Shawn Levy (writer)

Early life and education

Levy was born in Brooklyn on October 22, 1961.

He was educated at Lawrence High School and the University of Pennsylvania and the University of California, Irvine.

Career

Levy was the film critic of The Oregonian newspaper in Portland, Oregon, from 1997 to 2012 and of KGW-TV, Portland's NBC affiliate, from 2009 to 2016. He is a former Senior Editor of American Film and a former Associate Editor of Box Office. His work has appeared in major newspapers and magazines in the United States and England including The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, The Guardian, The Independent, Film Comment, Movieline, Premiere, and Sight & Sound.

Levy has written biographies of film actors Paul Newman, Clint Eastwood, Robert De Niro and Jerry Lewis, a history of the famed hotel Chateau Marmont, and books on pop culture scenes and phenomena such as the Rat Pack, 1950s film-making in Rome, and 1960s Swinging London. In 2023, his original narrative podcast, "Glitter and Might: The Lew Wasserman Story," was released by Audacy. In 2025, it was announced that he was working on a biography of David Lynch.

He is an active member of Portland's soccer community and serves on the board of Operation Pitch Invasion.

Bibliography

• King of Comedy: The Life and Art of Jerry Lewis (1996)
• Rat Pack Confidential: Frank, Dean, Sammy, Peter, Joey, and the Last Great Show Biz Party (1998)
• Ready, Steady, Go! The Smashing Rise and Giddy Fall of Swinging London (2002)
• The Last Playboy: The High Life of Porfirio Rubirosa (2005)
• Paul Newman: A Life (2009)
• The Rat Pack: Limited Edition (2010)
• De Niro: A Life (2014)
• Dolce Vita Confidential: Fellini, Loren, Pucci, Paparazzi, and the Swinging High Life of 1950s Rome (2016)
• The Castle on Sunset: Life, Death, Love, Art, and Scandal at Hollywood's Chateau Marmont (2019)
• A Year in the Life of Death: Poems Inspired by the Obit Pages of The New York Times (2021)
• In on the Joke: The Original Queens of Stand-Up Comedy (2022)
• Glitter & Might: The Lew Wasserman Story(podcast) (2023)
• Clint: The Man and the Movies (2025)

References

References

1. [http://newcityfilm.com/2009/05/12/newman-owns-shawn-levy-on-the-sturdy-paul-newman-a-life/ "Newman Owns: Shawn Levy on the sturdy 'Paul Newman: A Life'"] (interview, NewCity Film, May 12, 2009)
2. [http://www.wweek.com/editorial/3148/6800/ "The Hustler in the Penthouse"] (review/interview, ''Willamette Week'', October 5, 2005)
3. [https://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/16/books/16book.html?_r=1&n=Top/Features/Books/Book%20Reviews&oref=slogin "A Jet-Set Don Juan, Right Up to the Final Exit"] (review of "The Last Playboy", ''The New York Times'', September 16, 2005)
4. [https://www.theguardian.com/film/2003/mar/14/artsfeatures1 "Not in My Name"] (Shawn Anthony Levy writes about being mistaken for Shawn Adam Levy, ''The Guardian'', March 14, 2003)
5. [https://deadline.com/2021/04/lew-wasserman-ronald-reagan-sidney-korshak-podcast-series-shawn-levy-c13originals-1234741416/] ("Lew Wasserman, Ronald Reagan & Sidney Korshak Relationship Explored In Podcast Series From Shawn Levy & C13Originals (announcement of "Glitter and Might" podcast, Deadline.com, April 22, 2021))
6. Ancestry.com. [https://www.ancestry.com/inst/discoveries/PfRecord?collectionId=61457&recordId=6717122 ''New York, New York, U.S., Birth Index, 1910-1965''] [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2017.
7. [https://biographersinternational.org/resources/articles/sold-to-publishers-february-2025/] (Biographers International 'Sold to Publishers,' February, 2025)
8. "King of Comedy: The Life and Art of Jerry Lewis".