Background
Levy, Jacques was born on July 29, 1935 in New York City. Son of Milton and Jean (Brandler) Levy.
composer director psychologist university professor
Levy, Jacques was born on July 29, 1935 in New York City. Son of Milton and Jean (Brandler) Levy.
Bachelor, City College of New York, 1956. Master of Arts, Michigan State University, 1958. Doctor of Philosophy, Michigan State University, 1961.
He received a doctorate in psychology from Michigan State University. Levy was a trained psychoanalyst, certified by the Menninger Institute for Psychoanalysis in Topeka, Kansas. He later returned to New York and became a clinical psychologist.
In 1965, Levy directed Sam Shepard"s play Red Cross at the Judson Poets Theater, New York City.
The following year he directed two of the short plays in Jean-Claude van Itallie"s America Hurrah. In 1969, Levy directed the offerotic revue Oh!.
Levy approached Roger McGuinn of The Byrds to collaborate on a project inspired by Henrik Ibsen"s Peer Gynt. The musical stalled, but one song, "Chestnut Mare," co-written by McGuinn and Levy, became the single released from the album (Untitled) in 1970.
Many further Levy-McGuinn songs appeared on Byrds and McGuinn albums during the 1970s.
In 1973, Levy and Van Itallie reunited for Mystery Play, which starred Judd Hirsch and ran for 14 performances offat the Cherry Lane Theatre. In the mid-seventies, Levy met Bob Dylan through McGuinn. Shortly after, the two collaborated on "Isis" and another six songs which appeared on Dylan"s 1976 album Desire.
These included "Hurricane" about imprisoned boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, and "Joey" about the mafia gangster and hit man, Joe Gallo.
In 1975, Levy directed Dylan"s Rolling Thunder Revue. Levy"s lyrics also entered the repertoires of Joe Cocker, Crystal Gayle, and Carly Simon.
In 1980 he staged Stephen Poliakoff"s play American Days at Manhattan Theatre Club, which featured David Blue, one of the performers in the Rolling Thunder Revue. Frank Rich in his review for The New York Times wrote: "Jacques Levy, the director, matches the crackling energy of the text blow for blow." In 1983 he staged Doonesbury: A Musical Comedy, based on the comic strip Doonesbury on.
In 1988 he provided the lyrics for the stage musical of the film Fame.
Later came Marat/Sade (1994), Business Stop (1997), and Brecht on Brecht (2000, in New York City) From 1993 until his death from cancer in 2004, he was an English professor and director of theater at Colgate University in upstate New New York
Married Claudia Carr, April 27, 1980. Children: Maya, Julien.