Irving H. Levin (September 8, 1921 – March 20, 1996) was an American film producer and business executive with the National General Corporation. He was also the owner of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

and San Diego Clippers.

Biography

Levin was raised in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. He is of Jewish descent. He served as a bombardier during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

stationed in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. He later moved to California where his father-in-law helped him to get a job in the film industry. Levin began his film career as the president of Filmmakers Releasing Organization, a film distribution company founded by independent producers Collier Young and Ida Lupino. When American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres, Inc. decided to expand to film production in 1956, Levin was named the first president of the Am-Par Picture Corporation. AB-PT sold Levin and Harry L. Mandell AB-PT Pictures and AB-PT Distribution Corporation in May 1958 and reformed the company as Atlas Pictures Corporation. Levin and Mandell then brought on Maurice Duke and Henry F. Ehrlich to form a TV production company, Sindee Productions Inc. with its first series ''Pancho Villa'' through distributor MCA. In 1961, Levin joined National Theaters & Television, Inc. as a vice president. In 1962 Eugene V. Klein restructured the company into National General Corp., where Levin served as the executive vice president from 1962 to 1969 and president and CEO from 1969 to 1972. Levin was also president of NGC's entertainment assets, which included

National General Pictures National General Corporation (NGC) was a theater chain holding company, film distributor, film distribution and film production, production company and was considered one of the "instant majors". It was in operation from 1951 to 1974. Division ...

and The Chinese Theatre. In April 1972, Levin and attorney Harold A. Lipton (father of actress Peggy Lipton) purchased the

for $3.7 Million. The sale was rejected by the NBA as a result of conflict of interest concerns due to fellow National General directors Sam Schulman and Eugene V. Klein owning the Seattle SuperSonics. Levin and Lipton were forced to sell their shares to

Robert Schmertz Robert Schmertz (November 15, 1926 – July 24, 1975) was an American real estate developer and sports franchise owner. He was owner or part-owner of two NBA franchises; the Portland Trail Blazers from 1970 through 1972, and the Boston Celtics ...

that May for $3.95 Million with an option for the two to repurchase half of the Celtics' stock. After two years of litigation, Levin and Lipton were able exercise their option. Ten months later they purchased the remaining stock from Leisure Technology. Levin had long wanted to own a team in California, but knew that the NBA would not even consider letting him move the Celtics. In 1978, with this in mind, Levin and Lipton swapped their shares in the Celtics with John Y. Brown, Jr. and Harry T. Mangurian, Jr. for their shares in the

Buffalo Braves The Buffalo Braves were an American professional basketball team based in Buffalo, New York. The Braves competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference ...

. The Braves were relocated to

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, where they became the San Diego Clippers. On May 4, 1981, Levin sold the Clippers to

Donald Sterling Donald T. Sterling (born Donald Samuel Tokowitz; April 26, 1934) is an American attorney and businessman who was the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, San Diego/Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1981 to 2014. ...

for $13.5 million.

Personal life

He divorced his first wife, Lenore, in 1971; they had three children: Donna, Lon and Sindee. His second wife, Michelle, died in a car accident.

Films produced by Levin

*'' Crashout'' (1955) *'' Eighteen and Anxious'' (1957) *''

Hell to Eternity ''Hell to Eternity'' is a 1960 American World War II film starring Jeffrey Hunter, David Janssen, Vic Damone and Patricia Owens, directed by Phil Karlson. This film biopic is about the true experiences of U.S. Marine Corps, Marine hero Pfc. Guy ...

'' (1960) *'' Operation Thunderbolt'' (1977) *'' To Live and Die in L.A.'' (1985)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Levin, Irv 1921 births 1996 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople Philanthropists from Illinois Boston Celtics owners Businesspeople from Chicago Businesspeople from Los Angeles American film producers Jewish American film people 20th-century American philanthropists 20th-century American Jews