Michael Levine (publicist)
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Michael Levine is an American writer and
public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...
expert. He is the author of books on public relations including ''Guerrilla P.R.'' He has represented 58 Academy Award winners, 34 Grammy Award winners, and 43 New York Times best-sellers, including
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
,
Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...
, and
George Carlin George Denis Patrick Carlin (May 12, 1937 – June 22, 2008) was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, actor and author. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential comedians of all time, he was dubbed "the dean of countercultur ...
among many others. Levine also appeared in '' POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold'', the 2011 documentary by
Morgan Spurlock Morgan Valentine Spurlock (November 7, 1970 – May 23, 2024) was an American documentary filmmaker, writer, and television producer. He directed 23 films and was the producer of nearly 70 films throughout his career. Spurlock received acclaim f ...
. Levine has provided commentary including
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
,
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
,
Fox News The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...
,
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
, and the
USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
. Levine has been referred to in different publications as the "
Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...
of entertainment P.R."


Early life and education

Born in New York City Levine was raised in
Fort Lee, New Jersey Fort Lee is a Borough (New Jersey), borough at the eastern border of Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, situated along the Hudson River atop The Palisades (Hudson River), The Palisades. As of the 2020 Uni ...
and graduated from
Fort Lee High School Fort Lee High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grade, located in Fort Lee, in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lone secondary school of the F ...
in 1972. He went on to attend
Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...
where he dropped out after six months. Levine had a poor childhood and had learning issues due to dyslexia. He describes his mother as an alcoholic and his father as passive; however, he attributes much of his success to both of them for instilling a will to succeed. In his early career after leaving Rutgers, he worked in show business as an impresario.


Career

Levine moved to Los Angeles in 1977 and opened his own public relations firm, Levine Communications Office (LCO), in 1983. He started the firm with a borrowed desk and worked out of the back of a hair salon located in
Sherman Oaks, California Sherman Oaks (founded in 1927) is a neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles, California within the San Fernando Valley region. The neighborhood includes a portion of the Santa Monica Mountains, which gives Sherman Oaks a lower population density ...
. In an interview with the Jewish Journal, he described trying to land his first client to "stapl ngjelly to the ceiling." His first clients were stand-up comedian
David Brenner David Norris Brenner (February 4, 1936 – March 15, 2014) was an American stand-up comedian, actor and author. The most frequent guest on ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' in the 1970s and 1980s, Brenner "was a pioneer of observ ...
and actress
Joan Rivers Joan Alexandra Molinsky (June 8, 1933 – September 4, 2014), known professionally as Joan Rivers, was an American comedienne, actress, producer, writer and television host. She was noted for her blunt, often controversial comedic persona that w ...
. Former Brenner manager Steve Reidman has described Levine as someone who is devoted to his clients. Levine represented celebrity clients including David Bowie, Michael J. Fox, and Michael Jackson. Levine was Michael Jackson's publicist in 1993 and 1994 during which time Jackson was accused of molesting a 13-year-old by the name of Jordan Chandler. Prior to that time, Levine helped Jackson disseminate the story of Jackson sleeping in a
hyperbaric oxygen chamber A diving chamber is a vessel for human occupation, which may have an entrance that can be sealed to hold an internal pressure significantly higher than ambient pressure, a pressurised gas system to control the internal pressure, and a supply of ...
, a story fabricated by Jackson. In later interviews, Levine described the Jackson molestation accusations as one of the toughest public relations battle that he faced. After Jackson's death in 2009, Levine was interviewed by numerous media outlets about Jackson's conditions through those years. Levine described Jackson's life as a self-destructive journey and was quoted as saying, "His talent was unquestionable, but so too was his discomfort with the norms of the world. A human simply can not withstand this level of prolonged stress." Levine has represented comedians including George Carlin, Sam Kinison and Rodney Dangerfield. In 2010, he organized a birthday party in honor of then deceased Carlin. The event was attended by celebrities Tom Arnold, Paul Mooney, Paul Rodriguez, Tom Green, Judy Tenuta, Jay Phillips and Shawn Wayans, each of whom held a sign representing Carlin's
seven dirty words The seven dirty words are seven English language profanity words that American comedian George Carlin first listed in his 1972 "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television" monologue. The words, in the order Carlin listed them, are: " shit", " ...
. Levine also gave commentary on the Laugh Factory incident involving
Michael Richards Michael Anthony Richards (born July 24, 1949) is an American actor and former stand-up comedian. He achieved global recognition for starring as Cosmo Kramer on the NBC television sitcom ''Seinfeld'' from 1989 to 1998. He began his career as a ...
' use of racial slurs during a stand up act in 2006.


Writing and public speaking

Levine is the author of 19 books. He has spoken at Oxford, UCLA, and Harvard University. Levine is the creator of a national online newsletter ''LBN E-lert''. The newsletter started with an email list of approximately 500 people with whom Levine had previously worked. It was reported that the newsletter has more than 474,000 subscribers from all 50 states in the U.S. as well as 26 other countries. Levine's commentary has been sought for numerous incidents involving celebrities, including the molestation controversy involving
Josh Duggar Joshua James Duggar (born March 3, 1988) is an American convicted sex offender and former reality television personality. The eldest of Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar's nineteen children, Duggar and his family gained fame as the focus of the TLC se ...
that gained national attention in 2015, speaking on
Justice with Judge Jeanine ''Justice with Judge Jeanine'' was a Fox News legal and current events program hosted by former district attorney and judge Jeanine Pirro. The show aired live on Saturdays at 9 pm Eastern Time. The show presents Pirro's legal insights on t ...
in June 2015. He is also the only person who has spoken at
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
and the
University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
who did not receive a college degree.


Bibliography


References


External links


Michael Levine official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levine, Michael Living people Writers from California American public relations people Writers from Fort Lee, New Jersey Writers from New York City Fort Lee High School alumni 1956 births