Movies List
TV Show List
Last Embrace

as Sam Urdell

1979
God Told Me To

as Everett Lukas

1976
Such Good Friends

as Uncle Eddie

1971
Sweet Smell of Success

as Frank D' Angelo

1957
Designing Woman

as Ned Hammerstein

1957
Slaughter on 10th Avenue

as Howard Rysdale

1957
Three Sailors and a Girl

as Joe Woods

1953
Dial 1119

as John D. Faron

1950
Guilty Bystander

as Captain Tonetti

1950
Boomerang!

as Morning Record's Reporter Dave Woods

1947
Crossfire

as Samuels

1947
Brute Force

as Louie Miller #7033

1947
The Killers

as Lt. Sam Lubinsky

1946
The Purple Heart

as Lt. Wayne Greenbaum

1944
Gung Ho!

as Leo 'Transport' Andreof

1943
Action in the North Atlantic

as Abel 'Chips' Abrams

1943
Whistling in Brooklyn

as Creeper

1943
I Dood It

as Ed Jackson

1943
Sunday Punch

as Roscoe

1942
The Big Street

as Horsethief

1942
Destination Unknown

as Victor, Elena's Aide

1942
Shadow of the Thin Man

as Lieutenant Abrams

1941
The Mad Miss Manton

as Lieutenant Brent

1938
The Shopworn Angel

as 'Leer'

1938
After the Thin Man

as Lt. Abrams

1936
Sam Levene Sam Levene

Birthday

1905-08-28

Place of Birth

Russia

Biography

Sam Levene was a Broadway, film, radio and television actor who in a career spanning 5 decades created some of the most legendary comedic roles in American theatrical history. Levene appeared in a staggering list of 38 Broadway productions, 33 of which were the original Broadway productions, including Nathan Detroit, the craps-shooter extraordinaire, in the 1950 original Broadway production of "Guys and Dolls", Max Kane, the hapless agent, in the original 1932 Broadway production of "Dinner at Eight", Patsy, the comedic gambler, in the 1935 Broadway farce "Three Men on a Horse" , Gordon Miller, the shoestring producer, in the original 1937 Broadway production of "Room Service", Sidney Black, the theatrical producer, in " Light Up the Sky" , Horace Vandergelder, the crotchety merchant of Yonkers, in the 1954 premier UK production of Thornton Wilder's "The Matchmaker" and Al Lewis, the retired vaudevillian, in the original 1972 Broadway production of Neil Simon's "The Sunshine Boys". Levene was a consistent presence on Broadway for 5 decades; Levene's first Broadway play was in 1927, the last in 1980. Throughout his career Levene effortlessly segued between starring roles in over 100 productions on stage, radio, television and film, appearing in a variety of roles, including policemen, servicemen, gamblers, gangsters, newspaper reporter, theatrical producer, actor's agent, dress manufacturer and even a psychiatrist and was equally adept in segueing from comedy to farce and drama. 9 years after making his Broadway debut, Levene was lured to Hollywood where he made his motion picture debut as Patsy in the 1936 film version of "Three Men on a Horse" earning $1,000 a week. Known as a dependable character actor, Levene appeared in 50 films, including 14 at MGM, which included two appearances as Police Lieutenant Abrams in the "Thin Man" series. During his five-decade Hollywood career, Levene established himself as one the great film noir stalwarts. Levene's film noir credits include his riveting performance as Samuels, the murdered GI, in "Crossfire" (1947), considered by many as one of RKO’s if not perhaps of any studio’s best film noirs. Other film noir credits include: William Holden's taxi-driving brother-in-law "Siggie" in "Golden Boy" (1939), "Action in the North Atlantic" (1943), a Doolittle Flyer and Japanese POW in "The Purple Heart" (1944), a police lieutenant in "The Killers" (1946), "Brute Force" (1947), "Boomerang" (1947), "Killer McCoy" (1947), "Dial 1119" (1950), "Sweet Smell of Success" (1957), "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" (1957). In 1961 Levene was nominated for the 1961 Tony Award for Best Actor in a play for his performance as Dr. Aldo Meyer in Dore Schary's "The Devil's Advocate". Levene never received a Tony; by the time the Tony's were established in 1947, Levene had already created roles in 16 original Broadway shows, including legendary performances in the original Broadway productions of "Dinner at Eight"(1932), "Three Men on a Horse" (1935), "Room Service" (1937) and "Margin For Error" (1939). In 1984, Levene was posthumously inducted in the American Theatre Hall of Fame and in 1998, Sam Levene along with the original Broadway cast of the 1950 "Guys and Dolls" Decca cast album posthumously inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
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