Oscar Levant
Who the hell was he, anyway? For someone who held such a high profile back in the ’40’s, few folk seem to actually know who he was. That makes sense, if you’re under 70,,, you would never have heard of him, and probably couldn’t care less. Oh well, here’s who he was –
(December 27, 1906 – August 14, 1972) Levant was an American concert pianist, composer, conductor, author, radio game show panelist, television talk show host, comedian, and actor. He had roles in the films Rhapsody in Blue (1945), The Barkleys of Broadway (1949), An American in Paris (1951), and The Band Wagon (1953). He was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960 for recordings featuring his piano performances
In 1963, Jack Paar, one of the first Tonight Show hosts, introduced Levant with what today would be considered a rather unfunny and barbed witticism: “To put it mildly, he is as nervous as he is clever. For every pearl that goes out of his mouth, a pill goes in.” Paar was careful to reassure his audience that his guest enjoyed being there, saying “it is a form of therapy for him.”
Levant talked publicly about his neuroses and hypochondria. He became addicted to prescription drugs and was committed to psychiatric hospitals by his wife.
In a tart throwaway line, Levant described the essence of being Oscar: “It isn’t what you are, it’s what you don’t become that hurts.”
I became aware of Levant and his immense musical talent while watching Rhapsody In Blue last month… a movie about George Gershwin’s life. Oscar’s part in the film, and his masterful playing of Gershwin’s Rhapsody caught me by surprise. What a talent! I had seen him, way back in the day, on a TV show panel of guests, where his clever and biting wit had caught my attention. I had no idea, however, of what a complete and powerful musician he was until Rhapsody.
Looking into his life, I found that his mental problems were probably due to a bipolar condition, a condition that had not yet been discovered, understood or diagnosed. It became clear that he showed all the signs of a tormented genius.
Why I gravitate to that personality type, I will never know… but it could be that I’m simply interested in the lives of famous artists, brilliant people, or perhaps just fascinated by my polar opposites. If I were to measure my artistic ability in terms of any unusual mental condition, plus my addiction to music, writing and perhaps alcohol, all in comparison to my music heroes, I would truly be a lightweight, barely noticeable, if at all, by polite society. Funny, that would turn out to be almost frighteningly accurate.
In any case, here are a few of his quotes that reveal his fine sense of humor.
“A politician is a man who will double cross that bridge when he comes to it.”
“Roses are red, violets are blue, I’m schizophrenic, and so am I.”
“Happiness isn’t something you experience; it’s something you remember.”
“Every time I look at you I get a fierce desire to be lonesome.”
“What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left.”
“Schizophrenia beats dining alone.”
“I have no trouble with my enemies. But my god damn friends… they are the ones that keep me walking the floors at night.”
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Oscar was often invited to the same parties that Gershwin was, and on the occasions when George arrived late, Oscar would entertain at the piano until George showed up, then immediately give it up to George, knowing Gershwin would much rather play than have to chat and be sociable. And besides, George was the real star!
To be a brilliant person, and at the same time to be tormented by a mental disorder, must be a hell on earth of some kind, and I can’t imagine the courage it must take to keep forging ahead on a daily basis. I had a dear friend, a brilliant musician with a keen and creative mind, who suffered that same way. His courage in dealing with it for as long as he did was beyond imagining, and I honor him, and Oscar Levant, for dealing with, and living with a horror that you and I will never know.
There is no way I’m aware of, that can positively spin a post like this… and anyway I have no desire to, except to leave you with this. If any of you are sitting in front of an empty bottle of wine at the end of the day, rueing the fact that you are just a normal person, with only normal abilities and normal needs, shame on you. Being normal is such a blessing, a blessing that somehow keeps getting disguised as an unwanted mediocrity by our American culture. But not by me… at the bottom of my wine bottle is a deep and abiding sense of gratitude that I am, through no doing of my own, totally normal.
Steve Hulse
I’m not quite 70 but I do know of Oscar. My mom the pianist was quite a fan of his. We had his rhapsody in blue on 78s and played them sometimes. And I’ve read some of his sharp witticisms in books of quotes.
And I’m very happy to be normal!