Discusses the career of the gifted pianist, composer, entertainer, raconteur, and author, as well as his tumultuous, self-destructive private life A composer and a popular concert pianist, the multitalented Levant also acted (in films such as An American in Paris, 1951) and made memorable appearances on television talk and panel shows, where his cynical, eminently quotable wit spared no one, including himself. Publicly, Levant made light of his lifelong history of mental illness and was regarded as an amusing eccentric. Yet as this well-researched, intelligent biography shows, Levant's manic-depressive condition and crippling chemical dependencies took a toll on his private life and, eventually, his career. Readers who pick this up in search of celebrity gossip won't be disappointed, but what they'll remember is a man for whom the dividing line between brilliance and madness was painfully thin. Highly recommended for most public libraries. David C. Tucker, DeKalb Cty. P.L., Decatur, Ga. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. For many years Levant was a very visible celebrity who appeared regularly on television variety shows, acted in films (playing himself at least as often as he was cast as a fictional character), and traveled the country as a concert pianist. He was also known for his quick wit, acerbic tongue, and neurotic disposition, showcased on venues such as Jack Paar's talk show, and made manifest in the three books he wrote. Kashner and Schoenberger painstakingly define the demons that stalked Levant throughout his life, creating a wonderfully illuminating portrait of this decidedly complex man. A chain-smoking hypochondriac, with a serious addiction to drugs, Levant was also an abusive husband, though he continued to be loved by his wife, June. This fascinating biography plumbs the depths of a verifiably tortured soul but also an individual capable of thrilling others with his brilliant musical gift and sharp tongue. Alice Joyce Why does Oscar Levant, memorable mostly for his devastating put-downs, deserve a biography at all, let alone one this long? Kashner and Schoenberger answer that question convincingly. This husband-and-wife team of poets (both teach writing at the College of William and Mary) make an auspicious nonfiction debut with this biography. At one time Levant was the highest-paid concert artist in America, and one of the most popular. But by the time of his death he was remembered mainly as a deeply troubled yet very witty man, best known for a series of terrifyingly frank appearances on the Jack Paar Show in which he discussed his barbiturate addiction and nervous breakdowns with a candor unheard of at the time. In fact, as this biography makes clear, Levant was, in spite of an almost hallucinatory catalogue of neurotic compulsions and phobias, a composer of promise, a talented pianist with a wide range of musical strengths (although most widely remembered for his interpretations of Gershwin, his close friend), and a man of uncommon intelligence and erudition. The son of Russian-Jewish immigrants who raised him to love music, Levant was an autodidact who entered the most elevated literary and musical circles of New York and Hollywood from the Jazz Age into the Eisenhower years before mental illness and drugs wrecked his health, his marriage, and his life. The book retells this story in great detail, but almost never drags. There are several minor errors in passages of historical background (Babe Ruth made his debut in the Yankee outfield in 1920, not in 1922). A genuinely thoughtful and entertaining biography that should go far in rebuilding Levant's reputation as a serious musician. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. Sam Kashner teaches at the College of William and Mary in Virginia. Used Book in Good Condition