Sam Levene was an American Broadway and film actor. Born in Russia, Levene appeared in several Broadway plays and musicals in the 1930s. In the mid-30s, he moved to Hollywood to re-create his stage role in the movie Three Men on a Horse, followed by After the Thin Man, both in 1936. He played a small but vital role in the 1939 film classic Golden Boy as William Holden's taxi driving brother-in-law "Siggie". He also appeared in many film noir classics including The Killers, Brute Force, and Crossfire. Sam Levene appeared in 49 films total during his Hollywood career. Levene was nominated for a 1961 Tony Award as Best Actor in a Play for The Devil's Advocate. Although not a good vocalist, he can be heard in the role of Nathan Detroit on the original cast recording of the musical Guys and Dolls, in which he appeared on Broadway. His solo number, "Sue Me," was written in one octave to compensate for his lack of singing ability. He lost the role to Frank Sinatra in the film adaptation. Levene also starred in the Broadway productions Dinner at Eight (1932), Room Service (1937), Light Up the Sky (1948), Heartbreak House (1959), The Impossible Years (1965), and Neil Simon's The Sunshine Boys (1972), among many others. Levene's last film role was in the courtroom drama ...And Justice for All (1979). Levene died of a heart attack in New York City.
Movie | James Stewart: A Wonderful Life | Self (archive footage) | 1988-11-22 |
Movie | ...And Justice for All | Arnie | 1979-10-19 |
Movie | Last Embrace | Sam Urdell | 1979-05-04 |
Movie | The Royal Family | Oscar Wolfe | 1977-11-09 |
Movie | God Told Me To | Everett Lukas | 1976-10-22 |
Movie | The Money | Lou Maurice | 1976-05-31 |
Movie | Such Good Friends | Uncle Eddie | 1971-12-16 |
Movie | A Dream of Kings | Cicero | 1969-12-15 |
Movie | Act One | Richard Maxwell | 1963-12-26 |
Movie | The World of Sholom Aleichem | Mendele | 1959-12-14 |
Movie | Kathy O' | Ben Melnick | 1958-09-24 |
Movie | Designing Woman | Ned Hammerstein | 1957-05-16 |
Movie | Sweet Smell of Success | Frank D' Angelo | 1957-07-04 |
Movie | Slaughter on 10th Avenue | Howard Rysdale | 1957-09-01 |
Movie | The Opposite Sex | Mike Pearl | 1956-11-15 |
Movie | Three Sailors and a Girl | Joe Woods | 1953-11-23 |
Series | Omnibus | Unknown | 1952-11-09 |
Movie | Dial 1119 | John D. Faron | 1950-11-03 |
Series | The Colgate Comedy Hour | Unknown | 1950-09-10 |
Movie | With These Hands | Alexander Brody | 1950-06-15 |
Movie | Guilty Bystander | Captain Tonetti | 1950-04-20 |
Series | Studio One | Unknown | 1948-11-07 |
Movie | The Babe Ruth Story | Phil Conrad | 1948-09-16 |
Movie | Boomerang! | Morning Record's Reporter Dave Woods | 1947-02-28 |
Movie | A Likely Story | Louie | 1947-04-18 |
Movie | Brute Force | Louie Miller #7033 | 1947-07-16 |
Movie | Crossfire | Samuels | 1947-08-15 |
Movie | Killer McCoy | Happy | 1947-12-01 |
Movie | The Killers | Lt. Sam Lubinsky | 1946-08-30 |
Movie | Follow the Boys | Sgt. Leo Andreof (archive footage) (uncredited) | 1944-05-05 |
Movie | The Purple Heart | Lt. Wayne Greenbaum | 1944-02-25 |
Movie | Shoe Shine Boy | Lucky | 1943-12-25 |
Movie | Gung Ho! | Leo 'Transport' Andreof | 1943-12-20 |
Movie | Whistling in Brooklyn | Creeper | 1943-12-01 |
Movie | I Dood It | Ed Jackson | 1943-09-01 |
Movie | Action in the North Atlantic | Abel 'Chips' Abrams | 1943-06-12 |
Movie | Sing Your Worries Away | Smiley Clark | 1942-03-06 |
Movie | Grand Central Murder | Inspector Gunther | 1942-05-01 |
Movie | Sunday Punch | Roscoe | 1942-05-08 |
Movie | The Big Street | Horsethief | 1942-08-13 |
Movie | Destination Unknown | Victor, Elena's Aide | 1942-10-09 |
Movie | Shadow of the Thin Man | Lieutenant Abrams | 1941-11-21 |
Movie | Married Bachelor | Cookie Farrar | 1941-10-16 |
Movie | Golden Boy | Siggie | 1939-09-05 |
Movie | The Mad Miss Manton | Lieutenant Brent | 1938-10-21 |
Movie | The Shopworn Angel | 'Leer' | 1938-07-15 |
Movie | Yellow Jack | Busch | 1938-05-19 |
Movie | After the Thin Man | Lt. Abrams | 1936-12-25 |
Movie | Three Men on a Horse | Patsy | 1936-11-21 |
Movie | The Talk of Hollywood | Film Buyer | 1929-12-10 |