Harvey Levin
| Harvey Levin | |
|---|---|
 Levin in April 2010 |
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| Born | Harvey Robert Levin September 2, 1950 Los Angeles, California |
| Occupation | Lawyer, celebrity reporter |
| Notable credit(s) | Creator and managing editor of TMZ.com. Host of TMZ on TV Legal analyst on The People's Court |
Harvey Robert Levin (born September 2, 1950)[1][2] is an American television producer, lawyer, legal analyst and a celebrity reporter. He is the founder of celebrity gossip website TMZ.com.
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Education [edit]
Levin received his B.A. in political science from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and his J.D. from the University of Chicago.[3] He passed the California bar exam in 1975 and was an active attorney in California from December 12, 1975, to January 1, 1996.
Career [edit]
He worked in various legal roles in the entertainment industry. He was a legal reporter on KCBS-TV in Los Angeles, where he reported on the O.J. Simpson murder trial.[4]
In 1996, Levin moved to New York to work as a legal analyst for the 1997 revival of The People's Court. He appeared on the show during the 1980s and the first half of the 1990s as a legal consultant and deactivated his California bar license.[3] He became host of the series in 1998, as well as continuing to serve as its legal analyst. Levin served as creator and executive producer for Celebrity Justice from 2002 to 2005.
In 1997, Levin had a role in the movie Volcano as a TV reporter.[5]
Personal life [edit]
Levin appeared as a speaker at a fundraising event in West Hollywood, California for the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association in April 2010. During the talk, Levin said, “I’m thinking back a long time when I was starting out as a TV reporter at a local station in LA and I remember at the time – I was probably in my late 20s – and I remember this hell-like fear that if anybody in that newsroom found out that I was gay, that it would be over,” he said. “I built it up in my head. I was so terrified that somebody would find out.”[6] He went on to discuss about how he had to compartmentalize the gay and non-gay parts of his life.
References [edit]
- ^ "Harvey Levin." Biography in Context. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Gale Biography In Context. Web. April 17, 2011.
- ^ "Harvey Levin." Newsmakers. Vol. 4. Detroit: Gale, 2011. Gale Biography In Context. Web. April 17, 2011.
- ^ a b "State Bar of CA, Harvey Robert Levin". The State Bar of California website. Retrieved March 17, 2011.
- ^ "CNN anchor Daryn Kagan's interview with Levin". May 23, 2003.
- ^ Volcano at IMDB.com
- ^ "TMZ’s Harvey Levin talks about being gay in the news business: "I was so terrified that somebody would find out."". Greginhollywood.com. 2010-04-23. Retrieved 2011-10-30.
External links [edit]
- Harvey Levin at the Internet Movie Database
- Michael Cieply, "A Star Watcher Has Star Power", New York Times, October 25, 2008
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- 1950 births
- Living people
- American infotainers
- American television producers
- California lawyers
- LGBT entertainers from the United States
- People from Los Angeles, California
- University of California, Santa Barbara alumni
- University of Chicago Law School alumni
- Whittier College faculty
- LGBT producers
- LGBT broadcasters
- Gay writers
- Gay entertainers
- Gay actors
