Take My Hand

Born and raised in St. Louis, MO, Alan J. Levi began his filmmaking career at age 15 when he produced and directed a half-hour 16mm black-and-white comedy entitled "Keep Your Spirits High" while a sophomore in high school. Finding no one who would hire this aspiring director, he organized his own company, "Petite Productions," which was financed entirely by his fellow schoolmates, and with a grand total of $256 in operating costs, he began his career as a Director/Producer. By the time he graduated from high school, he completed a total of 43 films, produced for such organizations as the National Conference of Christians and Jews, St. Louis Board of Education, The National Safety Council and other institutions that couldn't afford the high prices of commercial filmmaking companies.

During the summer between high school and college, Alan came to Hollywood and, under the guidance of his mentor Dick Powell, studied film technique at various studios--direction under André De Toth, makeup at the MGM makeup department with William Tuttle, photography at Paramount and Warner Bros. on the sets of in-production feature films, editing with the Warner's TV editing staff, etc.

A graduate of Northwestern University with a degree in Radio, TV and Film and minors in Psychology and Electrical Engineering, Alan had directed and/or photographed over 2000 hours of live and videotaped television around the world, and functioned as Director of Photography and Director for over 450 prime-time network commercials before landing a job as Associate Producer at MGM. Since then his directing credits have earned him a Cannes Film Festival Gold Lion, a Western Heritage Award, two New York International TV and Film Festival Grand Awards, two Clio Awards and several Silver Spikes. He has guest-lectured on filmmaking technique at AFI, USC, UCLA, National Institute of Health, and Brooks Institute of Photography as well as numerous acting and film-making study groups.

He was director and/or director of photography on nearly 70 Wide World of Sports and the acclaimed "Up Close and Personals" for the 1972 and 1976 Olympics. These afforded him the opportunity to become intimately involved in such events as auto racing (Indy, stock, midgets, drags), airplane racing, gymnastics, water polo, wrestling, golf, swimming and diving an, among many others, the traditional stand-bys--baseball and football.

Alan has directed over 350 hours of prime-time network television over the past nearly 30 years, which included Movies-of-the-Week, pilots and miniseries such as Scruples, The Immigrants, Battlestar Galactica, The Incredible Hulk, Columbo, Knight Rider 2000 (1991) (TV), The Return of Sam McCloud, B.L. Stryker, Dead Man's Revenge. The Legend of the Golden Gun, Go West, Young Girl, Judgment Day, The Invisible Woman, The Stepford Children and The Last Song.

Among the series he's directed are NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, ER, JAG, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dr. Vegas, The Fugitive, Magnum, P.I., Miami Vice, Tales of the Gold Monkey, Quantum Leap, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, The Cosby Mysteries, Promised Land, Courthouse, Sweet Justice, Simon & Simon, Airwolf, Hooperman, Misfits of Science, The Bionic Woman, Fame, The Six Million Dollar Man, Gemini Man, Falcon Crest, Scene of the Crime, The Oregon Trail, What Really Happened to the Class of '65? and a few (unmentionable) others. He has also produced the pilots and/or series of "Columbo", "Airwolf", "Voyagers", "Misfits of Science", "The Invisible Woman" and "Probe".

Alan lives in the Los Angeles area with his actress/wife of nearly 30 years, Sondra Currie, and their "kid"--a Persian BluePoint kitty--"Bleu".