Shawn Levy (writer)

For the director, see Shawn Levy.

Shawn Levy
Levy in 2014
Born	Shawn Anthony Levy (1961-10-22) October 22, 1961 (age 64) Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Film critic author
Education	University of Pennsylvania University of California, Irvine
Years active	1997–present
Website
shawnlevy.com

Shawn Anthony Levy (born October 22, 1961) is an American film critic, author, podcaster, and blogger. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]}

Early life and education

Levy was born in Brooklyn on October 22, 1961. ^[6]

He was educated at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of California, Irvine

Career

Levy was the film critic of The Oregonian newspaper in Portland, Oregon, from 1997 to 2012 and of KGW-TV, Portland's NBC affiliate, from 2009 to 2016. He is a former Senior Editor of American Film and a former Associate Editor of Box Office . His work has appeared in major newspapers and magazines in the United States and England including The New York Times , the Los Angeles Times , the San Francisco Chronicle , The Guardian , The Independent , Film Comment , Movieline , Premiere , and Sight & Sound .

Levy has written biographies of film actors Paul Newman, Clint Eastwood, Robert De Niro and Jerry Lewis, a history of the famed hotel Chateau Marmont, and books on pop culture scenes and phenomena such as the Rat Pack, 1950s film-making in Rome, and 1960s Swinging London. In 2023, his original narrative podcast, "Glitter and Might: The Lew Wasserman Story," was released by Audacy. In 2025, it was announced that he was working on a biography of David Lynch. ^[7]

He is an active member of Portland's soccer community and serves on the board of Operation Pitch Invasion.

Bibliography

• King of Comedy: The Life and Art of Jerry Lewis (1996) ISBN   978-0-312-16878-0 ^[8]
• Rat Pack Confidential: Frank, Dean, Sammy, Peter, Joey, and the Last Great Show Biz Party (1998) ISBN   978-0-385-49576-9
• Ready, Steady, Go! The Smashing Rise and Giddy Fall of Swinging London (2002) ISBN   978-0-7679-0588-6
• The Last Playboy: The High Life of Porfirio Rubirosa (2005) ISBN   978-0-00-717060-9
• Paul Newman: A Life (2009) ISBN   978-0-307-35375-7
• The Rat Pack: Limited Edition (2010) ISBN   978-0956648709
• De Niro: A Life (2014) ISBN   978-0307716781
• Dolce Vita Confidential: Fellini, Loren, Pucci, Paparazzi, and the Swinging High Life of 1950s Rome (2016) ISBN   978-0393247589
• The Castle on Sunset: Life, Death, Love, Art, and Scandal at Hollywood's Chateau Marmont (2019) ISBN   978-0385543163
• A Year in the Life of Death: Poems Inspired by the Obit Pages of The New York Times (2021) ISBN   978-1938753411
• In on the Joke: The Original Queens of Stand-Up Comedy (2022) ISBN   978-0385545785
• Glitter & Might: The Lew Wasserman Story (podcast) (2023)
• Clint: The Man and the Movies (2025) ISBN   978-0063251021

References

1. "Newman Owns: Shawn Levy on the sturdy 'Paul Newman: A Life'" (interview, NewCity Film, May 12, 2009)
2. "The Hustler in the Penthouse" (review/interview, Willamette Week, October 5, 2005)
3. "A Jet-Set Don Juan, Right Up to the Final Exit" (review of "The Last Playboy", The New York Times, September 16, 2005)
4. "Not in My Name" (Shawn Anthony Levy writes about being mistaken for Shawn Adam Levy, The Guardian, March 14, 2003)
5. ("Lew Wasserman, Ronald Reagan & Sidney Korshak Relationship Explored In Podcast Series From Shawn Levy & C13Originals (announcement of "Glitter and Might" podcast, Deadline.com, April 22, 2021))
6. Ancestry.com. New York, New York, U.S., Birth Index, 1910-1965 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2017.
7. (Biographers International 'Sold to Publishers,' February, 2025)
8. "King of Comedy: The Life and Art of Jerry Lewis". publishersweekly.com.

External links

• Official website
• "Interview: Paul Newman biographer Shawn Levy" (Belief.net, May 27, 2009)
• "Author Gets Into the Swing of England" (review/interview, Portland Tribune, October 1, 2002)
• "Hipoisie and Chic-oisie and London Had the Mojo" (review of "Ready, Steady Go!", The New York Times, July 23, 2002)
• "Funny Bones" (review of "King of Comedy," The New York Times, June 9, 1996)
• "'King of Comedy' Isn't All Laughs for Lewis" (review/interview, USA Today, April 11, 1996)
• Levy's Author page, Amazon
• Levy's Mad About Movies review page, KGW-TV