Marshall Levine

Marshall Levine 72 years old of Bryn Mawr Pennsylvania passed away on Wednesday February 17 ^th 2021. Son of the late Charles Levine and Claire Levine (Nee Meritz), Marshall is survived by his beloved daughter Tracey Levine, as well as his former wife Kathleen Greenhalgh. Marshall is predeceased by his beloved daughter Jessica Levine, who passed away in 1999. Marshall will be greatly missed by all that knew and loved him.

“My dad was raised in the Mount Airy section of Philadelphia by his mother Claire and his father Charlie. He was an only child but always spoke of how much fun and community he found there with friends and with his cousins when they would visit. His favorite thing to do was to go the movies with his father, Charlie, and he would often recount the first times that he saw some classic films with him. My father also had a tremendous appreciation of music and his favorite band of all time was Crosby, Stills, and Nash (and sometimes Young). We saw them together in concert many times. He was also a very talented artist and worked as a draftsman for some time, and also as a real estate appraiser. My father loved food and especially Jewish delis and breakfast any time of the day. He also loved his mother Claire’s cooking and especially her chicken soup with matzo balls that she taught me how to make and I continued making for him. My dad lost his father when he was sixteen and that was one of the things in his life that had always caused him great pain. He told me that no matter what happened, he wanted to make sure that me and my sister always had a father. And he did that. We always had a father. He wasn’t perfect but he made sure of many things that he thought was important for us to have… An appreciation of film!! When most kids were watching things meant for kids, my dad was showing us Errol Flynn films, David Lean films, and all of the classics from the time we were very young. He used to play scores from his favorite movies and quiz us on the composer and I knew (and still know) what won best picture at the Academy Awards every year. We had an Oscar party every year (I still do on my own but had to skip last year) and we had our favorite snacks like fried kosher salami cut up into tiny triangles that we’d dip into yellow mustard with toothpicks. He loved dogs and he wanted us to have the experience of seeing a litter of puppies born. Our dog Coco had many litters and we named and loved each one of them. Dinners at my dad’s house were always really fun, except when he and my sister used to torture me and pretend that they did something to my food. There were often vegetable projectiles but the table always had to be set. Whatever I wanted to do creatively he always encouraged and would buy me any book or give me money for as many rental films as I wanted. The video store was a weekly ceremony. Going to the movies was church. If someone talked near us or was disrespectable in the theater in any way while the film was playing, my dad would make it known. It was often embarrassing. When I started writing, he would always read my stuff and was never critical. But I always knew when he liked it because he would never say too much and would take a moment to think about it. I wrote a story when I was in grad school about a very bad day in his life and he made copies and shared it with his friends at an AA meeting and made me come and they all commended me for it. It was awkward but that was my dad. My dad is responsible for instilling a love of storytelling in me which turned into a career. I often sit in a class I am teaching, and usually a film class in particular, and I feel like my dad when he used to lecture us on the couch in our living room when we were kids, and I feel like the luckiest person in the world to get paid for something I love. There were a lot of things that my dad never figured out in his life. But he never missed a first day of school for me my entire life whether I was a student or a teacher, always calling to wish me good luck. He would always reminisce about the times he spent with me and my sister and all of our many dogs as the best years of his life. He was always funny and oftentimes crude, but he made many laugh. He is at peace now and I hope that he is goofing off with Jessie and watching an Abbott and Costello movie or a Hammer film. And that he got to see his dad, Charlie, and his mother, Claire, again. I will love you forever, daddy…Love, Big Knucks”.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions made in Marshall’s name to Bryn Mawr Film Institute would be greatly apricated.

To record a brief video tribute, condolence or cherished memory to be shared privately with the family, please click this link: Send Hugs for Marshall Levine