Jack Gilford Inscribed The Sunshine Boys Play to Sam Levene Broadway Film Star For Sale

Sam Levene\'s Copy The Sunshine Boys,1973 Inscribed To Him byJack Gilford, Lee Meredith, Joe Young, John Batiste, The Sunshine Boys Cast Members – Fine in Dust Jacket

Item Description:
1st edition, 1st printing of The Sunshine Boys by Neil Simon, published by Random House in 1973. This sharp and clean copy is made even more extraordinary by these defining qualities:

Inscribed and Signed by 4 prominent cast members to Sam Levene, legendary Broadway Star of Original 1972 Broadway production:

• Jack Gilford,Tony-Nominated Actor known for acclaimed Broadway and Film credits
• Lee Meredith
• Joe Young
• John Baptiste

Book Details:

• Title: The Sunshine Boys

• Author: Neil Simon

• Publisher: Random House, New York

• Year: 1973

• Edition: First Edition / First Printing

• Dust JacketCover features photographs of Jack Albertson as Willie Clarke and Sam Levene as Al Lewis from original 1972 Broadway production

• Binding: Hardcover with dust jacket

• Pages: Approx. 120

• Language: English

• Signatures: Inscribed and signed by Jack Gilford, Lee Meredith, John Baptiste, Joe Young

• Provenance: From personal library Actor Sam Levene, star original 1972 Broadway production

Condition:

• Book: Fine — tightly bound, clean with minimal surface dirt.Pages toned.

• Dust Jacket with wear with a tear at spine,repaired years ago with scotch tape on interior of Dust Jacket, although tear still evident and split.

• Inscriptions and signatures present on the front endpaper and dedication page

• A historically rich copy

Personal Collection of Actor Sam Levene who originated the role of Al Lewis in the 1972 Broadway production opposite Jack Albertson as Willie Clarke. Levene\'s performance helped establish the play as one of Simon’s most beloved works, further cementing his legacy as a foundational figure in 20th-century American theater.
SamLevene performed the role of Al Lewis 466 times on Broadway in the original 1972 Broadway production of The Sunshine Boys,first with Jack Albertson as Willie Clarke from December 20, 1972 through October 28, 1974 and later opposite Jack Gilford from October 30, 1974 until February 10, 1974.
Historical Significance -Nominated for three Tony Awards,The Sunshine Boysis one of Neil Simon’s most enduring plays, chronicling the hilariously contentious reunion of two aging vaudeville comedians. First staged in 1972, the play was a showcase for veteran actors like Sam Levene, who starred in the national tour and Broadway production, and was later followed by a hit 1975 film adaptation directed byHerbert Ross, starringWalter MatthauandGeorge Burns.

A true collector\'s item—signed by four notable cast members and personally owned by original cast star Sam Levene.

Perfect for fans of Neil Simon, Broadway history, or signed first editions.

About Sam LeveneGrammy Hall of Fame & American Theatre Hall of Fame Inductee, Sam Levene, 1905-1980, was a legendary Broadway, film, radio and TV actor who had a 54 year career appearing in over 100 theatrical stage productions and 50 films. A Tony Award®-nominee for Best Actor in a Play, Sam Levene\'s Broadway credits include 40 Broadway productions, 33 of which were performances Sam Levene created in the original Broadway productions.
9 years after his Broadway debut, Sam Levene was lured to Hollywood to make his film debut as Patsy in Warner Brothers 1936 comedy filmThree Men on a Horse,directed and produced by Mervyn LeRoy.Sam Levene was paid $1,000 a week to recreate his acclaimed comedic Broadway performance as Patsy he had played for 70 weeks in original 1935 Broadway production ofThree Men on a Horse.
After Levene completedThree Men on a Horse,Metro Goldwyn Mayer borrowed Levene from Warner Brothers for the role of Lieutenant Abrams inAfter The Thin Manstarring William Powell and Myrna Loy, a role Levene reprised in the 1941Thin Mansequel,Shadow Of A Thin Manalso starring Powell and Loy
Master Farce and ComedyA master of farce and comedy, Sam Levenewas also aconsummatedramatic actorwho received greater recognition and critical praise for his comedic expertise and stage timing who routinely receiving critical acclaim, even when the show itself was not top quality.Best known to theatre audiences for originating the role of Nathan Detroit in the 1950 original Broadway production ofGuys and Dolls, Sam Levene had four years of steady employment performing the role of Nathan Detroit over 2000 times in the original Broadway production as well as reprising the role in the first UK and first Las Vegas productions.
Synonymous With Role ofNathan Detroitfor 7 DecadesGuys and Dollsbook co-authorAbe Burrowsspecifically crafted the role ofNathan Detroitaround and for Levene who signed for the project long before Burrows ever wrote a single word of dialogue, a similar break Burrows said he had when he wroteCactus FlowerforLauren Bacall.InHonest, Abe: Is There Really No Business Like Show Business?, Burrows recalled:\"I had the sound of their voices in my head. I knew the rhythm of their speech and it helped make the dialogue sharper and more real.\" Burrows had the advantage of writing dialogue built around Sam Levene\'s New York Jewish cadences.
Recognized as Broadway royalty,Sam Levene was one of Broadway\'s favorite character actors, with fifty-four years of playingcops, conmen, gamblers, theatrical impresarios and beleaguered husbands.Sam Levene\'s celebrated legendary performances, the majority he originated, include:

• Patsy,aprofessional if not always successful gambler in 1935 original & longest running Broadway production ever of George Abbott\'sThree Men On A Horsewhich had a Broadway run of 835 performances.

• Gordon Miller, the desperate small-time shoestring producer, in 1937 original Broadway production ofRoom Service,a farce,directed by George Abbottwhich ran for 500 performances.

• Al Lewis, the retired vaudevillian in Neil Simon\'s 1972 original Broadway production ofThe Sunshine Boys, a role Mr. Levene performed on Broadway 466 times.

• Sidney Black,the theatrical producer of a Broadway flop inMoss Hart\'s original 1948 Broadway production ofLight Up The Sky.

• Horace Vandergelder opposite Ruth Gordon as Dolly Levi in the premiere 1954 UK production of Thornton Wilder\'sThe Matchmaker.

• Officer Finkelstein, a Jewish policeman searching for murderer of a Nazi diplomat inOtto Preminger\'s original 1939 Broadway production of Claire Booth Luce\'sMargin For Error.

• Veteran theatre producerOscar Wolfe in acclaimed 1975 all-star Broadway revival ofTheRoyal Familydirected by Ellis Raab in acast that Clives BarnessaidNoel Coward would have called Boss Mangan in acclaimed 1959 all-star Broadway revival of GeorgeBernard Shaw\'sHeartbreak House.

• Dr. Aldo Meyer, a kindhearted Jewish doctor, in 1961 Broadway production ofThe Devil\'s Advocate, for which Levene received aTony Award®nomination for Best Actor.

• Max Kane,atheatrical agentwith a dud client in 1932 original Broadway production ofDinner at Eightwritten by Edna Ferber and George S. Kaufman.

Sam Levene Film Credits, Hollywood Who’s Who:

• Mervyn LeRoy:Three Men On A Horse(1936)
• Joan Blondell:Three Men On A Horse(1936),The Opposite Sex(1957)
• Myrna Loy, 2 films:After The Thin Man(1936),Shadow of the Thin Man(1941)
• William Powell, 2 films:After The Thin Man(1936),Shadow of the Thin Man(1941)
• Jimmy Stewart, 2 films, Broadway:After The Thin Man(1936),The Shopworn Angel(1938),Yellow Jack(1934), original Broadway production.
• Henry Fonda, 2 films:The Mad Miss Manton(1938),The BigStreet(1942)
• Barbara Stanwyck, 2 films:The Mad Miss Manton(1938),Golden Boy(1939)
• William Holden:Golden Boy(1939)
• Buddy Ebsen, 2 films:Yellow Jack(1938),Sing Your Worries Away(1942)
• Robert Young, 2films:Married Bachelor(1941),Crossfire(1947)
• Dore Schary, 4 films, Broadway, TV:Married Bachelor(1941),Crossfire(1947), Designing Woman(1957),Act One(1963), The Devil\'s Advocatestarring Sam Levene (Tony Award Nominee Best Actor ) (1961),original Broadwayproduction, Directions(1962): Sam Levene interviews Dore Schary
• Robert Young,2 films:Married Bachelor(1941),Crossfire(1947)
• Vincente Minnelli:Sing Your Worries Away(1942)
• June Havoc, 1 film, 2 TV shows, radio:Sing Your Worries Away(1942), Studio One: The Mother Bit (1957),The Untouchables:The Larry Fay Story,(1960),Theatre Guild On The Air: Crossfire(1946).
• Randolph Scott:Gung Ho, (1943)
• Red Skelton, 2 films:Whistling inBrooklyn(1943),I Dood It(1943)
• Humphrey Bogart:Action in the North Atlantic(1943)
• Ruth Gordon: 1 film, 1 TV show, UK play premiere, 2 original Broadway productions:Action in the North Atlantic(1943),The Matchmaker (1954), UK premiere starring Ruth Gordon & Sam LeveneThe Matchmaker(1954), BBC Television starring Ruth Gordon & Sam Levene,Good Soup(1960), original Broadway production starring Ruth Gordon & Sam Levene,Dreyfus In Rehearsal (1974), original Broadway production starring Sam Levene & Ruth Gordon
• Darryl F. Zanuck:The Purple Heart(1944)
• Dana Andrews, 2 films, radio:The Purple Heart(1944),Boomerang(1947),Theatre Guild On The Air: Crossfire(1946)
• Garson Kanin, 1 film, 4 Broadway Shows:True Glory(1945),Three Men On A Horse(1935), original Broadway production starring Sam Levene,Room Service(1937), original Broadway production starring Sam Levene,The Good Soup(1960), original Broadway production starring Ruth Gordon & Sam Levene,Dreyfus In Rehearsal (1974), original Broadway production starring Sam Levene & Ruth Gordon
• Paddy Cheyefsky:True Glory(1945)
• Burt Lancaster, 4films, original Broadway production:The Killers(1946),BruteForce,(1947),Three Sailors & A Girl(1953),SweetSmell of Success(1957),A Sound Of Hunting, (1945) original Broadway production starring Sam Levene, Burt Lancaster Broadway debut.
• Mark Hellinger, 2 films:The Killers(1946),BruteForce,(1947)
• Jules Dassin:Brute Force(1947)
• Robert Ryan:Crossfire(1947)
• Elia Kazan:Boomerang(1947)
• Mickey Rooney:Killer McCoy(1947)
• Claire Trevor:The Babe Ruth Story(1948)
• Jane Powell:Three Sailors & A Girl(1953)
• Thorton Wilder, UK premier play, BBC TV: UK premiere play, BBC TV:The Matchmaker (1954), UK premiere starring Ruth Gordon as Dolly Levi & Sam Levene as Horace Vandergelder,The Matchmaker(1954) BBC Television starring Ruth Gordon & Sam Levene.
• Lauren Bacall:Designing Woman(1957)
• Tony Curtis:SweetSmell of Success(1957)
• Gregory Peck:Designing Woman(1957)
• June Allyson:The Opposite Sex(1957)
• David Susskind:Kraft Television Theatre: The Old Ticker(1957),The Play Of The Week:The World of Sholom Aleichem(1959),The Witness:Louis Buchalter(1960)
• Simone Signoret:Bob Hope\'s Chrysler Theatre: A Small Rebellion(1960)
• Anthony Quinn:A Dream of Kings(1969)
• Otto Preminger, 1 film, original Broadway production:Such Good Friends(1971),Margin For Error(1939), original Broadway production directed by Otto Preminger.
• Al Pacino:...And Justice for All(1979)
• Jonathan Demme:The Last Embrace(1979)
• Roy Scheider:The Last Embrace(1979)

Film Noir LegendSam Levene established himself as one of the great film noir stalwarts, many of whom, like Levene, are graduates of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Other film noir legends include starry ADAA graduates including Lauren Bacall, Hume Cronyn, Kirk Douglas, Nina Foch, Agnes Moorhead, Thelma Ritter and Edward G. Robinson.
Film Noir Credits
Sam Levene\'s film noir credits include these poignant on screen performances:

• William Holden\'s taxi-driving brother-in-law Siggie inGolden Boy(1939)
• Chips Abraham, the merchant marine season, fighting the weather and the U-boats opposite Humphrey Bogart inAction in the North Atlantic(1943)
• Wayne Greenbaum, the clever ironic City College graduate who was an impassioned Japanese POW inThe Purple Heart(1944)
• Sam Lubinsky as Lieutenant Lubinsky inThe Killers(1946), considered the Citizen Kane of noir.
• Dave Woods, a newspaper reporter in Elia Kazan\'sBoomerang(1947)
• Louis Miller, a prisoner, who is severely tortured by Hume Cronyn inBrute Force(1947), directed by Jules Dassin.
• Joseph Samuels, a Jewish soldier who is savagely murdered inCrossfire(1947), considered one of RKO’s best film noirs
• Happy, the fight manager inKiller McCoy(1947) starring Mickey Rooney
• Dr. John Faron, a psychiatrist whose testimony keeps a mental patient from the electric chair inDial 1119(1950)
• Captain Tonetti, head of the homicide bureau inGuilty Bystander(1950)
• Howard Rysdale, a District Attorney who reluctantly assigns the case to an inexperienced assistant inSlaughter on Tenth Avenue(1957)

Please note that we are only selling the Autographed Copy of The Sunshine Boys.