Former Disney Executive Hy Levine Passes Away at Age 87

Former Disney executive Herman “Hy” Levine has died at the age of 87 after suffering from pancreatic cancer, according to Variety.

What’s Happening:

  • Herman “Hy” Levine passed away on December 27th in Rockville, Maryland, at the age of 87 after suffering from pancreatic cancer.
  • He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Ethel, as well as two older sisters, Florence and Gladys; two sons, Stuart, a senior NBCUniversal TV communications executive; and Mark, a counselor at Montgomery College in Maryland; and three grandchildren, Zoe, Max, and Maggie.
  • Levine was a 48-year veteran of the film industry who rose through the marketing ranks at Universal and Disney.
  • From 1986 to 1998, he was an executive at Disney and rose to the rank of Vice President of Co-Op Advertising in the early 1980s.
  • Levine is responsible for the prints and outdoor advertising on all Disney features, including what fell under the Touchstone and Hollywood Pictures banners.
  • Films that he helped launch included The Lion King, Aladdin and The Little Mermaid as well as live-action titles such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Down and Out in Beverly Hills and Beaches.
  • Levine also worked closely with film marketing chiefs Bob Levin, Dick Cook, and Jeffrey Katzenberg.
  • Before Disney, he spent two decades at Universal, starting in 1967. Levine worked on the Julie Andrews film Thoroughly Modern Millie and the Shirley MacLaine starrer Sweet Charity.
  • Levine would also plan advertising strategies for such Universal classics as The Sting, Airport, Earthquake, The Wiz and the Steven Spielberg film Jaws.
  • In 1979, he relocated to the West Coast at the request of Universal Chieftain Lew Wasserman and Herb Steinberg.
  • He spent a short time at MGM before moving over to Disney.
  • Our condolences go out to his family during this tough time.
Tricia Kennedy
As a huge Disney fan Tricia enjoys having Walt Disney World basically in her backyard. When she's not at the theme parks she is either playing drums or with her dog Yoda. She is a lifelong Star Wars fan and has ridden Star Tours over 270 times.