The strength and beauty of his musical accomplishment has long been overshadowed by his public personna. For Oscar Levant, his own music has been silenced by his presumed character: the acerbic crank on the Jack Paar Show; the Broadway showman and Hollywood star; the author of preposterously acute and funny books; the radio and television ringmaster; the concert pianist and Gershwin specialist. No kaleidoscope could serve these many split image

Quotes

Behind the phony tinsel of Hollywood lies the real tinsel.

Happiness isn't something you experience; it's something you remember.

I am no more humble than my talents require.

I envy people who drink. At least they have something to blame everything on.

I once said cynically of a politician, 'He'll doublecross that bridge when he comes to it.'

I'm going to memorize your name and throw my head away.

So little time and so little to do.

There's a fine line between genius and insanity. I have erased this line.

Underneath this flabby exterior is an enormous lack of character.

What the world needs is more geniuses with humility, there are so few of us left.

Oscar Levant