---
name: "Sam Levene"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/sam-levene"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "28 August 1905"
died: "28 December 1980"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-20T01:44:00.547068+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Sam Levene

Actor. Born 28 August 1905 in Šack, Belarus. Died 28 December 1980.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 28 August 1905, Šack, Belarus
- **Died:** 28 December 1980
- **Also known as:** Scholem Lewin
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Levene, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q554044, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0505249/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/14574

## Biography

Sam Levene was an American actor known for his work in theatre, film, radio and television. Born Scholem Lewin on 28 August 1905 in Šack, Belarus (then part of the Russian Empire), he made his Broadway debut in 1927 and appeared in dozens of productions over five decades, including originating the role of Nathan Detroit in the 1950 musical *Guys and Dolls*.

In film, Levene had over 50 credits, often playing character roles such as policemen, gamblers and reporters. He is noted for performances in *After the Thin Man* (1936) as Lt. Abrams, *The Killers* (1946) as Lt. Sam Lubinsky, *Brute Force* (1947) as Louie Miller and *Crossfire* (1947) as Samuels. He also appeared in *Sweet Smell of Success* (1957) and *...And Justice for All* (1979). Levene died on 28 December 1980 in New York City.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Crossfire* (1947), Fi1m 77, as Samuels — [page](https://film.one/film/crossfire.md)

## Complete filmography (53)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Murder Sees the Light* (1986), Executive Producer
- *...And Justice for All* (1979), as Arnie
- *Last Embrace* (1979), as Sam Urdell
- *The Royal Family* (1977), as Oscar Wolfe
- *God Told Me To* (1976), as Everett Lukas
- *The Money* (1976), as Lou Maurice
- *Such Good Friends* (1971), as Uncle Eddie
- *A Dream of Kings* (1969), as Cicero
- *A Small Rebellion* (1966), as Noel Greb
- *Act One* (1963), as Richard Maxwell
- *The Aquanauts* (1960), series, as Lieutenant Maharis
- *The World of Sholom Aleichem* (1959), as Mendele
- *Kathy O'* (1958), as Ben Melnick
- *Slaughter on 10th Avenue* (1957), as Howard Rysdale
- *Sweet Smell of Success* (1957), as Frank D' Angelo
- *Designing Woman* (1957), as Ned Hammerstein
- *The Opposite Sex* (1956), as Mike Pearl
- *The Matchmaker* (1954), as Horace Vandergelder
- *Three Sailors and a Girl* (1953), as Joe Woods
- *Dial 1119* (1950), as John D. Faron
- *With These Hands* (1950), as Alexander Brody
- *Guilty Bystander* (1950), as Captain Tonetti
- *Leather Gloves* (1948), as Bernie
- *Studio One* (1948), series, as Ben Weber, Ben Selig
- *The Babe Ruth Story* (1948), as Phil Conrad
- *Killer McCoy* (1947), as Happy
- *Crossfire* (1947), as Samuels — Fi1m 77, [page](https://film.one/film/crossfire.md)
- *Brute Force* (1947), as Louie Miller #7033
- *A Likely Story* (1947), as Louie
- *Boomerang!* (1947), as Morning Record's Reporter Dave Woods
- *The Killers* (1946), as Lt. Sam Lubinsky
- *The True Glory* (1945), as Commentator
- *Follow the Boys* (1944), as Sgt. Leo Andreof (archive footage) (uncredited)
- *The Purple Heart* (1944), as Lt. Wayne Greenbaum
- *Shoe Shine Boy* (1943), as Lucky
- *Gung Ho!* (1943), as Leo 'Transport' Andreof
- *Whistling in Brooklyn* (1943), as Creeper
- *I Dood It* (1943), as Ed Jackson
- *Action in the North Atlantic* (1943), as Abel 'Chips' Abrams
- *Destination Unknown* (1942), as Victor, Elena's Aide
- *The Big Street* (1942), as Horsethief
- *Sunday Punch* (1942), as Roscoe
- *Grand Central Murder* (1942), as Inspector Gunther
- *Sing Your Worries Away* (1942), as Smiley Clark
- *Shadow of the Thin Man* (1941), as Lieutenant Abrams
- *Married Bachelor* (1941), as Cookie Farrar
- *Golden Boy* (1939), as Siggie
- *The Mad Miss Manton* (1938), as Lieutenant Brent
- *The Shopworn Angel* (1938), as 'Leer'
- *Yellow Jack* (1938), as Busch
- *After the Thin Man* (1936), as Abrams
- *Three Men on a Horse* (1936), as Patsy
- *The Talk of Hollywood* (1929), as Film Buyer

## Gallery

- ![Sam Levene (1936)](https://film.one/media/person/1235720/gallery-462f081ed5ef.jpg) Sam Levene (1936) — Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/36/Sam_Levene.jpg/1280px-Sam_Levene.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![1947 publicity photo of Sam Levene in the role of Samuels, from Crossfire. (1940)](https://film.one/media/person/1235720/gallery-61d5293ad735.jpg) 1947 publicity photo of Sam Levene in the role of Samuels, from Crossfire. (1940) — unknown (RKO Pictures), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Sam_Levene_Publicity_Photo_1940.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Sam Levene](https://film.one/media/person/1235720/gallery-05b74582d62e.jpg) Sam Levene — trailer screenshot (MGM), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Sam_Levene_in_Shadow_of_the_Thin_Man_trailer.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Publicity still of Sam Levene and Bert Lahr in Sing Your Worries Away (1942)](https://film.one/media/person/1235720/gallery-399e39197404.jpg) Publicity still of Sam Levene and Bert Lahr in Sing Your Worries Away (1942) — Wegy?, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/Sam_Levene_and_Bert_Lahr_in_Sing_Your_Worries_Away_%281942%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Sam Levene](https://film.one/media/person/1235720/gallery-a1dc0900cafa.jpg) Sam Levene — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Other awards — 2 won, 1 nominated

- Grammy Hall of Fame 1998: Grammy Hall of Fame (won)
- American Theatre Hall of Fame 1984: American Theatre Hall of Fame (won)
- Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play 1961: Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play (nominated)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/sam-levene