Search -
A Talent for Genius: The Life and Times of Oscar Levant
A Talent for Genius The Life and Times of Oscar Levant Author:Sam Kashner, Nancy Schoenberger Oscar Levant was the Amadeus of Hollywood, the Oscar Wilde of Broadway, and the most wildly self-destructive personality ever to become a household name. An astonishingly gifted concert pianist (and the premier interpreter of Gershwin's concert works), composer, film and stage presence, radio and television raconteur, insult wit, and bestsel... more »ling author, Levant steered a maniacally masochistic course through seven decades spent in the company of some of America's most noted literary, musical, and entertainment personages.
He penned three popular volumes of autobiography; made more than 100 recordings, including a version of "Rhapsody in Blue" that remained a bestselling classical record for ten years; and appeared in 13 films, including "An American in Paris", "The Band Wagon", and "Rhapsody in Blue", in which he literally played himself, best friend to George Gershwin.
His death in 1972, at the age of 65, left the entertainment community shocked -- largely with amazement that a four-pack-a-day smoker with a long history of drug abuse and mental illness had lasted as long as Levant did. Already hobbled by complex superstitions meant to ward off the terrors of performing, his addiction to Demerol in the 1950s almost destroyed him, but it didn't keep him from appearing on television to talk about it. His uncensored comments on "The Jack Paar Show" and his own Los Angeles talk show made national news.« less