Who is Oscar Levant, Sean Hayes’ portrayal in ‘Good Night, Oscar?’

The Broadway stage has once again opened its doors to a new play, presenting an entirely original plot centered around the life of Oscar Levant. However, in reality, it would be more accurate to describe Good Night, Oscar as a depiction of a singular event in Levant’s life, as the show primarily focuses on capturing the emotions and intense atmosphere surrounding the recording of a single episode of The Tonight Show with Jack Paar in 1958.

Good Night, Oscar has already garnered significant praise within the right circles, particularly for Sean Hayes‘ portrayal of the entertainment mogul from Hollywood’s golden age. The musical’s star-studded cast has attracted numerous fans to the Broadway stage but interestingly, Levant’s life – and specifically his remarkable one-man performance on The Tonight Show, – often went unnoticed by the audience, with many of them unfamiliar with his name. Without further ado, let’s delve into what you need to know about Oscar Levant.

Who is Oscar Levant?

A real Jack of all trades in entertainment, Levant was an American concert pianist, composer, television talk show host, comedian, and actor who was active from the 1920s onward. Better known for his performances in Rhapsody in Blue (1945), and The Barkleys of Broadway (1949), Levant was an important figure in the musical and acting landscape, even if his presence might have gone unnoticed for many years. Nonetheless, in 1960 he was still awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as a result of his unmatched work as a pianist.

Hailing from Pennsylvania, Levant’s family were Orthodox Jewish-descent emigrants from Russia, although the actor was born on American soil in 1906. After the death of his father, Levant moved to New York in 1922, where he studied piano under Zygmunt Stojowski, a Polish piano pedagogue. From then on, the musician and actor continued with his endeavors in the industry, taking it to Hollywood in 1928, where he often worked as an acclaimed composer for films, and later on, Broadway.

Considered to be an absolute genius at his craft, Levant was also often praised for his candid nature. Often admitting to his struggles with abusing prescription drugs, neuroses (nowadays known as anxiety), and hypochondria, Levant was also often found in psychiatric facilities attempting rehabilitation and seeking help of any kind. In fact, Good Night, Oscar is a fictionalized version of Levant’s four-hour-long furlough from a psychiatric hospital – when he was allowed to appear in The Tonight Show.

In 1972, the pianist passed away at the age of 65 from a heart attack – survived by his wife and children. Theatre-goers can find more about one of the unsung heroes of classic Hollywood from Hayes’s performance in Good Night, Oscar, which is currently playing at the Belasco Theatre in New York.