Media Path Podcast Writing TV Classics, MLB Play by Play & Growing Up in the 60s
Ken Levine’s captivating career is a buffet of boyhood wish fulfillment. Ken became a disc jockey, a sitcom writer, a Major League Baseball announcer, a cartoonist, an author and a playwright. He’s not done. New adventures include podcasting and standup comedy.
Ken’s book, The Me Generation by Me: Growing Up in the Sixties chronicles his journey through a Southern California childhood with adventures that include friendships with child stars, radio nerd penpals, appearances on The Dating Game, and a crush on Laura Petrie that inspired him to believe that comedy writing was the route to landing a hot wife. (Mission accomplished.)
By age 19, Ken was a UCLA sophomore, interning at KMPC when Gary Owens sent his writing samples to George Schlatter who offered him a job on Laugh In! But Ken had to turn it down. Leaving college would have invited an immediate draft notice.
Ultimately, ROTC and the National Guard prepared Ken and his partner David Isaacs to write a MASH spec script which led to jobs at The Jeffersons, The Tony Randall Show, MASH, Cheers, Frasier, The Simpsons and beyond.
Ken shares with us his stories about all of these legendary shows, plus his foray into the world of MLB announcing, his cartooning, and his current podcast, Hollywood and Levine.
And Ken comes to us straight from the WGA picket line so he is here to explain the standoff and help us all stand up for writers’ rights and the future of writing.
And Fritz and Weezy are recommending the filmReality, about Reality Winner on HBO Max and Jury Duty on Freevee.
Path Points of Interest:
The Me Generation by Me: Growing Up in the 60s Ken Levine