Oscar Levant

 Oscar Levant (December 27, 1906 – August 14, 1972)

Levant was a concert pianist, composer, music conductor, bestselling author, radio game show panelist and personality, television talk show host, and actor. He was as famous for his mordant character and witticisms, on the radio and in movies and television, as for his music. In 1928, he met and befriended George Gershwin. From 1929 to 1948 he composed the music for more than twenty movies. During this period, he also wrote or co-wrote numerous popular songs that made the Hit Parade, the most noteworthy being "Blame It on My Youth" (1934), now considered a standard. He was also one of the regular panelists on the radio quiz show Information Please. Originally scheduled as a guest panelist, Levant proved so quick-witted and popular that he became a regular fixture on the show in the late 1930s and 1940s, along with fellow panelists Franklin P. Adams and John Kieran, and moderator Clifton Fadiman. "Mr. Levant", as he was always called, was often challenged with musical questions, and he impressed audiences with his depth of knowledge and facility with a joke. From the 1930s through the mid-1950s, Levant appeared in a number of feature films, often playing a pianist or composer. He had major supporting roles in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musicals The Barkleys of Broadway (1949), starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, An American in Paris (1951), starring Gene Kelly, and The Band Wagon (1953), starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. Between 1958 and 1960, Levant hosted a television talk show on KCOP-TV in Los Angeles, The Oscar Levant Show, which later became syndicated. Levant was open about his neuroses and hypochondria. The 1920s and 1930s wit Alexander Woollcott, a member of the Algonquin Round Table, once said of him: "There isn't anything the matter with Levant that a few miracles wouldn't cure."

Despite his afflictions, Levant was considered a multifaceted genius by some. He was married twice, his second marriage was to June Gale, of the Gale sisters. They had 3 children. A lifelong heavy smoker, Levant died in Beverly Hills, California, of a heart attack in 1972 at age 65. He is interred at Westwood Memorial Park.