Remember him? Well, he's dead. -cjb
> -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf > Of [email protected] > Sent: Friday, March 27, 2009 2:37 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: [DEADPOOL] Drop The *I* from R.I.P. > > > > Longtime NBC newsman Irving R. Levine dies at 86 > 24 mins ago > > BOCA RATON, Fla. – Irving R. Levine, the professorial NBC newsman who > explained the fine points of economics to millions of viewers for > nearly a quarter century, has died. He was 86. > > Levine died Thursday, announced Kevin M. Ross, president of Lynn > University in Boca Raton. Levine taught at the school after leaving NBC. > Further details of his death were not immediately available. > > Known for his dry, measured delivery and trademark bow ties, Levine was > a presence at NBC since 1950 when he began covering the Korean War > until his retirement in 1995. > > He had become the network's full-time economics correspondent in 1971 > and in the last five years of his tenure also did weekly commentaries > on CNBC. He also appeared on "Meet the Press" more than 100 times over > the years. > > After retiring from NBC, Levine joined Lynn University as dean of the > college of international communication. > > Born in Pawtucket, R.I., Levine began his career in 1940, writing > obituaries for The Providence Journal. He also worked as a > correspondent for the International News Service and The Times of > London. > > After joining NBC, he covered assignments from Korea, Moscow and > Vietnam to Algeria, Poland and South Africa. > > As NBC correspondent in the Soviet Union, he did a half-hour program in > 1955 giving a tourist's eye view of Moscow, showing Cold War-era > Americans that the Communist capital had "an amusement park not unlike > Coney Island (and) another park in which old men played chess and > mothers relaxed with their children," The New York Times reported. He > explored similar themes in his 1959 book, "Main Street, U.S.S.R." > > In 1965, while in Rome, he interviewed the great film director Federico > Fellini. > > In a 1995 New York Times interview, he recalled that he had hoped to > cover the State Department after winding up his foreign correspondent > days. But NBC bosses asked him early in 1971 to cover business news > instead. > > "It was a barren time," Levine said. "Producers just weren't interested > in those stories." By the time he retired, though, business news on > television was a booming field — though he noted in 1995 that something > like the Oklahoma city bombing or the O.J. Simpson trial could still > push it aside. > > At a welcoming ceremony at the Boca Raton school later that year, > Levine said he didn't miss the daily grind but still read three or four > newspapers every day, quipping, "Once a news junkie, always a news > junkie." He retired from the school in 2004 but continued to be a > prominent fixture on campus, a statement from the university said. > > He is survived by his wife, Nancy, and their three children, Jeffrey, > Daniel and Jennifer. > > In a humorous 2001 essay in The New York Times, Levine welcomed the > return of the middle initial as epitomized by then-new President George > W. Bush. > > He recalled that producers trying to shorten a television news story of > his "finally suggested I drop the R in my sign-off, Irving R. Levine. I > held my ground." > > "`No,' I said, 'I'd rather drop the B in NBC.'" > > ___ > > Associated Press writer Polly Anderson in New York contributed to this > report. > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "World News Now Discussion List" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/wnndl?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
