Jerry Levitan (born 1954) is a Canadian best known as "the kid who interviewed John Lennon". He produced and starred in the animated short ''

I Met the Walrus ''I Met the Walrus'' is an animated film directed by Josh Raskin (known for his musical project Kids & Explosions) and produced by Jerry Levitan. It stars Levitan and John Lennon. The film's pen illustration is by James Braithwaite and computer i ...

'' about his meeting with

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

and

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Ontario, Canada in 1969. Though only 14 years old, Levitan beat the world media and conducted an exclusive 30-minute interview with them about peace,

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

, and their music. The film won a

Daytime Emmy The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (N ...

in 2009 in the category of New Approaches, Daytime Entertainment. It was also nominated for an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

in 2008 for

best animated short The Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film is an award given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) as part of the annual Academy Awards, or Oscars, since the 5th Academy Awards (with different names), covering the year ...

, and won Best Animated at the Manhattan Short Film Festival, the American Film Festival and the Middle East International Film Festival. He is the author of the best selling, autobiographical book, ''I Met The Walrus'' published May 2009 by HarperCollins. It is the account of Levitan's childhood growing up in the sixties, his love for the Beatles, and traces in detail the day he spent with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. In 2010, Levitan was honored by the Guggenheim Museum and YouTube when I Met The Walrus was selected in the first Biennial of Creative Video. In July 2011 Levitan's animated film, Yoko Ono's ''My Hometown'' had its world premiere at the ''Without Borders (Senza Frontiere) Film Festival'' in Spoleto, Italy to widespread acclaim. Levitan co-produced and directed the film. Yoko Ono narrated her poem and provided her ''Remember Love'' song which was the B-Side to ''Give Peace A Chance'', for the soundtrack. Levitan produced "I Am the Egbert", an animated series of 14 Spotify canvasses written and directed by Sean Ono Lennon for the 2021 release of "John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band - The Ultimate Collection". On May 26, 2021, Jerry Levitan was nominated as the 2022 Ontario Liberal Party Candidate for the Toronto riding of Davenport.

Biography

Levitan graduated with a B.A. from

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

in Toronto and an LL.B. from

Osgoode Hall Law School Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the law school of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The law school is home to the Law Commission of Ontario, the Journal of Law and Social Policy, and the ''Osgoode Hall La ...

in 1979, and has been involved throughout his career with high-profile legal cases. He is the author of ''The Complete Idiot's Guide to Winning Everyday Legal Hassles in Canada'' (). Levitan is also an actor with roles in a string of Canadian and international films and television series, including a guest appearance in

The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American serial (radio and television), serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the ...

, and one of Canada's pre-eminent children's entertainers. Performing under his alter-ego "Sir Jerry" (sir-jerry.com) and backed by a full band of rock musicians and performers, he has produced four CDs, "Bees, Butterflies & Bugs", "Sir Jerry's World", "Time Machine" and "Sir Jerry Scared Silly" and is developing a television series.

References

External links

*
Television interview with Jerry Levitan on CBC's The Hour
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levitan, Jery 1954 births Living people Canadian legal writers Lawyers in Ontario York University alumni