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Harvey Levin: Portrait Of A Gossiphound As A Young Man
Posted by Mark Graham at 9:00 AM on April 3, 2008
Back in the early 1970s, when Lindsay Lohan's firecrotch was but a twinkle in young Harvey Levin's eye, the gossip kingpin was a politically-active student at the University Of California Santa Barbara. This recently resurfaced newsclip (exact origin date: unknown) shows the future TMZ boss speaking to a local television crew on the campus of UCSB in the wake of the Isla Vista riots. As evidenced in the clip, Levin demonstrated not only an early penchant for dealing with the media, but also, dare we say, a slight case of Napoleon complex (at least when it came to dealing with trash-talking, beanie-wearing beatniks). However, we are sad to report that the clip shows no sign of his now-ubiquitous Starbucks sippy cup. [YouTube]
Back in the early 1970s, when Lindsay Lohan's firecrotch was but a twinkle in young Harvey Levin's eye, the gossip kingpin was a politically-active student at the University Of California Santa Barbara. This recently resurfaced newsclip (exact origin date: unknown) shows the future TMZ boss speaking to a local television crew on the campus of UCSB in the wake of the
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kokotaylor
Posted 10:54 AM 3/4/08
He was kinda cute, but has not aged that well.
kokotaylor
hydeordie
Posted 10:54 AM 3/4/08
dude, bad names for gaucho's everywhere. harvey levin, leave my isla vista alone.
hydeordie
guitarsnob
Posted 10:33 AM 3/4/08
@Jaguares: uh...for a hobbit.
guitarsnob
Jaguares
Posted 10:28 AM 3/4/08
OH MY GOD. I despise myself for saying this, but he was kinda handsome.
Jaguares
guitarsnob
Posted 10:26 AM 3/4/08
Where do people find this shit?
guitarsnob
Kdoggy
Posted 11:35 AM 3/4/08
A young, gay Harvey Levin who couldn't punch his way out of a cream puff captured on what, a porta-pak video cam? Classic Harvey goes wild on beta. Yeehaha!!
Kdoggy
PandoraSpocks
Posted 12:25 PM 3/4/08
Oh, the stories I could tell,
Of long haired girls drinking long-necked beers
And the smell of great weed
On a hot summer'eve
IV, 1974: A guy in a suit comes toward me at the front desk. He flips out his big old Eff-Bee-Eye badge and starts asking questions about the pay phones on the second floor. (It's a slightly off campus dorm.) He wants to know about last night, if I was on the desk. Did I see anybody at the phones?
"Well," I say, cheerfully, "If you're looking for Patty Hearst she isn't here."
He is not amused and pulls out a series of wanted posters. Have I seen any of these people? Bill or Emily Harris; an Asian girl named Wendy; Katherine and, uh, oh. We've hit the jackpot. It's Tanya herself, the missing heiress. FUCK. They reallly are looking for her.
"We've traced a call that came from one of these phones last night," he says, eyeing me suspiciously.
"Hey, I didn't see her. Really. I didn't see anybody and if I did I was too high to notice what they looked like."
The G-man is writing things now and I sit down, dejectedly, knowing I'm now destined for the "Group W" bench.
PandoraSpocks
donmiguel
Posted 12:38 PM 3/4/08
Feh - no funny personal stories -- but when I was at Cal my fellow students and I would regularly um, cause a ruckus over divestment from South Africa/freedome for Nelson Mandela. Of course, many of them would go on to vote for Dubya I or II. So, my point is, there are worse things than aging poorly and making a grip of cash from selling videos.
donmiguel
BrangelinasFetuses
Posted 2:06 PM 3/4/08
My dad was friends with Harvey in law school. Harvey used to apply to game shows constantly. He got on one, and apparently the host of the show didn't like him.
He also at one point in time applied to be counsel for an airline or a steward. He liked flying.
Truthfully though, besides an obsession with being on TV and bleaching his teeth, Levin is a pretty funny, cool guy.
BrangelinasFetuses
famousauthor
Posted 2:34 PM 3/4/08
Is he any kin to the Preppie Murderer?
famousauthor
scroll_lock
Posted 11:22 PM 3/4/08
His Bob's Big Boy coif lends gravitas.
scroll_lock
hugomania
Posted 1:12 AM 4/4/08
I lived in Los Angeles in the 1980s when Harvey was a local NBC news reporter, along with his pal Fred Rogin, who did sports. Together they thought they ruled the world, er, Hollywood news. Guess one of them was right.
hugomania
NotReadyForPrimeTime
Posted 1:04 AM 4/4/08
@famousauthor:
Actually the murderer was named Robert Chambers, the victim's name was Jennifer Levin.
NotReadyForPrimeTime
famousauthor
Posted 2:35 AM 4/4/08
@NotReadyForPrimeTime: Is he any kin to the Preppie Murderer's victim?
famousauthor
NotReadyForPrimeTime
Posted 3:17 AM 5/4/08
@famousauthor:
I dunno, although I think that's how Nancy Grace got started.
NotReadyForPrimeTime
famousauthor
Posted 8:05 AM 5/4/08
@NotReadyForPrimeTime: By being related to the Preppie Murderer's victim?
famousauthor
NotReadyForPrimeTime
Posted 11:33 AM 5/4/08
@famousauthor:
By being related to *A* murder victim. I should have specified--point taken.
NotReadyForPrimeTime
famousauthor
Posted 2:31 AM 6/4/08
@NotReadyForPrimeTime: I'm sure part of the world is sighing "Why couldn't it have been Nancy Grace instead?"
famousauthor
Superstarsteve
Posted 4:20 AM 6/4/08
His hairstyle choice back then very "Condi Rice -- the Day's of Early Iraq" style?
Superstarsteve