Herbert S. Levinson (October 10, 1929 – November 19, 2012) was an American television and movie
actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...
. Levinson played a variety of character roles, often set in
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...
,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...
. Most notably, he played the character Dr. Lausanne in the
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
police procedural
The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on eit ...
series ''
Homicide: Life on the Street''.
Biography
Personal life
Levinson was born October 10, 1929, in Baltimore, Maryland. He was the uncle of
film director
A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, pr ...
Barry Levinson
Barry Lee Levinson (born April 6, 1942) is an American filmmaker, comedian and actor. Levinson's best-known works are mid-budget comedy drama and drama films such as '' Diner'' (1982); ''The Natural'' (1984); '' Good Morning, Vietnam'' (1987); ...
. Levinson lived in
Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which ...
, and was a member of
Congregation Beth El there.
Career
Levinson played character roles in three Barry Levinson films. In the 1982 film ''
Diner
A diner is a small, inexpensive restaurant found across the United States, as well as in Canada and parts of Western Europe. Diners offer a wide range of foods, mostly American cuisine, a casual atmosphere, and, characteristically, a co ...
'', Herb Levinson played an
Emerson black and white television customer. In the 1987 comedy film ''
Tin Men
''Tin Men'' is a 1987 American comedy film written and directed by Barry Levinson, produced by Mark Johnson, and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Danny DeVito, and Barbara Hershey.
It is the second of Levinson's tetralogy "Baltimore Films", set in h ...
'', Levinson played a metal siding customer. And in the 1990 film ''
Avalon
Avalon (; la, Insula Avallonis; cy, Ynys Afallon, Ynys Afallach; kw, Enys Avalow; literally meaning "the isle of fruit r appletrees"; also written ''Avallon'' or ''Avilion'' among various other spellings) is a mythical island featured in the ...
'', Levinson played the Rabbi at the Funeral.
From 1994 to 1999, Levinson appeared in 15 episodes of ''Homicide: Life on the Street'' as Dr. Lausanne. And then in 2000, he again played Dr. Lausanne in the television movie ''
Homicide: The Movie''.
[; see also ]
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levinson, Herb
American male film actors
1929 births
Male actors from Baltimore
People from Bethesda, Maryland
2012 deaths
American male television actors