Sam Levene  

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Sam Levene (born Scholem Lewin, August 28, 1905 – December 28, 1980) was an American Broadway and film actor, who 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,



Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Sam Levene" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

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