Harvey Levin

Early life and education

Levin was born September 2, 1950, in Los Angeles County, California to a Jewish family. He attended high school at Grover Cleveland High School in Reseda, Los Angeles and graduated in 1968 with honors. Levin attended the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he graduated with a B.A. in political science in 1972. He later attended the University of Chicago Law School and graduated with a J.D. in 1975.

Career

Early law career and academia

Levin was an active attorney in California for two decades, from December 18, 1975, until January 1, 1996. In the mid-1970s, he taught law at the University of Miami School of Law under Soia Mentschikoff.{{cite journal |last=Klein |first=Asher |date=September–October 2013 |title=In the court of public opinion |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121104040204/https://www.mediabistro.com/So-What-Do-You-Do-Harvey-Levin-Executive-Producer-and-Host-TMZ-a10577.html |archive-date = 2012-11-04 |url-status = dead |access-date = August 25, 2015

In 1978, Levin came to public attention following a series of high-profile debates with Howard Jarvis, the co-author of Proposition 13, California's controversial property tax-reduction ballot measure, which Levin opposed. With his newfound fame, Levin began to contribute legal advice on a radio show, where he was nicknamed "Doctor Law", as well as to write columns for the Los Angeles Times. His columnist career with the Times spanned seven years.

Transition to entertainment

Main article: TMZ

Levin covered legal issues for KNBC-TV in 1982. He subsequently joined KCBS-TV and spent a decade doing investigative reporting and legal analysis, most notably covering the O. J. Simpson murder case. In 1997, he was named co-executive producer and on-air legal anchor for The People's Court. Levin remained on the show until its cancellation in July 2023. He created Celebrity Justice, which ran from 2002 to 2005.

Levin produced Beyond Twisted, which aired in 2009 for one season before being canceled. He created Famous in 12 (2014), an experiment in exploiting a family for quick fame, but the show was canceled after less than one season, with only five of the scheduled twelve episodes having aired.

In 2005, AOL and Telepictures Productions launched TMZ with Levin as the founder and managing editor. The website quickly rose to prominence when it broke the story of Mel Gibson's DUI arrest and subsequent antisemitic rant. It continued to break a number of high-profile stories including the abuse of Rihanna by Chris Brown and the deaths of Heath Ledger, Brittany Murphy, ⁣Michael Jackson, and Kobe Bryant. The Los Angeles Times named TMZ's coverage of the Jackson death as the biggest story the website had covered to date.

Harvey Levin Productions has produced Levin's media projects since he joined The People's Court in 1983 as the show's legal consultant. In 1985, Levin wrote The People's Court: How to Tell It to the Judge, reviewing and providing commentary on several cases from the show. The Library Journal "recommended [the book] for public libraries."

Personal life

Levin appeared as an event speaker for the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association in April 2010 in which he publicly confirmed his self-identification as gay. He discussed his fear of losing his career if someone were to find out, which led to Levin compartmentalizing his personal and professional lives.

Levin's longtime partner is Andy Mauer, a chiropractor in Southern California. The two own multiple properties together, sharing joint-deed listings since the late 1990s and early 2000s. Levin has been named to Out magazine's "Power 50" list as one of the most influential voices in LGBT America since 2012 when he was named #15. He has since been named #25 in 2013, #34 in 2014, #48 in 2015, and #40 in 2016.

Levin supported Donald Trump in the run-up to the 2016 United States presidential election. Following the election, he met with Trump in the Oval Office on March 7, 2017, and chatted for an hour. However, by August 2018, he distanced himself from Trump over the president's repeated attempts to establish a transgender military ban. He became an increasingly vocal opponent of Trump in the years following.

Filmography

• Volcano (1997) – Reporter
• Celebrity Justice – Host
• TMZ (2005 to present) – Himself
• Family Guy S-8 Ep-14 (2010) – "Peter-assment"

Books

• The People's Court: How to Tell it to the Judge (1985)

Awards and honors

For his broadcast work, Levin has been nominated for nine Emmys.

References

References

1. "State Bar of CA, Harvey Robert Levin".
2. (4 January 2018). "TV in the USA [3 volumes]: A History of Icons, Idols, and Ideas [3 volumes]". Bloomsbury Publishing USA.
3. Beale, Lauren. (February 24, 2015). "Exclusive details: Harvey Levin of TMZ hunts for a renter". [[Los Angeles Times]].
4. "Harvey Levin." ''Biography in Context''. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Gale Biography In Context. Web. April 17, 2011.
5. "Harvey Levin." ''Newsmakers''. Vol. 4. Detroit: Gale, 2011. Gale Biography In Context. Web. April 17, 2011.
6. Harris, Paul. (October 24, 2009). "How TMZ's high prince of sleaze became the King of Hollywood". [[The Guardian]].
7. "FAMOUS AND INFAMOUS CAVALIERS".
8. Burch, Tina. (February 20, 2009). "Cleveland High School 50th".
9. Wu, Gwendolyn. (April 29, 2015). "UCSB Alum Harvey Levin Speaks on Changes in Media". [[The Bottom Line (newspaper).
10. Safranek, Lynn. (October 18, 2010). "Harvey Levin, '75, of TMZ Tells Students Why His JD Matters".
11. (March 24, 1997). "Levin to preside in 'Court'". Electronic Media.
12. (July 22, 2009). "TMZ's Beyond Twisted Replaced By New Reality Show".
13. Ryan, Patrick. (June 2, 2014). "'Famous in 12' pushes the insta-celeb envelope". [[USA Today]].
14. (July 3, 2014). "'Famous In 12' Announces Its Own Cancellation On Air After TMZ Unable To Make Family Stars In 5".
15. Ray, Rachel. (November 10, 2011). "Harvey Levin, founder of celebrity news website TMZ: 'We would never hack phones'". [[The Daily Telegraph]].
16. Shields, Mike. (December 8, 2005). "AOL Launches TMZ.com".
17. (June 28, 2009). "Michael Jackson may be turning point for TMZ". [[Los Angeles Times]].
18. (February 1, 1985). "The People's Court". Library Journal.
19. Hernandez, Greg. (April 23, 2010). "TMZ's Harvey Levin talks about being gay in the news business: "I was so terrified that somebody would find out."".
20. "Hollywood veut sa peau". Hollywood Veut Sa Peau.
21. David, Mark. (March 2, 2013). "TMZ Boss Harvey Levin Lists Sunset Strip Digs". [[Variety (magazine).
22. Gupta, Rapti. (March 2, 2013). "TMZ's Harvey Levin Lists Sunset Strip Home for $5.3 Million".
23. Denton, Nick. (February 9, 2008). "Harvey Levin's Muscular Masseur".
24. (April 17, 2012). "The Power List: HARVEY LEVIN". [[Out (magazine).
25. (April 10, 2013). "Power List 2013: HARVEY LEVIN". [[Out (magazine).
26. (April 15, 2014). "Power List 2014: HARVEY LEVIN". [[Out (magazine).
27. (April 15, 2015). "Power 50: Harvey Levin". [[Out (magazine).
28. (14 April 2016). "The 10th Annual Power List".
29. Cartwright, Lachlan. (14 July 2019). "TMZ Goes MAGA: How Harvey Levin's Gossip Empire Became Trump's Best Friend". The Daily Beast.
30. (8 March 2017). "Trump Grants Oval Office Meeting to TMZ Founder". The New York Times.
31. (15 August 2018). "Report: Trump And TMZ's Harvey Levin Aren't Friends Anymore".
32. (2 June 2020). "TMZ's Harvey Levin shares his opinion on President Trump and protesters".
33. (10 February 2021). "TMZ's Harvey Levin Says Donald Trump "Committed Treason" & Should be Prosecuted".
34. (May 2, 1997). "To live and fry in L.A.".
35. (December 12, 2005). "TMZ Targets TV Newsmagazines". Television Week.