Floyd Levine, a prolific character actor with various roles ranging from Baywatch to Murder, She Wrote to The Hangover, died. He was 93. The cause of his death has not been released.
Daughter-in-law Tracy Robbins announced the death through an Instagram post. He died “surrounded by his beautiful family (and probably wishing someone would bring him a martini),” Robbins wrote.
“The best father-in-law, grandpa, and all around jokester, Floyd loved Frank Sinatra, classic films, and making everyone laugh,” she added.
Levine was a native New Yorker and worked as a cabbie while raising his three children in Marine Park, Brooklyn, with his wife, Rochelle. He landed his first credited TV role at the age of 40 as a policeman in the blaxploitation crime drama Super Fly.
In the next few years, he also played bit parts in the movies Death Wish (1974) and Dog Day Afternoon (1975). In 1979, after securing roles in major shows, including Kojak, Wonder Woman, and Starsky & Hutch, Levine relocated with his family to Los Angeles.
His son, Brian, dropped out of UCLA to follow in his father’s footsteps in Hollywood. However, Levine suggested that his son adopt his mother’s maiden name, Robbins, to be seen as his own person by casting directors, The New York Times reported in 2002.
Robbins and Levine would occasionally cross paths in their work. Father and son both appeared on separate episodes of the CBS show Archie Bunker’s Place in 1981 and 1982. About seven years later, in 1989, Levine played a small role as a judge in Head of the Class, an ABC sitcom in which young Robbins starred as student Eric Mardian.
Robbins, 61, eventually became the chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures before leaving the company following its merger with Skydance.
Levine spent his last years as a family man and was well-loved by his granddaughters as well as high-profile celebrities, including Kris Jenner, who commented on his daughter-in-law’s Instagram tribute to him. “So sorry for your loss Tracy and Brian… we are sending prayers for the family and lots of love,” she wrote.
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