BUSINESSMAN


Michael Levine is the founder of Levine Communications Office, one of the most prominent entertainment Public Relations firms in the country. Premiering at its Hollywood headquarters in June of 1983, the company has since opened affiliate offices in New York (1985), London (1988) and Washington, D.C. (1995) and boasts an impressive roster of clients in all areas of the entertainment industry, including film, television, books, and special events.

Called by USA Today, "one of Hollywood's brightest and most respected executives," 47-year-old Levine has been responsible for the renowned public relations campaigns for, among others, Michael Jackson, Barbra Streisand, Charlton Heston, Linda Evans, Jon Voight, Suzanne Somers, John Larroquette and Sidney Sheldon. His clients have run from movie stars Michael J. Fox, Demi Moore and Mickey Rooney; to sports heroes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Nancy Kerrigan; to television personalities Hal Linden and Mary Hart; to music figures Fleetwood Mac, Janet Jackson, Tom Petty and David Bowie; to comics such as Sandra Bernhard and George Carlin; to producer Robert Evans. Corporate entertainment clients have included: The Improvisation Comedy Clubs (nationally), The Comedy Store, Sandollar Productions, The Hollywood Athletic Club, among many others.

Levine's firm was awarded the Public Relations. Firm of the Year by Performance Magazine's annual readers poll.

From 1997 to 2000, Levine serves as an editorial consultant for Renaissance Books, a publishing company specializing in non-fiction books.

Cable News Network (CNN) said of Levine, "He's as focused as a bullet in flight."

The late legendary comedian Steve Allen introduced Michael Levine as the "Michael Jordan of Entertainment P.R."





AUTHOR


Levine is the author of five of the most popular reference books of the last decade. His 1984 The Address Book- How to Reach Anyone Who's Anyone (Putnam/Perigee), and its six consecutive sequel editions set standards for accuracy, completeness and public acceptance. He followed those successes with the 1987 publication of the Corporate Address Book (Putnam/Perigee), of which the former Presidential Economic Advisor Arthur Laffer said, "It is a tool that could be of inestimable value to every businessman, every businesswoman, and every consumer in America." The Music Address Book (Harper/Collins) was published in 1989. The Environmental Address Book was published in 1991 and was called by Dr. Joyce Brothers "an idea whose time has come." His latest reference book, The Kid's Address Book (Putnam/Perigee) was published in 1992.

Levine's first hardcover book, entitled Guerrilla P.R., is the most widely used introduction to Public Relations., published by Harper/Collins in early 1993. Legendary attorney Melvin Belli, who wrote the foreword for the book, called it "an important piece of work on an important subject." It was recently translated and published in Japanese.

Levine's seventh book, Lessons at the Halfway Point, is a personal statement on midlife. It received extraordinary reader response from luminaries ranging from Dr. Jonas Salk to Dan Rather and Dr. Joyce Brothers to Mother Teresa, among many others. In 1996, Reader's Digest featured excerpts from the book on numerous occasions. In 1998, Hallmark Cards issued a Page-a-Day calendar based on Lessons.

His latest book is entitled Take it from Me (Putnam/Perigee). The Ultimate Career Guide Sourcebook features vocational wisdom and council from over three hundred very prominent people, including President Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, and Ross Perot.

Levine's essays on a range of subjects have appeared in various prestigious publications including the L.A. Times, The Hollywood Reporter, San Francisco Chronicle, The New York Times, USA Today, and National Review.

In 1994, Levine was winner of the National Library of Poetry's "Editor's Choice Award."

Additionally, he writes a weekly column for Entertainment Today entitled, "My Town".

SPEAKER


Levine is a frequent lecturer at major universities including speaking at the prestigious Harvard Business School in the winter of 1990 on the subject of media opportunities in the '90's.

He also moderates a quarterly lecture at the University of Judaism called "The Thought Forum", which are evenings of intellectual challenge featuring prominent speakers discussing some of today's important ideas.

In 1996, Levine accepted an invitation to become a visiting professor at the UCLA Extension Program, leading a nine week class in Entertainment Public Relations.

In addition, he hosts and moderates the monthly Los Angeles Media RoundTable dinners, dedicated to fostering intellectual dialogue in Los Angeles.

Mr. Levine does a weekly media commentary on Los Angeles' all-news station KFWB.

In 2001, Levine premiered his hard hitting news talk radio show featuring newsmaker guest called Inside-Out with Michael Levine which is heard every Sunday evening at 11 p.m. on news talk radio KRLA 870 AM.





CHARITY


Served on:

Board of Directors - Entertainment Industries Council
Board of Directors - Felice Foundation (Founded by Leo Buscaglia)
Advisory Board - D.A.R.E. America (Drug Abuse Resistance Education)
Advisory Board - M.A.P. (Musician Assistants Program)

During his career, Levine has served on several Boards or committees, including West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, and the Neil Bogart Cancer Laboratories. In 1980, Levine was appointed, at the age of 26, by then California Governor Jerry Brown, to a seven member Governor's Advisory Board for state mental hospitals.

In 1992, Levine wrote an editorial which ran in both the LA Times and the San Francisco Chronicle, calling for the building of a Statue of Responsibility in Los Angeles to augment the Statue of Liberty in New York. On June 3, 1996, he was presented with the "Civitas Award" by the American Alliance for Rights and Responsibilities for his efforts to create the Statue of Responsibility. The AARR cited the Statue as a powerful symbol to celebrate the values of mutual obligation, voluntary restraint and personal responsibility which are so crucial if democracy is to survive and thrive in an increasingly diverse society.

In 1997 his Statue of Responsibility idea was honored by the Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse.