Michael Levine (publicist)

Michael Levine is an American writer and public relations expert. He is the author of numerous books on public relations including Guerrilla P.R. He has represented 58 Academy Award winners, 34 Grammy Award winners, and 43 New York Times best-sellers, with such names that include Michael Jackson, Barbra Streisand, and George Carlin among many others. His work has included non paid media counsel to former presidents Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Bill Clinton. Levine also appeared in POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, the 2011 documentary by Morgan Spurlock.
In addition to his writing career, Levine is a sought after speaker and commentator throughout the media industry. He has provided commentary for nearly every major national television and radio show, including media outlets such as Variety, Forbes, Fox News, The New York Times, and the USA Today. Levine has been referred to as the "Michael Jordan of entertainment P.R."

Levine was born in New York City and graduated from Fort Lee High School in 1973. He went on to attend Rutgers University where he dropped out after six months. Levine had a poor childhood and had learning issues due to dyslexia. He describes his mother as an alcoholic and his father as passive; however, he attributes much of his success to both of them for instilling a will to succeed. During his childhood, Levine was always interested in the entertainment industry and politics. In his early career after leaving Rutgers, he worked in show business as an impresario prior to moving to Los Angeles.

Levine moved to Los Angeles in 1977 and opened his own public relations firm, Levine Communications Office (LCO), in 1983. He started the firm with a borrowed desk and worked out of the back of a hair salon located in Sherman Oaks, California. In an interview with the Jewish Journal, he described trying to land his first client to "stapl[ing] jelly to the ceiling." His first clients were stand-up comedian David Brenner and actress Joan Rivers. Former David Brenner manager Steve Reidman has described Levine as someone who is devoted to his clients. Throughout his career at LCO, Levine represented many celebrity clients including David Bowie, Sandra Bullock, Michael J. Fox, Demi Moore, Nike, Ozzy Osbourne, Pizza Hut, Prince, Sharp Electronics and Barbra Streisand among many others.

Levine was Michael Jackson's publicist in 1993 and 1994 during which time Jackson was accused of molesting a 13-year-old by the name of Jordan Chandler. Prior to that time, Levine helped Jackson disseminate the story of Jackson sleeping in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, a story fabricated by Jackson. In later interviews, Levine describes the Jackson molestation accusations as one of his toughest public relations battle that he has faced. After Jackson's death in 2009, Levine was interviewed by numerous media outlets about Jackson's conditions through those years. Levine described Jackson's life a self-destructive journey and was quoted as saying, "His talent was unquestionable, but so to was his discomfort with the norms of the world. A human simply can not withstand this level of prolonged stress."

Levine has represented numerous comedians throughout his career, including George Carlin, Sam Kinison and Rodney Dangerfield. In 2010, he organized a birthday party in honor of then deceased Carlin. The event was attended by celebrities that included Tom Arnold, Paul Mooney, Paul Rodriguez, Tom Green, Judy Tenuta, Jay Phillips and Shawn Wayans, each of whom held a sign representing each of Carlin's seven dirty words. Levine also gave commentary on the Laugh Factory incident involving Michael Richards' use of racial slurrs during a stand up act in 2006.

Writing and public speaking career

Levine is the author of 19 books and numerous op ed pieces that have appeared in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Psychology Today, Reader's Digest, Los Angeles Times and the USA Today. His book Guerrilla P.R. was a best-seller and became the best-selling P.R. book of all-time. He is a sought after speaker and in addition to his media appearances has spoken at Oxford, UCLA, and Harvard University.

Levine is the creator of a national online newsletter known as the LBN E-lert (sometimes referred to as Levine Breaking News). The newsletter started with an email list of approximately 500 people with whom Levine had previously worked with. It was reported that the newsletter has more than 474,000 subscribers from all 50 states in the U.S. as well as 26 foreign countries.

Levine has appeared in national print and televised media. His commentary has been sought for numerous incidents involving celebrities, including the molestation controversy involving Josh Duggar that gained national attention in 2015, speaking on Justice with Judge Jeanine in June 2015.