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 E...
Known For
Complete Filmography
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
1987
as Self (archive footage)
Documentary about James Stewart's long career as an actor and positive personal life.
Murder Sees the Light
1986
Executive Producer
Private detective Benny Cooperman is hired to keep an eye on a controversial preacher who is in hiding in a picturesque lake resort, but once he gets ...
...And Justice for All
1979
as Arnie
An ethical Baltimore defense lawyer disgusted with rampant legal corruption is forced to defend a judge he despises in a rape trial under the threat o...
Last Embrace
1979
as Sam Urdell
Secret agent Harry Hannan suffers a mental breakdown when a botched mission in Mexico results in the death of his wife. He is sent to a mental asylum,...
The Royal Family
1977
as Oscar Wolfe
George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber collaborated on this 1927 hit comedy about an eminent and slightly eccentric theatrical clan. A Barrymore-like brood...
God Told Me To
1976
as Everett Lukas
Devout Catholic detective Peter Nicholas investigates a series of murders around New York City, perpetrated by men who claim that God told them to do ...
The Money
1976
as Lou Maurice
A prominent businessman's children become the target of a young, unemployed man, who sees them as his ticket to wealth.
Such Good Friends
1971
as Uncle Eddie
Julie Messinger, a repressed woman, grapples with her hidden passions when a routine hospital visit for her husband, Richard, spirals into chaos. As s...
A Dream of Kings
1969
as Cicero
A Greek American father of a dying boy decides to take his son to Greece to breathe the clean air of his ancestors, in an attempt to save the boy's li...
A Small Rebellion
1966
as Noel Greb
An angry young man of the theatre, who has written a play that could be a hit, if actress Sara Lescaut agrees to play the lead. Kolinos, however, is d...
Act One
1963
as Richard Maxwell
This autobiographical story traces the career of playwright Moss Hart. Moss struggles as a dramatic writer until he concentrates his efforts on writin...
The World of Sholom Aleichem
1959
as Mendele
This omnibus release consists of three playlets filmed and aired during television's Golden Age, and starring some of the legends of film and televisi...
Kathy O'
1958
as Ben Melnick
A movie publicist is assigned to keep the public from learning that a beloved child star is an egotistical little brat.
Slaughter on 10th Avenue
1957
as Howard Rysdale
A rookie assistant DA is assigned to investigate the murder of a longshoreman, killed for exposing gangster involvement on the piers, and meets up wit...
Sweet Smell of Success
1957
as Frank D' Angelo
New York City newspaper writer J.J. Hunsecker holds considerable sway over public opinion with his Broadway column, but one thing that he can't contro...
Designing Woman
1957
as Ned Hammerstein
A sportswriter who marries a fashion designer discovers that their mutual interests are few, although each has an intriguing past which makes the othe...
The Opposite Sex
1956
as Mike Pearl
Former radio singer Kay learns from her gossipy friends that her husband, Steve, has had an affair with chorus girl Crystal. Devastated, Kay tries to ...
The Matchmaker
1954
as Horace Vandergelder
Can the ever-resilient Mrs. Levi melt the heart of the eternally sour-tempered Mr. Vandergelder?
Three Sailors and a Girl
1953
as Joe Woods
A group of sailors invest in a musical revue.
Dial 1119
1950
as John D. Faron
A deranged killer escapes from a mental institution, intent on locating the psychiatrist whose testimony sent him to the asylum, holds the patrons of ...
With These Hands
1950
as Alexander Brody
Produced by the International Ladies Garment Workers Union, the film used actors to recreate the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire and compare working ...
Guilty Bystander
1950
as Captain Tonetti
A drunken ex-cop gets a shot at redemption when his young son is kidnapped after a smuggling deal goes belly up.
Leather Gloves
1948
as Bernie
A fallen prizefighter must choose between two women from vastly different walks of life.
The Babe Ruth Story
1948
as Phil Conrad
The baseball player goes from wayward youth to Boston Red Sox pitcher to New York Yankees home-run hero.
Killer McCoy
1947
as Happy
Tommy McCoy grew up poor and scrappy. As a young man he discovers that he can fight with his powerful right arm. He becomes successful at boxing, howe...
Crossfire
1947
as Samuels
A man is murdered, apparently by one of a group of soldiers just out of the army. But which one? And why?
Brute Force
1947
as Louie Miller #7033
Timeworn Joe Collins and his fellow inmates live under the heavy thumb of the sadistic, power-tripping guard Captain Munsey. Only Collins' dreams of e...
A Likely Story
1947
as Louie
A shell-shocked young GI mistakenly believes he is dying, and a young artist takes it upon herself to prove to him that he's not.
Boomerang!
1947
as Morning Record's Reporter Dave Woods
When a kindly priest is murdered while waiting at a street corner in a quiet Connecticut town, the citizens are horrified and demand action from the p...
The Killers
1946
as Lt. Sam Lubinsky
Two hit men walk into a diner asking for a man called "the Swede". When the killers find the Swede, he's expecting them and doesn't put up a fight. Si...
The True Glory
1945
as Commentator
A documentary account of the allied invasion of Europe during World War II compiled from the footage shot by nearly 1400 cameramen. It opens as the as...
Follow the Boys
1944
as Sgt. Leo Andreof (archive footage) (uncredited)
During World War II, all the studios put out "all-star" vehicles which featured virtually every star on the lot--often playing themselves--in musical ...
The Purple Heart
1944
as Lt. Wayne Greenbaum
This is the story of the crew of a downed bomber, captured after a run over Tokyo, early in the war. Relates the hardships the men endure while in cap...
Shoe Shine Boy
1943
as Lucky
A teenaged shoeshine boy urgently tries to raise the remaining amount of money he needs to purchase a secondhand bugle before 6p.m.
Gung Ho!
1943
as Leo 'Transport' Andreof
A true-life epic that revolves around an exclusive bataillon of the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II, "Carlson's Raiders," whose assignment is to...
Whistling in Brooklyn
1943
as Creeper
Radio crime show host "The Fox" finds himself on the trail of a serial killer while a suspect himself.
I Dood It
1943
as Ed Jackson
Constance Shaw, a Broadway dance star, and Joseph Rivington Reynolds, a keen fan of hers, marry after she breaks up with her fiancé. Connie thinks Jos...
Action in the North Atlantic
1943
as Abel 'Chips' Abrams
Merchant Marine sailors Joe Rossi (Humphrey Bogart) and Steve Jarvis (Raymond Massey) are charged with getting a supply vessel to Russian allies as pa...
Destination Unknown
1942
as Victor, Elena's Aide
Foreign spies and police pursue an attractive Dutch spy throughout Peking.
The Big Street
1942
as Horsethief
Meek busboy Little Pinks is in love with an extremely selfish nightclub singer who despises and uses him.
Sunday Punch
1942
as Roscoe
Ma Galestrum (Connie Gilchrist) is a boardinghouse owner whose tenants are a group of aspiring boxers. When her young niece, Judy (Jean Rogers), comes...
Grand Central Murder
1942
as Inspector Gunther
Conniving Broadway starlet Mida King has plenty of enemies, so when she's found murdered at Grand Central Station, Inspector Gunther calls together a ...
Sing Your Worries Away
1942
as Smiley Clark
This package for comedy and the musical numbers has Luke Brown being drugged by the gangster operators of the swank Boathouse Inn; most notably Roxie ...
Shadow of the Thin Man
1941
as Lieutenant Abrams
High society sleuths Nick and Nora Charles run into a variety of shady characters while investigating a race-track murder.
Married Bachelor
1941
as Cookie Farrar
A man's marriage suffers when he pretends to be a bachelor while promoting "his" best-selling book about married life (actually written by an eccentri...
Golden Boy
1939
as Siggie
Despite his talent as a musician, a city boy decides to become a boxer. He's successful as a fighter — much to the dismay of his parents. When gangste...
The Mad Miss Manton
1938
as Lieutenant Brent
When the murdered body discovered by beautiful, vivacious socialite Melsa Manton disappears, police and press label her a prankster until she proves t...
The Shopworn Angel
1938
as 'Leer'
During WWI Bill Pettigrew, a naive young Texan soldier is sent to New York for basic training. He meets worldly wise actress Daisy Heath when her car ...
Yellow Jack
1938
as Busch
A fairly accurate historical account of Walter Reed's search for the cause of "Yellow Jack" or Yellow Fever and those who risked their lives in the pu...
After the Thin Man
1936
as Lt. Abrams
Nick and Nora Charles investigate when Nora's cousin reports her disreputable husband is missing, and find themselves in a mystery involving the shady...
Three Men on a Horse
1936
as Patsy
A meek salesman with an uncanny ability to pick horses is virtually kidnapped by a trio of gamblers.
The Talk of Hollywood
1929
as Film Buyer
Schlock-movie producer J. Pierpont Ginsburg, after declaring, in a Yiddish accent, that "talking pictures are in their infantry," decides to put all o...