Ken Levine ’72

Having worked on some of America’s most iconic television shows, Ken Levine ’72 has established quite a repertoire. An accomplished writer, director and producer, Levine began his career at UCLA, where he hosted shows as a disc jockey on school radio station KLA. After graduating, his passion for radio led him to pursue a career as a professional DJ, following in the footsteps of the popular disc jockeys he admired as a teen growing up in the 1960s.

Levine later served in the U.S. Army Reserves, where he met his writing partner and began drafting scripts for sitcoms. Their efforts led to an episode for M*A*S*H, and ultimately other opportunities to work on prominent television shows as Frasier, The Simpsons and Cheers, for which he won an Emmy. He also created and directed his own show, Almost Perfect, a sitcom about a female writer and producer trying to juggle her career and personal life. Drawing from his life, Levine was inspired by such personal experiences, as his stint as a minor league baseball announcer (fodder for The Simpsons episode “Dancin’ Homer”) and service in the U.S. Army Reserves (which informed his scripts for M*A*S*H). He believes his success can be attributed to a talent for comedy, which he says is a natural gift fostered by influences such as Woody Allen and The Dick Van Dyke Show.

Not only is Levine seasoned in crafting captivating television, he also writes his own blog and has authored three books, the most recent titled The Me Generation…By Me (Growing Up in the ’60s). Utilizing his wit and humor, Levine remembers his days growing up, which he recalls as “an exciting, turbulent decade.” “There was such a change in culture from the beginning of the ’60s to the end.” Though the book focuses on a particular decade, he insists that the experiences of young adulthood are the same – yearning for companionship and trying to get ahead.

A devoted baseball fan, Levine is now a play-by-play announcer for the Seattle Mariners. In his free time, he holds workshops for aspiring sitcom writers and mentors others passionate about pursuing a career in television. As a veteran of television and film, looking back on his time at UCLA he remarks, “I had a great time and made a lot of great friends,” and jokes, “all the psychology I learned helped my writing for Cheers and Frasier.”