Sam Levenson
| Sam Levenson | |
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| Born | December 28, 1911 |
| Died | August 27, 1980 (aged 68) Brooklyn, New York |
Sam Levenson (December 28, 1911 – August 27, 1980) was an American humorist, writer, teacher, television host, and journalist.
Born Samuel Levenson, he grew up in a large Jewish immigrant family in Brooklyn, New York. He graduated from Brooklyn College in 1934. He married Esther Levine (1910–1999) and had two children, Emily and Conrad, the latter a graduate of Columbia University, an architect, a resident of New York City, and father of four children.
From 1949 to 1954, Levenson was a panelist on the CBS series This Is Show Business along with playwright George S. Kaufman and Abe Burrows.
In 1950 he and fellow comedian Joe E. Lewis were the first members of the New York Friars' Club to be roasted. The club has roasted a member every year since the inaugural roasting.
In 1956 he hosted the game show Two for the Money, having replaced fellow humorist Herb Shriner. From 1959 to 1964, he hosted The Sam Levenson Show. Over a span of more than a decade, he appeared on Toast of the Town aka The Ed Sullivan Show twenty-one times, in addition to frequently serving as a substitute host on CBS's Arthur Godfrey Time. He was a guest host on The Price Is Right and was a panelist on many other television programs such as Password and What's My Line? Levenson also had a cameo in the film A Face in the Crowd. Levenson also appeared multiple times on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson through the 1970s. Levenson wrote the well-known poem "Time Tested Beauty Tips" for his grandchild, which has become falsely attributed to Audrey Hepburn.
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