London Alan Levine (February 4, 1935 – September 29, 2015), better known as London Lee, was an American stand-up comedian and actor.

Early life

Lee grew up in

Closter, New Jersey Closter (Westergaard, Barbara"Closter: Bergen" ''New Jersey: A Guide to the State'', p. 78. Rutgers University Press, 2006. . Accessed July 22, 2011. "Known locally as the "hub of the Northern Valley," Closter (pronounced with a long ''o'') was ...

. He claimed that he was born in

London, England London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

while his parents were on vacation, and that he was named after that city. His father was Mike Levine, a wealthy New York garment manufacturer. After graduating from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

with a degree in psychology, he began work as a dress salesman for his father's company. He disliked the work and started his own record company, U.S.A. Records, which failed. After the record venture ended he took a succession of other jobs, including music publisher, personal manager and clothing manufacturer, interspersed with working for his father. He moved to Los Angeles, working as a cab driver by day and a dishwasher by night. One night he told jokes to a group of friends, and was encouraged to perform on-stage.

Career

His comedy routines were based on his being a kid from a wealthy family, He used to joke that his father was so wealthy that he bought a new yacht "when the old one got wet," that he "wrote out a check so big the bank bounced," and that his house was so large that "when it was 3 o'clock in the kitchen it was 12 o'clock in the bedroom." Another of his favorite lines was "I was a lonely kid, so my father bought me a German

shepherd A shepherd or sheepherder is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. ''Shepherd'' derives from Old English ''sceaphierde (''sceap'' 'sheep' + ''hierde'' 'herder'). ''Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations, i ...

to play with. Not a dog." He appeared on ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in Septembe ...

,'' in the early 1960s and in 1965, he was signed by

United Artists Records United Artists Records was an American record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 to issue movie soundtracks. The label expanded into other genres, such as easy listening, jazz, pop, and R&B. History Genres In 1959, ...

to record three comedy albums and a number of singles,"the first of which was to be "The Teenage Defender's Marching Song." Lee made more than 200 TV appearances, including 32 on the Sullivan program. Lee was a favorite guest on the talk-show circuit, appearing 82 times on ''

The Merv Griffin Show ''The Merv Griffin Show'' is an American television talk show starring Merv Griffin. The series ran from October 1, 1962 to March 29, 1963 on NBC, May 10, 1965 to July 4, 1969 in first-run syndication, from August 18, 1969 to February 11, 1972 a ...

'', as well as with

Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He is best known as the host of ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson received six Pr ...

Steve Allen Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (December 26, 1921 – October 30, 2000) was an American television personality, radio personality, musician, composer, actor, comedian, and writer. In 1954, he achieved national fame as the co-cre ...

David Frost Sir David Paradine Frost (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was a British television host, journalist, comedian and writer. He rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme ' ...

Della Reese Delloreese Patricia Early (July 6, 1931 – November 19, 2017), known professionally as Della Reese, was an American jazz and gospel singer, actress, and ordained minister whose career spanned seven decades. She began her long career as a s ...

, Mike Douglas,

Joey Bishop Joseph Abraham Gottlieb (February 3, 1918 – October 17, 2007), known professionally as Joey Bishop, was an American entertainer who appeared on television as early as 1948 and eventually starred in his own weekly comedy series playing a talk/ ...

, and

Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director. At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the ...

In the 1970s, he released a comedy album, ''The Rich Kid''. Some of his material was written by comedy writer,

Bob Ellison Bob Ellison is an American consultant, screenwriter and producer. He worked as a consultant, screenwriter and producer for television programs including '' Dear John'', ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' and ''Wings''. Ellison won two Primetime Emm ...

. He was the comedian hired for the Baldwin, N.Y. Class of 1971 Senior Prom In the 1960s Lee played in celebrity golf tournaments, including the WNEW/Billboard International in 1968. In his stage appearances, Lee shared the stage with

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

Lou Rawls Louis Allen Rawls (December 1, 1933 – January 6, 2006) was an American record producer, singer, composer and actor. Rawls released more than 60 albums, sold more than 40 million records, and had numerous charting singles, most notably his s ...

, and other major performers. Lee had a supporting role in the 1974 film '' The Gambler,'' starring

James Caan James Edmund Caan ( ; March 26, 1940 – July 6, 2022) was an American actor. He came to prominence playing Sonny Corleone in ''The Godfather'' (1972) – a performance which earned him Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Academy Award an ...

. He claimed that he was cast in the

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

film ''

Broadway Danny Rose ''Broadway Danny Rose'' is a 1984 American black-and-white comedy film written and directed by Woody Allen. It follows a hapless theatrical agent who, by helping a client, gets dragged into a love triangle involving the mob. The film stars Allen a ...

'' but that his scenes were cut out.

Personal life and death

Lee was divorced three times. In his final years he resided in

Deerfield Beach, Florida Deerfield Beach is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States, just south of the Palm Beach County line. The city is named for the numerous deer that once roamed the area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 86,859. It is a principal ...

, where he died in 2015, aged 80. He had at least one daughter, Stacey Lee, who - at one time - lived in Harrington Park, NJ.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, London 1935 births 2015 deaths American stand-up comedians Jewish American male comedians People from Closter, New Jersey 21st-century American Jews