Shawn Levy | |
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Born | Shawn Anthony Levy 1961 (age 62–63) New York City, United States |
Occupation | Film critic, author |
Genre | Film |
Website | |
shawnlevy |
Shawn Anthony Levy (born 1961) is an American film critic, author, podcaster, and blogger. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Born in New York City, and educated at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of California, Irvine, 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, 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.
He is an active member of Portland's soccer community and serves on the board of Operation Pitch Invasion.
Jerry Lewis was an American comedian, actor, singer, humanitarian and entertainer, who was famously nicknamed "The King of Comedy" throughout the United States. Lewis has appeared in more than 59 motion pictures, including the first sixteen films with his partner, singer Dean Martin, during their act as Martin and Lewis.
Paul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. He was the recipient of numerous awards, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, three Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Silver Bear, a Cannes Film Festival Award, and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.
Laraine Newman is an American actress, comedian, and writer. Newman was part of the original cast of NBC's sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from its inception in 1975 until her departure in 1980.
Shirley MacLaine is an American actress and author. With a career spanning over 70 years, she has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, an Emmy Award, two BAFTA Awards, six Golden Globe Awards, two Volpi Cups, and two Silver Bears. She has been honored with the Film Society of Lincoln Center Tribute in 1995, the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1998, the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2012, and the Kennedy Center Honor in 2014. MacLaine is one of the last remaining stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Dean Martin was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular entertainers of the mid-20th century, he was nicknamed "The King of Cool". Martin gained his career breakthrough together with comedian Jerry Lewis, billed as Martin and Lewis, in 1946. They performed in nightclubs and later had numerous appearances on radio and television and in films.
Ocean's 11 is a 1960 American heist film directed and produced by Lewis Milestone from a screenplay by Harry Brown and Charles Lederer, based on a story by George Clayton Johnson and Jack Golden Russell. The film stars an ensemble cast and five members of the Rat Pack: Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop. Centered on a series of Las Vegas casino robberies, the film also stars Angie Dickinson, Richard Conte, Cesar Romero, Patrice Wymore, Akim Tamiroff, and Henry Silva. It includes cameo appearances by Shirley MacLaine, Red Skelton, and George Raft.
The Rat Pack was an informal group of singers that, in its second iteration, ultimately made films and appeared together in Las Vegas casino venues. They originated in the late 1940s and early 1950s as a group of A-list show business friends, such as Errol Flynn, Nat King Cole, Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra and others who met casually at the Holmby Hills home of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. In the 1960s, the group featured Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop, and Peter Lawford, among others. They appeared together on stage and in films in the 1950s and 1960s, including the films Ocean's 11 and Sergeants 3; after Lawford's expulsion, they filmed Robin and the 7 Hoods with Bing Crosby in what was to have been Lawford's role. Sinatra, Martin, and Davis were regarded as the group's lead members after Bogart's death.
The Chateau Marmont is a hotel located at 8221 Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. The hotel was designed by architects Arnold A. Weitzman and William Douglas Lee and completed in 1929. It was modeled loosely after the Château d'Amboise, a royal retreat in France's Loire Valley.
The King of Comedy is a 1982 American satirical black comedy film directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro, Jerry Lewis and Sandra Bernhard. Written by Paul D. Zimmerman, the film focuses on themes such as celebrity worship and American media culture. 20th Century Fox released the film on February 18, 1983, in the United States, though the film was released two months earlier in Iceland.
Midnight Run is a 1988 American action comedy film directed by Martin Brest, written by George Gallo, and starring Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin. Yaphet Kotto, John Ashton, Dennis Farina, Joe Pantoliano, and Philip Baker Hall play supporting roles.
Lewis Robert Wasserman was an American businessman and talent agent, described as "the last of the legendary movie moguls" and "arguably the most powerful and influential Hollywood titan in the four decades after World War II". His career spanned nearly eight decades from the 1920s to the 2000s; he started working as a cinema usher before dropping out of high school, rose to become the president of MCA Inc. and led its takeover of Universal Pictures, during which time Wasserman "brought about changes in virtually every aspect of show business". In 1995, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton. Several years later, he spoke of his ongoing work at Universal to Variety, saying, "I am under contract here for the rest of my life, and I don't think they would throw me out of my office—my name is on the building."
John L. Wasserman was an American entertainment critic for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1964 until the time of his death in 1979. Known more for humor and originality than in-depth analysis, he's best known for his creative reviews of bad films, clever skewering of glitzy performers, and passionate advocacy for those in whose talents he believed.
Gary Lewis is an American musician who was the leader of Gary Lewis & the Playboys.
Douglas Kimball Holm is a movie reviewer, Internet columnist, radio broadcaster, and author. Holm was born in Portland, Oregon. He attended David Douglas High School and the University of Oregon.
Sam's Song is a 1969 drama film directed by Jordan Leondopoulos and starring Robert De Niro.
Robert Anthony De Niro is an American actor and film producer. Known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, he is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award. He received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2009, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom from U.S. President Barack Obama in 2016.
Martin and Lewis is a 2002 American made-for-television biographical film written and directed by John Gray, exploring the lives of the comedy team of Martin and Lewis. The film stars Jeremy Northam as Dean Martin and Sean Hayes as Jerry Lewis. The film premiered on November 24, 2002 on CBS.
Deana Martin is an American singer. She is the daughter of singer Dean Martin.
How to Smuggle the Hernia Across the Border is a 1949 American short comedy film directed by Jerry Lewis and starring Jerry Lewis, Janet Leigh, and Tony Curtis. The film was not released commercially. The film is based on a funny story about Dean Martin's wartime personal problems with hernia.