London Lee

London Lee

London Lee
Born Alan Levine
February 4, 1935
Closter, New Jersey
Died September 29, 2015
Deerfield Beach, Florida
Cause of death Natural causes
Nationality American
Education Columbia Grammar nickname was Man O War
Occupation Comedian TV personality
Known for Comedy
Home town Closter, New Jersey
Title "Poor Little Rich Kid"
Religion Jewish

London Lee (February 4, 1935 - September 29, 2015) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. His early monologues, from his late teens, told of his adventures as "the poor little rich kid." His act was based on his being an Upper East Side kid with a wealthy family, with jokes about the problems of being rich.[1] [2] In 1965, he was signed by United Artists Records to record "three comedy albums and a number of singles," the first of which was to be "The Teenage Defender's Marching Song."[3] Lee made more than 200 TV appearances, including 32 on The Ed Sullivan Show.[4][5]

Lee was a favorite guest on the talk-show circuit, appearing 82 times on The Merv Griffin Show, as well as with Johnny Carson, Steve Allen, David Frost, Della Reese, Mike Douglas, Joey Bishop, and Sammy Davis, Jr.. In the 1970s, he also released "a highly successful comedy album"[2] entitled "The Rich Kid."

As an actor, Lee was also featured in two major motion pictures for Paramount Pictures, including The Gambler [6] with James Caan in which he played the character "Monkey".[7] His material was at least sometimes written by the famous comedy writer, Bob Ellison, whom some considered to be "one of the top, if not THE top writer in Hollywood".[8]

In the 1960s Lee played in celebrity golf tournaments and was honored along with other "luminaries" at the WNEW/Billboard Int'l in 1968.[9]

London Lee appeared in hotels and theaters across America for the past 40 years. He has shared the stage with Diana Ross, Ella Fitzgerald, Lou Rawls, Sammy Davis Jr. [10] , Tony Bennett [11] , Robert Merrill,[11] Gloria De Haven,[11] Tom Jones, Dionne Warwick, Della Reese,[2] The Righteous Brothers, Connie Stevens, Marlene Dietrich, Liza Minnelli, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Duke Ellington, The Gatlin Brothers, Crystal Gayle and Ronnie Milsap.

According to Neil Berliner in Stage Time Magazine,[12] he claimed the distinction of having been the featured comedian on The Ed Sullivan Show the same night The Beatles were introduced on the show for the first time. According to IMDB the comics that night were Charlie Brill and Mitzi McCall [13] Lee has also claimed (through his booking agent) to have been involved in the production of Woody Allen's film Broadway Danny Rose,[14] but this too is unverified. The Internet Movie Database does not list Lee in the film's "complete cast and crew" [15] page.

Lee's home town is Closter, New Jersey.[16] Until his death he resided in semi-retirement in Deerfield Beach, Florida.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.tv.com/london-lee/person/119135/summary.html
  2. 1 2 3 "Frid & Selby to Cut Merc LP's". Billboard Magazine. Sep 6, 1969. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
  3. ↑ Staff (May 1, 1965). "Signings". Billboard Magazine. Cincinnati, Ohio: Billboard Publications, Inc: 12.
  4. ↑ Staff (1969). "Ed Sullivan Show listing". CUE magazine. Cue Magazine. 38 (40-52): 52. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
  5. ↑ Smith, Ron (1988), Comedy on record: the complete critical discography, Garland Publ., p. 373
  6. ↑ Maltin, Leonard (1991). Leonard Maltin's TV movies and video guide. Penguin Books. pp. 414 of 1330.
  7. ↑ Staff writer. "London Lee". The Gambler - 1974. ImDb. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  8. ↑ Kubey, Robt. William (2004). Creating television: ... London, England: Psychology Press. p. 227.
  9. ↑ Staff (May 25, 1968). "WNEW and BB Golf: Swinger all the way". Billboard Magazine. Cincinnati, Ohio: Billboard Publications: 6.
  10. ↑ Staff Writer (March 11, 1969), "Morning", Hartford Courant, retrieved 1 February 2011
  11. 1 2 3 "Byline Ball Tonite", The New York Times, November 2, 1963
  12. ↑ Berliner, Neil (Dec 15, 2011). "London Lee: The 'Rich Kid' is Back!". Stage Time Magazine. Stage Time. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  13. ↑ Staff writer. "London Lee". The Ed Sullivan Show (TV Series)Episode #17.19 (1964) Full Cast and Crew. ImDb. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  14. ↑ Staff. "Low Brow Entertainment Company". High Brow Productions. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
  15. ↑ Staff. "Full cast and crew for Broadway Danny Rose". Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Retrieved 1 February 2011.
  16. ↑ Kraushar, Jonathan P. "Bergen: Comics' Haven", The New York Times, March 21, 1976. Accessed December 17, 2012. "For London Lee, for example, a resident of Closter, his childhood as a 'poor, little rich boy' provided him meat for his act for many years."
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