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Oscar Levant
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Screenwriter, Composer (Music Score), Actor, Songwriter Born: December 27, 1906 in Pittsburgh, PA Death: August 14, 1972 in Beverly Hills, CA Biography:"Oscar Levant"'s mercurial personality can be summed up by two of his most oft-repeated witticisms: the self-aggrandizing "In some moments I was difficult, in odd moments impossible, in rare moments loathsome, but at my best unapproachably great;" and the self-deprecating "I am the world's oldest child prodigy." The son of a Pittsburgh repairman, "Oscar Levant" went to New York at 16 to study music under such masters as Stojowski, "Schoenberg" and Schillinger. Before reaching his 20th birthday, he had gained renown as a concert pianist, teacher, band leader and composer. He played a minor role in the stage play "Burlesque", repeating this assignment in the 1929 film version "The Dance of Life". During his first visit to Hollywood, Levant befriended "George Gershwin"; his friendship approached idolatry, and by the mid-1930s Levant was perhaps the greatest interpreter of Gershwin's works in the... Full Biography
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