Levy, William Turner 1922-2008

OBITUARY NOTICE—

See index for CA sketch: Born November 3, 1922, in Far Rockaway, NY; died of complications from surgery, January 21, 2008, in Woodland Hills, CA. Educator, minister, and author. Levy was a faculty member at the colleges of what is now the City University of New York for more than thirty years, first at City College, beginning in 1946, then at Bernard M. Baruch College. He left New York City around 1979 to teach for several more years at the Viewpoint School in Calabasas, California. Levy was also ordained an Episcopal priest in 1952 or 1953, and served as an editor of the magazine Churchman in the 1950s and 1960s. He is remembered, however, as a master of the art of friendship and the art of the memoir. Levy was an ordinary person who made the acquaintance of celebrities in the most innocent and casual ways, often by a written request for information, which led to friendships that lasted a lifetime. His initial contact with poet T.S. Eliot was reportedly a letter he wrote as a doctoral student seeking information about another poet, William Barnes. That friendship blossomed into the book Affectionately, T.S. Eliot: The Story of a Friendship, 1947-1965 (1968). After completing his doctorate Levy purchased some memorabilia originally owned by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and he contacted Eleanor Roosevelt by mail to inquire about the items. The encounter led, not only to friendship by correspondence, but also to many personal meetings and shared dinners, concerts, leisurely drives, and family gatherings. Levy's book, The Extraordinary Mrs. R: A Friend Remembers Eleanor Roosevelt (1999), was described by critics as an engaging portrait of a woman familiar to many only by her public image. Levy's other books include William Barnes: The Man and the Poems (1960) and The Films of Frank Capra (1976).

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Los Angeles Times, February 6, 2008, p. B9.