Marvin Levy, the veteran marketing and publicity professional who has worked exclusively for Steven Spielberg since 1977, is retiring. Spielberg informed employees of the news at his company, Amblin Partners, in an email sent on Monday and obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, calling it “the end of an era.”
Levy, who began his career in the 1950s, was employed at Columbia Pictures in 1977 when Spielberg made Close Encounters of the Third Kind for the studio. He and the filmmaker hit it off, and Levy soon left to become Spielberg’s full-time consigliere, of sorts, shaping the promotional and awards campaigns of dozens of Spielberg projects including E.T., The Color Purple, Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, Munich and Bridge of Spies.
Much beloved and respected across the industry, Levy served on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ board of governors for decades. In 2018, the board voted to present him with an honorary Oscar, making him the first marketing or publicity professional ever to receive that high honor.
The following year, Levy transitioned into the role of a senior advisor to Spielberg and Amblin, with Dan Berger coming in as evp and head of communications. Berger has since left the company, and Terry Press was appointed president of strategy and communications.
Levy, who Spielberg described to Amblin employees as “a true mensch” to whom he owes “a huge debt of gratitude,” is now 95. He has often joked that Carol, his wife of 72 years, married him “for better or worse, not for lunch,” but the two will now get to spend more lunches together. The couple has two sons together: Don, who followed him into the PR profession, and Doug.
The full text of Spielberg’s Monday letter to Amblin employees appears below.
Team Amblin,
This week will mark the end of an era at Amblin as our colleague, friend, and resident PR genius, Marvin J. Levy has announced that at the age of 95 he will be retiring effective July 31st.
To say that Marvin has been an integral part of my personal and professional life is an understatement. He has been a key member of our team for over 40 years and a leader in our industry for even longer. His deep knowledge of publicity and marketing, coupled with his loyalty, generosity, humanity and commitment to always being a teacher and mentor are traits that only scratch the surface of his talents. A revered figure in marketing, publicity and awards circles, Marvin served on the board of AMPAS for decades, and is the only member of the PR branch to ever receive an Honorary Oscar, which is further proof of the impact he has had on his profession (and all of us at Amblin). Whether it was at Columbia Pictures where I first met him in 1977 or during our decades together at Amblin and Dreamworks and finally as the eminence gris at Amblin Partners, all of us have been incredibly lucky to benefit from his dedication to our company and to film as an art form. As one of the entertainment community’s most skilled marketers, Marvin was always reinventing the marketing of Amblin’s product — always striving to make sure our campaigns reflected the innovation and change that successful marketing required in order to evolve with audiences over the decades. Without his expertise, many films would never have succeeded as well as they did — and we, along with many filmmakers, executives and colleagues owe him a huge debt of gratitude.
Beyond his professional achievements, Marvin is a true mensch — a devoted father and husband (he and his wife Carol have been married 72 years!) and an avid supporter of the Shoah Foundation’s ongoing work.
It goes without saying that we hope that even though he is officially retiring, Marvin will continue to visit us frequently. We will always need his steady, wise advice, and always love hearing his funny one-liners and memorable retorts that are pure Marvin. He will always occupy a unique place in the history of Amblin and a permanent spot on the list of people who have my deep respect, appreciation and love.
Steven Spielberg