Harvey Levin

Early life and education

Levin was born September 2, 1950, in Los Angeles County, California to a Jewish family. He attended high school at Grover Cleveland High School in Reseda, Los Angeles and graduated in 1968. Levin attended the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he graduated with a B.A. in political science in 1972. He later attended the University of Chicago Law School and graduated with a J.D. in 1975.

Early law career and academia

Levin was an active attorney in the state of California from December 18, 1975, until January 1, 1996. In the mid-70s, Levin taught law at the University of Miami School of Law under Soia Mentschikoff. He briefly practiced in Los Angeles before returning to teach at Whittier College School of Law.

The introduction and debate surrounding California Proposition 13 in 1978 pushed Levin into the public's eye following his performances in a number of public debates. With his new found fame, he started to contribute legal advice on a radio show where he was nicknamed "Doctor Law", as well as write columns for the Los Angeles Times. His columnist career with the Times spanned seven years.

Transition to entertainment

Levin's first television job was for Los Angeles-based KNBC-TV in 1982 where he covered legal issues. He would later join KCBS-TV and spent a decade doing investigative reporting and legal analysis at the station. His television career rose to prominence from his coverage of the O. J. Simpson murder case where he was regularly on-camera.

He also worked on The People's Court after impressing a crew member with his legal analysis. He has worked on The People's Court in some capacity for 25 years. With his entertainment career thriving, Levin deactivated his bar registration in 1996. He later created Celebrity Justice, which ran from 2002 to 2005.

TMZ

In 2005, AOL and Telepictures Productions launched TMZ with Levin as the founder and managing editor. The website quickly rose to prominence when it broke the story of Mel Gibson's DUI arrest and subsequent antisemitic rant. It would later break the news regarding a number of high-profile celebrity stories including the abuse of Rihanna by Chris Brown, the deaths of Heath Ledger, Brittany Murphy, and Michael Jackson. The Los Angeles Times named TMZ's coverage of the Jackson death as the biggest story the website had covered to date.

Levin met with President Donald Trump on March 7 in the Oval Office and chatted for an hour . Levin "just really likes powerful people, and he really likes having friends who are powerful, and who better than the President of the United States? I think he’s just blinded by the fact that the President calls him on the phone. I think he just thinks that’s really cool,” a former staffer told ThinkProgress.

Other ventures

Harvey Levin Productions, the company that produces TMZ and Levin's other media projects, was created in 1983 after Levin joined The People's Court. In addition to creating Celebrity Justice, Harvey Levin Productions produced Beyond Twisted, which aired in 2009 for one season before getting cancelled.

Another creation, Famous in 12, was a 2014 experiment on The CW about exploiting a family for fame. Like Beyond Twisted, Famous in 12 was cancelled after one season with only five of the scheduled twelve episodes aired.

Personal life

Levin appeared as an event speaker for the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association in April 2010 in which he publicly confirmed his self-identification as gay. He discussed his fear of losing his career if someone were to find out, which led to Levin compartmentalizing his personal and professional lives.

Levin's longtime partner is Andy Mauer, a Southern California chiropractor. The two own multiple properties together, sharing joint-deed listings since the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Levin has been named to Out magazine's "Power 50" list as one of the most influential voices in LGBT America since 2012 when he was named #15. He has since been named #25 in 2013, #34 in 2014, #48 in 2015, and #40 in 2016.

Awards and honors

For his broadcast work, Levin has won nine Emmys.