1949 The Ford Theatre Hour CBS "Light Up the Sky" Sidney BlackDecember 19, 1950 The Milton Berle Show TV Texaco Star Theatre, season 3 episode 14 HimselfJanuary 27, 1952 The U.S. Royal Showcase TV season 1 episode 3 HimselfJuly 24, 1952 All Around the Town: Mike and Buff (Cobb) Wallace CBS "Backstage at Guys and Dolls" HimselfNovember 9, 1952 Frontiers of Faith NBC "The World of Sholom Aleichem" Sam Levene as Tevye, Aline MacMahon as Goldie, Joseph Wiseman as Reb Yosifel and PrefectJune 1, 1953 The Passing Show BBC "All Our Yesteryears" Sam Levene as Nathan Detroit and Vivian Blaine as Miss Adelaide performing in Guys and DollsMarch 27, 1954 Medallion Theatre (Chrysler Medallion Theater) CBS "The Alibi Kid" Sam Levene and Ben GazzaraMay 26, 1954 Douglas Fairbanks Presents Rheingold Theatre TV "Johnny Blue" Season 2 Episode 26 SamJune 22, 1954 The United States Steel Hour ABC "Fearful Decision" Reporter McArdleAugust 25, 1954 BBC Excerpt from The Matchmaker Horace VandergelderDecember 11, 1955 The Colgate Comedy Hour TV "Salute to George Abbott" HimselfApril 8. 1957 Studio One CBS "The Playwright and the Stars" Ben WeberJune 10, 1957 Studio One CBS "The Mother Bit" Ben SeligSeptember 11, 1957 Kraft Television Theatre NBC "The Old Ticket" Lou WinklerDecember 26, 1957 Tonight starring Jack Paar NBC HimselfMarch 9, 1958 Omnibus NBC "Mrs. McThing" EddieNovember 25, 1958 Tonight starring Jack Paar NBC HimselfDecember 14, 1959 Play of the Week PBS "The World of Sholom Aleichem" MendeleAugust 21, 1960 The Ed Sullivan Show CBS Dramatic reading of "The Yom Kippur Scandal"November 16, 1960 The Aquanauts CBS "Night Dive" Lieutenant MaharisNovember 17, 1960 The Witness CBS "Louis 'Lepke' Buchalter" Louis BuchalterNovember 22, 1960 The Wonderful World of Little Julius CBS Pilot AgentDecember 15, 1960 The Untouchables ABC "The Larry Fay Story" Larry FayJanuary 22, 1961 The Ed Sullivan Show CBS Dramatic reading of "How Tevya Became a Dairyman", a Sholom Aleichem story.June 18, 1961 The Ed Sullivan Show CBS 13th Anniversary Celebration Himself November 26, 1961 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade NBC PatsyJanuary 14, 1962 Directions TV "Sam Levene interviews Dore Schary" Himself February 27, 1962 The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson NBC HimselfOctober 25, 1962 The Joe Franklin Show WWOR-TV Interview HimselfNovember 5–9, 1962 Password TV Joan Fontaine vs Sam Levene Five episodes HimselfDecember 22, 1962 The Jerry Lester Show WWOR-TV Interview HimselfApril 14, 1963 The Jerry Lester Show WWOR-TV Interview HimselfApril 28, 1963 17th Tony Awards WWOR-TV Presenter HimselfJanuary 5, 1965 The Les Crane Show ABC HimselfJanuary 11, 1965 The Les Crane Show ABC HimselfJanuary 18, 1965 The Les Crane Show ABC HimselfFebruary 8, 1965 The Les Crane Show ABC HimselfNovember 1, 1965 The Merv Griffin Show NBC HimselfNovember 1, 1965 Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre NBC "A Small Rebellion" Noel GrebOctober 30, 1969 What's My Line? CBS HimselfFebruary 15, 1970 The Ed Sullivan Show CBS Dramatic readingDecember 26, 1973 The Dick Cavett Show ABC HimselfDecember 28, 1973 What's My Line? CBS HimselfNovember 9, 1977 Great Performances PBS The Royal Family Oscar Wolfe
Radio Date Program Network Title Character3 May 1934 The Rudy Vallee Variety Show (radio series) NBC Radio Excerpt from Yellow Jack Busch17 February 1939 Orson Welles The Campbell Playhouse (radio series) CBS Radio Burlesque adapted from play by Arthur Hopkins & George Manker Watters Lefty24 March 1939 Orson Welles The Campbell Playhouse (radio series) CBS Radio Twentieth Centuryadapted by Charles Bruce Millholland Owen O’Malley25 February 1940 The Pursuit Of Happiness (radio series) Columbia Broadcasting Miriam Hopkins, Betty Hutton, Sam Levene guest star Himself25 May 1940 Lincoln Highway NBC RadioThree Thousand Miles to Glory Himself9 April 1941 Texaco Star Theatre with Fred Allen CBS Radio Shortcut to a Nervous Breakdown Himself21 July 1943 We Will Never Die NBC Radio Hollywood Bowl, Broadcast live Himself21 November 1943 CBS Radio Algie and Gus 24 December 1943 Christmas Roundup CBS Radio Romance in the Roaring Forties Sam Levene narrates Damon Runyon story Himself28 February 1944 The Screen Guild Theatre CBS Radio Three Men on a Horse Patsy6 January 1946 Theatre Guild on the Air ABC Radio Three Men on a Horse Patsy13 January 1946 Eternal Light NBC Radio "The Parable of Reb Yisroel" Himself17 November 1946 Theatre Guild on the Air ABC Radio The Man Who Came to Dinner Banjo24 November 1946 Theatre Guild on the Air ABC Radio Burlesque adapted by Arthur Hopkins & George Manker Watters Lefty6 December 1946 Lest We Forget These Great Americans Radio Hey Cabbie, Institute for Democratic Education syndication Cabby8 December 1946 Theatre Guild on the Air ABC Radio Golden Boy Moody1 January 1947 Theatre Guild on the Air ABC Radio Three Men on a Horse Patsy10 August 1947 Reunion Mutual Broadcasting System Tribute American Academy of Dramatic Arts Director Charles Jehlinger Himself10 April 1958Suspense Radio CBS Radio Crossfire Samuels27 March 1949 Theatre Guild on the Air ABC Radio June Moon Maxie25 September 1949 Theatre Guild on the Air ABC Radio The Gentle People Jonah Goodman17 December 1950 Theatre Guild on the Air ABC Radio Boomerang Dave Woods31 December 1950 The Big Show (NBC Radio) NBC Radio Variety Show hosted by Tallulah Bankhead Himself15 April 1951 Theatre Guild on the Air ABC Radio Light Up the Sky Sidney Black 1952 The Human Heart Radio Series Radio Too Careful starring Sam Levene Himself20 December 1957 The Barry Gray Show Radio Interview Himself26 August 1960 Studs Terkel WFMT Radio Studs Terkel interviews Sam Levene & Monica May Himself1973 George Jessel WEVD-AM History of Show Business Himself
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