Marvin Levy, Steven Spielberg’s publicist for over four decades and the only person in his field to be recognized with an Oscar, has died. He was 96.
Levy died Monday in Los Angeles surrounded by loved ones, representatives for Amblin Entertainment said Wednesday. No cause was given.
“Marvin’s passing is a huge loss for me and our industry writ large. There are many talented PR executives, but Marvin was one of a kind,” Spielberg said in a statement. “I am grateful for all our years together. Marvin never failed to make me laugh, he never stopped smiling. We will miss you Marvin. You will always be in our hearts and your memory will always make us smile.”
Levy’s long-standing partnership with Spielberg made him one of the most renowned and respected publicists in Hollywood. Over his 70-year career, he worked on campaigns for film classics like “Taxi Driver,” “Kramer vs. Kramer,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “Back to the Future,” “Schindler’s List,” “Jurassic Park” and “Gladiator.”
In 2018, Levy, a long-standing member of the film academy’s public relations branch, became the first and only publicist to receive an honorary Oscar from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. No publicist’s name had even been put forth for the award before Levy’s.
“It was way out of left field for me. I couldn’t have imagined it,” Levy told The Associated Press in 2018. “It’s not like I could say ‘Gee, I’d love to get that one day.’ It was not on my to-do list.”
Born in Manhattan on Nov. 16, 1928, Levy was raised on the east side and attended New York University. Though he never set out to be a publicist specifically, he knew he had a way with words. One of his first jobs was writing questions for a TV quiz show. But he was fired when his “big ticket” question was answered too early in the season.
His first publicity job was at MGM in New York, where he was so far down on the ladder that he never got to travel to Los Angeles, but where he worked on campaigns for films like “Gigi” and “Ben-Hur.” By the time the company was remaking “Mutiny on the Bounty,” he knew it was time to move on.
Levy soon found his way to legendary publicists Arthur Canton and Bill Blowitz, and then Columbia Pictures which took him to California. It was during that time that he first started working with Spielberg who was fresh off “Jaws.” He was told he was only to concentrate on “Close Encounters.” By 1982, he went full time with Spielberg and wouldn’t look back.
While he had many highs in the industry, Levy also recalled a big heartbreak when “Saving Private Ryan” lost the best picture trophy to “Shakespeare in Love” at the 71st Academy Awards.
“That was the toughest night of my life in terms of the business,” Levy said. But he put on a brave face at the Governor’s Ball following the ceremony.
Tom Hanks presented the honorary Oscar to Levy in 2018, noting that it takes, “Something of a storyteller to get an audience hooked on the story without giving away the story.”
Levy remained devoted to Spielberg, and Amblin Entertainment, up to his full retirement in 2024. For him, it never got old.
“How lucky can you be? I mean it,” he said in 2018. “We work for the best filmmaker around.”
Levy is survived by his wife of 73 years, Carol, their two sons, Don and Doug, and two grandsons, Brian and Daniel.
