| Jacques Levy |
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Information AboutJacques Levy |
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Born in New York City , Levy was educated at its City College and took a Doctorate in Psychology from Michigan State University . Back in New York he practised as a Clinical Psychologist , but in 1965 he also directed Sam Shepard 's play ''Red Cross''. Two years later he directed Jean-Claude Van Italie 's ''America Hurrah''. In 1969 , Levy directed the Off-Broadway Erotic Revue '' Oh! Calcutta! ''. It was this show which brought him to the attention of Roger McGuinn of the Byrds , who fancied Levy as Librettist for a project inspired by Peer Gynt . The Musical stalled, but one song, "Chestnut Mare", co-written by McGuinn and Levy, became one of the Byrds' primary performances. In the mid- Seventies Levy met Bob Dylan . An early result of their brainstorming was the song " Isis ". Then came Dylan's album '' Desire '' , which featured seven songs co-written by Levy and Dylan including "Hurricane", about the imprisoned Boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter . Much of ''Desire''’s success lay in the interplay between Dylan and Levy and since then Dylan and his musicians have often reworked Levy's contribution. In 1975 , Levy effectively Stage-managed Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue . Levy's lyrics entered the repertoires of Joe Cocker , Crystal Gayle , Carly Simon and, particularly, McGuinn. Levy's collaborations with Dylan and McGuinn sometimes overshadow his achievements in Drama . In 1983 there was the musical comedy '' Doonesbury '', based on the Cartoon Strip , and in 1988 he provided the Lyrics for the stage musical of the film '' Fame ''. Later came ''Marat/Sade'' ( 1994 ), ''Bus Stop'' ( 1997 ) and ''Brecht on Brecht'' in 2000 . From 1993 until his death, he was English Professor and director of theatre at New York's Colgate University . He is survived by his wife Claudia and their two Child ren, Maya and Julien. Work on Broadway
Note: ''Fame'' the stage musical did not appear on Broadway but has been playing since 1995 in London 's West End . Source
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