Marvin Levy

Marvin Jay Levy (November 16, 1928 – April 7, 2025) was an American publicist who specialized in film marketing and public relations. He is most noted for having been a longtime marketer for director Steven Spielberg at Amblin Entertainment and DreamWorks, where he led publicity and awards campaigns for films.

Early life Marvin Jay Levy was born in Manhattan, New York, on November 16, 1928, where he grew up on the East Side. He graduated from New York University in 1949. At MGM's New York office, he was entrusted with the task of promoting films in New York and conducting promotional campaigns with local stars, including for films awarded with the Best Picture Oscar like Gigi and Ben-Hur.

In 1962, Levy joined New York-based movie public relations company Blowitz, Thomas and Canton. From there, he became an advertising and publicity executive with Cinerama Releasing Corp., prompting his move to Los Angeles in 1974. After Cinerama's merger with American International Pictures, Levy moved to Columbia Pictures in the first months of 1975.

He was member of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at the Public Relations Branch from 1991 to 2002 and again beginning in 2004.

In 2018, at the age of 90, he became the first publicist who received an Honorary Academy Award for an exemplary career in publicity that has brought films to the minds, hearts and souls of audiences all over the world.

Levy retired in 2024.

Gigi (1958) Ben-Hur (1959) Taxi Driver (1976) Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) The Deep (1977) Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) Back to the Future (1985) Back to the Future Part II (1989) Back to the Future Part III (1990) Jurassic Park (1993) Schindler's List (1993) The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1996) Saving Private Ryan (1998) American Beauty (1999) Gladiator (2000) A Beautiful Mind (2001) Munich (2005) War Horse (2011) Lincoln (2012) Bridge of Spies (2015) The Post (2017)