Marty Klein (William Morris Agency)
John Levy:
What a great treasure. We were both really good friends as well as business associates. Our industry is missing big time people like John Levy. I worked closely with him for many years during his management of Nancy Wilson and Roberta Flack. I think he could have lived without the latter client. She was very difficult on John as he was accustomed to making management decisions and she would usually second guess him and torment him regarding his judgement. She was very needy, cried a lot and demanded so much more than than John could reasonably provide.
Whenever John came to NY we always had lunch at the Warwick Hotel where he always ate liver. He and I were forever fighting the cigarette battle. John loved his Pall Malls. During our luncheons he told many stories but had so much difficulty remembering the names of the people he talked about. I helped out many times but not always. I was not to great in this area either. If a third party ever witnessed our lunches and over heard our stories that were constantly interrupted by “what was his/her name”, they might think that we were both ready for the old age home. Much too old and over the hill for this business. They would have been shocked at all that John and I accomplished and all the trends that we set. Most are still in practice today. He respected my judgement and wasn’t embarrassed to admit it.
There is no way to properly summarize the great John Levy but he is the best manager (who can’t remember names) that I ever worked with in my nearly 50 years in this business. It is my honor and privilege to be a part of his professional life.
Marty Klein