Quotes of the day- Oscar Levant:
Oscar Levant (December 27,
1906 – August 14, 1972) was an American pianist, composer, author,
comedian, and actor. He was as famous for his mordant character and
witticisms, on the radio and in movies and television, as for his music.
Oscar Levant's own versatility may have helped to cloud his memory as a sort of Hollywood utility man, perhaps in the worst sense; people tended to see him as one among many personalities, but he was so much more. It is unfortunately forgotten that he was first and foremost, a brilliant musician and very competent composer. He was from an Orthodox Jewish Russian family, growing up in the Hill District of Pittsburgh. Like his siblings, he started music lessons at an early age and on various instruments, first taking piano lessons from his older brother Benjamin. At seven he continued piano under Martin Miessler, originally of the Leipzig Conservatory. Levant was giving public recitals within a year. He attended music lessons at the Fifth Avenue High School, where he was exposed to classical performance by his instructor, Oscar Demmler. This included going to recitals of the great Polish pianist Ignacy Jan Paderewski and concerts conducted by Leopold Stokowski. Demmler invited Levant to accompany him in violin and piano repertoire, which was Levant's first public playing - he was only twelve. Click for IMDB biography.
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A musical is a series of catastrophes ending with a floor show.
An epigram is only a wisecrack that's played at Carnegie Hall.
Every time I look at you I get a fierce desire to be lonesome.
Happiness isn't something you experience; it's something you remember.
I am a self made man. Who else would help?
I am no more humble than my talents require.
I don't drink liquor. I don't like it. It makes me feel good.
I envy people who drink. At least they have something to blame everything on.
I knew Doris Day before she was a virgin.
I never read bad reviews about myself because my best friends invariably tell me about them.
I was once thrown out of a mental hospital for depressing the other patients.
I'm going to memorize your name and throw my head away.
It doesn't matter who says it first, it's who gets credit for it last that counts.
It's not what you are, it's what you don't become that hurts.
Marriage is a triumph of habit over hate.
My behavior has been impeccable; I've been unconscious for the past six months.
Once I make up my mind, I'm full of indecision.
Schizophrenia beats dining alone.
So little time, so little to do.
Strip away the phony tinsel of Hollywood and you'll find the real tinsel underneath.
The first thing I do in the morning is brush my teeth and sharpen my tongue.
The only difference between the Democrats and the Republicans is that the Democrats allow the poor to be corrupt, too.
There is a thin line between genius and insanity. I have erased this line.
What the world needs is more geniuses with humility, there are so few of us left.
Categories: Oscar Levant, Quotes of the day
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