Oscar Levant, A Brilliant but Troubled Man
Many years ago I remember my parents, especially my mother, talking about Oscar Levant. As I got a little older, I remember seeing Levant on some television talk shows. The thing was, Oscar Levant was a brilliant musician and pianist, known for his friendship with George Gershwin and for composing various pieces of music himself, but he was severely plagued by the demons of mental illness. He was in several movies,* some of which I've seen on television over the years, he also did concert tours, he authored a couple of books and he had his own television show for a while, but most of this was before his mental problems became so overwhelming to him. Oscar Levant was also known for his sarcastic humor, and this intrigued people to watch his television show or interviews with him, because no one ever knew what he might say (in the 1950s, much of television was done live). ** When I remember seeing him, he frequently poked fun at himself and his condition, both physical and mental.
When I remember seeing him, he was a mess, to be quite blunt about it. He lit one cigarette after the other, his eyes were rolling and blinking, his face distorted and at times his whole body seemed to be squirming. I just forget who said it, but someone on television made something of a remark that he always looked like the men in white coats were about the put a straight jacket on him. He had become good friends with television personality Jack Paar, who was the host of NBC's "Tonight Show," before Johnny Carson, and Levant appeared on the show and talked openly about his mental illness. In those times, this was shocking to the public, but quite courageous. Oscar suffered with serious depression and anxiety which brought on a number of imaginary illnesses and hypochondria, which prompted him to take prescription medication, which led to dependency, which led to treatments, including stays in mental hospitals and shock treatment. His depression made him wallow in negatives, and he once quipped something about not liking alcohol, because it made him feel good.
Folks, if you or someone close to you suffers with emotional/mental problems, get help! Don't wait for the condition to overtake you or them. Oscar Levant is an example of a brilliant man who struggled with his demons, but he spoke out about his condition at a time when mental illness was seldom mentioned in open society. Another courageous celebrity was Vivian Vance, best known for her role as Ethel Mertz on "I Love Lucy," in the 1950s. She made her own mental issues a cause to help others suffering with mental problems by speaking out around the country and on television in the 1970s. There's NO SHAME in getting help! The only shame is not getting help.
* His movies included when he appeared as himself in the 1945 film, "Rhapsody in Blue," about his (then) deceased friend, musician and composer George Gershwin.
** Various brands of beer usually sponsored the sports segment of the news back then, and, because the commercials were done live, we liked to bet whether the beer would foam over the top of the glass when they poured it from a bottle, and it often did.
Photo is from the front cover of, "A Talent For Genius" (The Life And Times Of Oscar Levant), by Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger, published by Villard Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, 1994
WORD HISTORY:
Piano-This word is the shortened form of "pianoforte," from Italian, with the Italian compound meaning, "soft-loud," from the idea of the varied volume of this particular musical instrument with a keyboard. The word "piano," which is related to a number of words of Latin derivation that have been borrowed into English, including: "plan," "plane" and "plain," goes back to Indo European "pleh," which had the notion of "flat, spread out." This gave its Latin offspring "planus," which meant "flat surface, smooth." This gave Italian "piano," which meant, "plane, plan," but also the adjectival, "soft" (thus also musical "pianissimo," meaning, "very soft(ly)"),^ and this was later applied, coupled with "forte," to the musical keyboard instrument, which then was simply shortened to "piano."
^ "Apparently" from the main meaning of "flat, smooth," to "not rough;" that is, "soft;" thus also later, "soft in sound."
When I remember seeing him, he was a mess, to be quite blunt about it. He lit one cigarette after the other, his eyes were rolling and blinking, his face distorted and at times his whole body seemed to be squirming. I just forget who said it, but someone on television made something of a remark that he always looked like the men in white coats were about the put a straight jacket on him. He had become good friends with television personality Jack Paar, who was the host of NBC's "Tonight Show," before Johnny Carson, and Levant appeared on the show and talked openly about his mental illness. In those times, this was shocking to the public, but quite courageous. Oscar suffered with serious depression and anxiety which brought on a number of imaginary illnesses and hypochondria, which prompted him to take prescription medication, which led to dependency, which led to treatments, including stays in mental hospitals and shock treatment. His depression made him wallow in negatives, and he once quipped something about not liking alcohol, because it made him feel good.
Folks, if you or someone close to you suffers with emotional/mental problems, get help! Don't wait for the condition to overtake you or them. Oscar Levant is an example of a brilliant man who struggled with his demons, but he spoke out about his condition at a time when mental illness was seldom mentioned in open society. Another courageous celebrity was Vivian Vance, best known for her role as Ethel Mertz on "I Love Lucy," in the 1950s. She made her own mental issues a cause to help others suffering with mental problems by speaking out around the country and on television in the 1970s. There's NO SHAME in getting help! The only shame is not getting help.
* His movies included when he appeared as himself in the 1945 film, "Rhapsody in Blue," about his (then) deceased friend, musician and composer George Gershwin.
** Various brands of beer usually sponsored the sports segment of the news back then, and, because the commercials were done live, we liked to bet whether the beer would foam over the top of the glass when they poured it from a bottle, and it often did.
Photo is from the front cover of, "A Talent For Genius" (The Life And Times Of Oscar Levant), by Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger, published by Villard Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, 1994
Piano-This word is the shortened form of "pianoforte," from Italian, with the Italian compound meaning, "soft-loud," from the idea of the varied volume of this particular musical instrument with a keyboard. The word "piano," which is related to a number of words of Latin derivation that have been borrowed into English, including: "plan," "plane" and "plain," goes back to Indo European "pleh," which had the notion of "flat, spread out." This gave its Latin offspring "planus," which meant "flat surface, smooth." This gave Italian "piano," which meant, "plane, plan," but also the adjectival, "soft" (thus also musical "pianissimo," meaning, "very soft(ly)"),^ and this was later applied, coupled with "forte," to the musical keyboard instrument, which then was simply shortened to "piano."
^ "Apparently" from the main meaning of "flat, smooth," to "not rough;" that is, "soft;" thus also later, "soft in sound."
Labels: anxiety, depression, English, etymology, fear, George Gershwin, humor, hypochondria, Jack Paar, live television, mental illness, music, Oscar Levant, sarcasm, Vivian Vance
posted by Randy at 1:27 PM
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