Kenneth Levine ( ) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, and author. Levine has worked on a number of television series, including ''

M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (an acronym for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richa ...

'', ''

Cheers ''Cheers'' is an American television sitcom, created by Glen and Les Charles, Glen Charles & Les Charles and James Burrows, that aired on NBC for eleven seasons from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/C ...

'' (for which he shared Outstanding Comedy Series honors at the

35th Primetime Emmy Awards The 35th Primetime Emmy Awards were held on September 25, 1983. The ceremony was broadcast on NBC, from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, Pasadena, California. It is remembered for the vulgar language during the ceremony, much of it from Joan Rive ...

), ''

Frasier ''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey (screenwriter), Peter Casey, and David Lee (scr ...

'', ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

'', ''

Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces both lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-drag ratio, which compares the bene ...

'', ''

Everybody Loves Raymond ''Everybody Loves Raymond'' is an American television sitcom created by Philip Rosenthal that aired on CBS from September 13, 1996, to May 16, 2005, with a total of 210 episodes spanning nine seasons. It was produced by Where's Lunch and Wor ...

'', ''

Becker Becker () is one of the German-language surnames, along with Bäcker and Baecker, that derive from the root, which refers to baking. The surname began as a name for a baker (and thus his family). In northern Germany, it can also derive from th ...

'' and ''

Dharma and Greg Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold'' or ''to support' ...

''. Along with his writing partner David Isaacs, he created the series ''

Almost Perfect ''Almost Perfect'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on CBS from September 17, 1995, until October 30, 1996. Starring Nancy Travis, Kevin Kilner, David Clennon, Matthew Letscher, and Chip Zien, the series focused on the profes ...

''. Levine was also the co-writer of the feature films ''

Volunteers Volunteering is an elective and freely chosen act of an individual or group giving their time and labor, often for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergenc ...

'' and '' Mannequin Two: On the Move''. Levine has also been a radio and TV play-by-play commentator for

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

games, having worked with the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

(1991),

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

(1992–94, 2011–12), and

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

(1995–96). From 2008 to 2010, he co-hosted the KABC ''Dodger Talk'' radio call-in program after every

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

game, as well as the station's weekly ''Sunday Night Sports Final'' program. During his second stint with the Mariners, he returned to help fill in for the deceased Dave Niehaus. Levine grew up in Woodland Hills, CA, graduating from Parkman Junior High and

William Howard Taft Charter High School William Howard Taft Charter High School is a Public school (government funded), public school located on the corner of Ventura Boulevard and Winnetka Avenue in the Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, Woodland Hills district of the San Ferna ...

Other work

For several years in the 1970s, Levine was a

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...

using the air name "Beaver Cleaver" on several West Coast Top 40 radio stations including KYA San Francisco,

KFMB-FM KFBG (100.7 FM, "Frontera 100.7") is a commercial radio station that is licensed to San Diego, California and broadcasts a Regional Mexican format. KFBG is a owned by Lotus Communications. Its transmitter is atop Mount Soledad in La Jolla ...

San Diego, and

KTNQ KTNQ (1020 AM) is a radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, with a Spanish talk, Spanish AC and Regional Mexican format. It is owned by Latino Media Network; under a local marketing agreement, it was programmed by former owner ...

, KIQQ and KHTZ Los Angeles. Levine has written several books on television, travel and growing up in the 1960s. From 2005 to 2022 he ran the blo
By Ken Levine
which was rated one of The Best 25 Blogs of 2011 by ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine. While Levine's blog spans many of his personal interests (including sports), a core focus of the content is about TV shows, writing for TV, and questions and answers about the various shows where Levine was part of the writing team. A 2014 blog post paying tribute to playwright

Neil Simon Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He received three ...

led to Levine providing on-camera introductions to 17 movies written by Simon on the

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcas ...

cable television channel on Friday nights in January 2015. Currently, Levine is a contributing cartoonist to the New Yorker magazine.

Comments about Roseanne Barr

In what the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' called an epic "Blog Fight!", Levine responded to an assertion in ''

New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Clay Felker and Milton Glaser in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'' a ...

'' by

Roseanne Barr Roseanne Cherrie Barr (born November 3, 1952), also known mononymously as Roseanne, is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. She began her career in stand-up comedy before gaining acclaim in the television sitcom ''Roseanne'' (19 ...

that her sitcom ''

Roseanne ''Roseanne'' is an American television sitcom created by Matt Williams (producer), Matt Williams that originally aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from October 18, 1988, to May 20, 1997, and briefly revived from March 27, 2018, to May ...

'' was doomed due to sexism and her lack of creative control. Levine said "...Roseanne is a monster. No amount of spinning on her part is going to change that. No amount of 'woe is me', 'no one understands me', 'I'm the only one who cares' laments are going to change the fact that she treated people like shit. Routinely. Constantly. Knowingly." Barr responded with an obscenity-laced rejoinder which included this challenge: "I am pretty sure that women who have worked for you in the past (if indeed there were ANY) worked in a hostile work environment. Let me know, women writers out there—how were you treated on Ken Levine’s staff?" Levine posted an answer from ''

'' co-creator

Robin Schiff Robin Schiff is an American screenwriter and producer, best known for the film '' Romy and Michele's High School Reunion'' starring Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino. Schiff was a member of the comedy troupe The Groundlings. She hosts an interview seri ...

: "There are many sexist guys in the business, but Ken Levine is not one of them. The most sexist thing he ever did was blather on about baseball with the other men in the room despite the fact that I was visibly bored. Hardly grounds for a lynching." But Schiff did offer, "I totally agree with Roseanne that there is rampant sexism in the industry. A couple of weeks ago, the WGAw released its executive summary finding that (in addition to dismal stats for ethnically diverse or older writers), women comprise only 28% of working writers. We still make less money than men. All you have to do is look at the writers onstage accepting Emmys for late night talk shows and sitcoms to see that women comedy writers are on the endangered list."

Podcast

In 2017, Levine launched a weekly

podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

, ''Hollywood & Levine'', covering subjects similar to his blog, along with occasional interviews. He later ended the podcast, releasing its final episode on August 8, 2024.

''The Simpsons'' episodes

* " Dancin' Homer" (season two) * "

Saturdays of Thunder "Saturdays of Thunder" is the ninth episode of the third season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on November 14, 1991. In the episode, Homer realizes he knows little ab ...

" (season three)

''MAS*H'' episodes

* " Out of Sight, Out of Mind" (season five) * "

The Most Unforgettable Characters ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The' ...

" (season five) * " Post Op" (season five) * " The M*A*S*H Olympics" (season six) * " The Merchant of Korea" (season six) * " Patient 4077" (season six) * " Dr. Winchester and Mr. Hyde" (season six) * " Peace on Us" (season seven) * " Our Finest Hour" (season seven) * " The Billfold Syndrome" (season seven) * " None Like it Hot" (season seven) * " They Call the Wind Korea" (season seven) * "

Point of View Point of View or Points of View may refer to: Concept and technique * Point of view (literature) or narrative mode, the perspective of the narrative voice; the pronoun used in narration * Point of view (philosophy), an attitude how one sees or ...

" (season seven) * " A Night at Rosie's" (season seven) * " Ain't Love Grand" (season seven) * " Good-Bye Radar: Part 1" (season eight) * " Good-Bye Radar: Part 2" (season eight)

Awards and nominations

* 1979 – Nominated:

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy or Comedy-Variety or Music Series: ''M*A*S*H'': "Point of View" (with David Isaacs)Ken Levine Awards and Nominations at th
Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
/ref> * 1979 – Nominated:

Humanitas Prize for 30 Minute Network or Syndicated Television The Humanitas Prize for 30 Minute Network or Syndicated Television is an award presented to the best written 30-minute network or syndicated television program. The winners are indicated in bold. 1975 (1st) *''Good Times'': **"The Lunch Money Rip- ...

: ''M*A*S*H'': "Point of View" (with David Isaacs) * 1979 – Nominated:

Writers Guild of America Award The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949. Eligibility Th ...

for Episodic Comedy: ''M*A*S*H'': "Point of View" (with David Isaacs)Ken Levine library holdings a
Writers Guild Foundation
* 1980 – Nominated:

for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series: ''M*A*S*H'': " Good Bye, Radar, Part II" (with David Isaacs) * 1980 – Nominated:

for Episodic Comedy: ''M*A*S*H'': " Good Bye, Radar, Part I and Part II" (with David Isaacs) * 1983 – Won:

for Outstanding Comedy Series: ''

'' (with

James Burrows James Burrows (born December 30, 1940), sometimes known as Jim "Jimmy" Burrows, is an American television director. He has received numerous accolades including 11 Primetime Emmy Awards and five Directors Guild of America Awards. He was honored ...

Glen and Les Charles Brothers Glen Gerald Charles (born February 18, 1943) and Les Charles (born March 25, 1948) are American screenwriters and television producers, best known for working on ''Taxi'' and co-creating ''Cheers''. Early lives and careers The Cha ...

and David Isaacs) * 1983 – Nominated:

for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series: ''

'': " The Boys In The Bar" (with David Isaacs) * 1983 – Nominated:

for Episodic Comedy: ''Open All Night'': "Terry Runs Away" (with David Isaacs) * 1984 – Won:

for Episodic Comedy: ''

'': " The Boys In The Bar" (with David Isaacs) (Tied with

for the ''

'' pilot, "

Give Me a Ring Sometime "Give Me a Ring Sometime" is the pilot episode and the first episode of the first season of the American situation comedy ''Cheers''. Written by Glen and Les Charles and directed by James Burrows, the episode first aired September 30, 1982, ...

") * 1988 – Nominated:

for Episodic Comedy: ''

'': "Never Love a Goalie - Part I" (with David Isaacs) * 1990 – Nominated:

for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series: ''

'': "Death Takes a Holiday on Ice" (with David Isaacs) * 1990 – Nominated:

for Episodic Comedy: ''

'': "Jumping Jerks" (with David Isaacs) * 1992 – Won:

for Episodic Comedy: ''

'': "Rat Girl" (with David Isaacs) * 1994 – Nominated:

for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing in a Comedy Series: ''

'': "The Show Where Lilith Comes Back" (with David Isaacs)

Books

* ''It's Gone...No, Wait A Minute...'', a diary of his season broadcasting with the Baltimore Orioles (1991), released in 1993. * ''Where the Hell Am I?: Trips I Have Survived,'', a 2011 collection of travelogues he had originally started writing for friends and family. * ''The Me Generation... By Me (Growing Up in the '60s),'' a 2012 memoir * ''Must Kill TV'', a 2013 satirical novel

Plays

* ''The ‘60s Project'' (2006 musical, conceived by co-writer Janet Brenner) * ''Upfronts & Personal'' (2007) * ''A or B?'' (2014) * ''Going... Going... Gone!'' (2016) * ''Our Time'' (2017) *''Fifteen Seconds'' (2018
Full Season Announcement - Short+Sweet Illawarra 2018 , Short + Sweet
*''What Is Murder?'' (2022)

References

External links

*
Ken Levine's blog
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Levine, Ken 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American screenwriters 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American bloggers American male bloggers American male non-fiction writers American male screenwriters American male television writers American radio DJs American sports radio personalities American television directors American television writers Baltimore Orioles announcers Emmy Award winners Living people Major League Baseball broadcasters San Diego Padres announcers Seattle Mariners announcers Television producers from California Screenwriters from Los Angeles Writers Guild of America Award winners Year of birth missing (living people) Jewish American sports journalists

Other work

Comments about Roseanne Barr

Podcast

''The Simpsons'' episodes

''M*A*S*H'' episodes

Awards and nominations

Books

Plays

References

External links

''MAS*H'' episodes