Philip Levene

Philip Levene
Born(1926-06-09)9 June 1926
London, England
Died25 March 1973(1973-03-25) (aged 46)
London, England
Alma materWebber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art
Occupation(s)Television screenwriter, actor, television producer

Philip Levene (9 June 1926 – 25 March 1973) was an English television writer, actor, and producer.[1] He trained as an actor at the Webber Douglas School of Dramatic Art and subsequent work included a small role in Brian Rix's long running Whitehall farce Reluctant Heroes in the West End from 1950-1954.[2][3] Suffering from chronic ill health, he began writing radio plays in 1956.[2][4] He used to work at the morgue before becoming a writer. Levene wrote nineteen episodes of the 1960s British television series The Avengers (winning a Writer's Guild Award), and served as script consultant for the series in 1968–69.[5][6][7]

In 1967 and 1968 he created the TV series Sanctuary and The First Lady.

He also contributed to British television series The Flying Doctor, The Invisible Man and films The Firechasers and Deadly Strangers.[8]

His stage play Kill Two Birds, a thriller with Roger Livesey and Renée Asherson, opened at London's St Martin's Theatre in 1962.[9][10]

  1. ^ "Philip Levene". BFI. Archived from the original on 6 September 2018.
  2. ^ a b Rubinstein, W.; Jolles, Michael A. (27 January 2011). The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History. Springer. ISBN 9780230304666 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ Wearing, J. P. (16 September 2014). The London Stage 1950-1959: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9780810893085 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ "Philip Levene Radio Plays". Diversity Website. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  5. ^ "Philip Levene". The Avengers Forever!. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
  6. ^ "Writers' Guild Awards 1967".
  7. ^ "BFI Screenonline: Avengers, The (1961-69)". www.screenonline.org.uk.
  8. ^ "Philip Levene - Movies and Filmography". AllMovie.
  9. ^ "Production of Kill Two Birds, by Philip Levene - Theatricalia". theatricalia.com.
  10. ^ Hesse, Beatrix (2 August 2015). The English Crime Play in the Twentieth Century. Springer. ISBN 9781137463043 – via Google Books.