Ken Levine is an Emmy winning writer/director/producer/major league baseball announcer. He has been the head writer of MASH, producer of CHEERS, creative consultant of FRASIER and WINGS, co-creator of three series, voice of the Baltimore Orioles, Seattle Mariners, and San Diego Padres, and currently has a daily blog, www.byKenLevine.com.
He is the host of the post-game Dodger Talk on KABC radio.

Blog Entries by Ken Levine

An Open Letter to Tiger Woods

Posted December 16, 2009 | 01:25 PM (EST)


Dear Tiger,

I see the number of mistresses you've had is now 14 and counting. It's one thing to cheat on your wife, but cheating on 13 mistresses, have you no decency, sir?!

Did you really think you wouldn't be caught? Fourteen times? News flash: One of the big reasons...

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Does Thunderball Still Hold Up?

61 Comments | Posted December 1, 2009 | 10:58 AM (EST)


You know it's the holiday season when there are James Bond marathons on every cable network except Oxygen. Caught one I hadn't seen in years -- Thunderball from 1965. I saw it originally at Grauman's Chinese Theater on the big, big screen. I remember loving it at the time. From...

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In Memory of David Lloyd

10 Comments | Posted November 12, 2009 | 08:59 AM (EST)


In the famous "Chuckles Bites the Dust" episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Lou and Murray and Sue Ann just can't stop laughing at the absurd circumstances that led to their clown colleague's death. At one point Murray asks why they laugh and Lou elegantly responds:

It's a release,...

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The Dodgers Year-In-Review

3 Comments | Posted November 12, 2009 | 12:29 AM (EST)


It's hard to believe they're no longer playing baseball. The season is so very short. It has been my pleasure this year to co-host Dodger Talk with Josh Suchon after every game on Talkradio 790 KABC. I kept a journal so I wouldn't forget all the unforgettable moments. This may...

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David Letterman's "Real" Apology

16 Comments | Posted October 8, 2009 | 10:49 AM (EST)


Did anyone on the planet buy David Letterman's heartfelt apology on his show Monday night? At least Richard Nixon appeared sorry on the David Frost interview. But Letterman's mea culpa felt so staged and insincere. If Dave really wanted to be honest and really wanted to express his genuine feelings,...

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2009 Emmy Awards

42 Comments | Posted September 21, 2009 | 10:09 AM (EST)


The 61st Annual Emmys, with the theme this year "A Tribute to Lorne Michaels," benefited greatly by having Neil Patrick Harris host instead of Heidi Klum, yet introduced maybe the most appalling innovation in all its 61 years: the promo scroll at the bottom of the screen. Right in the...

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Larry Gelbart, In Memoriam

6 Comments | Posted September 15, 2009 | 10:07 AM (EST)


In addition to everything else, he wrote beautiful eulogies. With his flair for words and wit and warmth he constructed eloquent touching tributes. I used to kid him that he had to live forever because no one else could write them as well. And now I find myself in the...

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The Top 10 All-Time Sinatra Songs

42 Comments | Posted September 10, 2009 | 11:35 AM (EST)


I see in this week's Entertainment Weekly that they rank the top 50 Beatles songs. Wow. I didn't know you could do that. I thought it was impossible to judge "She Loves You" against "A Day in the Life" and decide which is better but hot damn, you CAN!

So...

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Woodstock from Someone Who Wasn't There

9 Comments | Posted August 18, 2009 | 10:53 AM (EST)


This is the 40th anniversary of Woodstock. 500,000 long-haired stoned members of my generation attended this three-day open air music festival. I was not one of them. But at least I admit it. For every person who attended there was another thousand who said they attended but really spent that...

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My Playbill Bio: Aren't You Impressed?

4 Comments | Posted August 10, 2009 | 06:08 PM (EST)


When the musical I co-wrote was produced I was asked to submit my bio for the program. The trouble is, if I list that I am primarily a TV writer it's like putting a big target on my chest for New York theatre critics. So I thought I'd fudge, tailor...

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The Paula Abdul Negotiations

42 Comments | Posted August 7, 2009 | 10:48 AM (EST)


From what I could piece together, here's how Paula Abdul's departure from American Idol went down. We start with a phone conversation between her new manager and AI producers:

MANAGER:
We want $10 million a year.

[A moment of laughter then the producer collects himself.]

PRODUCER: How...

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Walter Cronkite

7 Comments | Posted July 18, 2009 | 01:22 PM (EST)


He told us that President Kennedy had died.

He told us that we had landed a man on the moon.

He walked us through national conventions.

No one was elected president until he said so.

The Viet Nam War ended when he said it was time to go.

He reported...

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Attention Mourners: Michael Jackson Will Have a Public Viewing

31 Comments | Posted July 1, 2009 | 12:20 PM (EST)


This just in, the Michael Jackson show continues, even in death.

The family is reporting that there will soon be a public viewing at his Neverland Ranch in Santa Barbara. I'm sure it will be a tasteful affair. No one would be so crass as to sell t-shirts, jackets, posters,...

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Celebrity Sex Tapes

5 Comments | Posted June 23, 2009 | 12:43 PM (EST)


Guys, if you plan on dating actresses make sure you have a good video camera. Spend the extra money and get HD. It's a good investment. Yes, she may make it and leave you for Brad Cooper or Al Pacino but you'll still have the sex tape. Riches and notoriety...

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What Rush Limbaugh Really Thinks of You

227 Comments | Posted June 15, 2009 | 11:30 AM (EST)


I was talking to someone at lunch about the Rush Limbaugh show. My companion sneered and said, "With talent on loan from God... the audaciousness of that!" He also couldn't believe some listeners actually thought there was an EIB building, or even that an Excellence in Broadcasting network existed. Who...

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The 2009 Tony Awards

22 Comments | Posted June 8, 2009 | 10:21 AM (EST)


I didn't watch them. I was covering the Dodgers-Phillies game instead. However, my brilliant but twisted daughter Annie Levine and her writing partner, Brock Wilbur did and filed this review. And if you were part of the 99% of America who didn't watch the show either, no problem. You'll still...

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Star Trek

54 Comments | Posted May 26, 2009 | 02:57 PM (EST)


What's more implausible, time travel or a summer blockbuster that doesn't disappoint? Star Trek kicked ass -- on both accounts. Okay, some of the rocking in the theater might have been from the 4.7 earthquake but the effects were good too.

J.J. Abrams, who understands that the key to a...

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American Idol 2009 -- If I'm Being Honest

243 Comments | Posted May 21, 2009 | 09:46 AM (EST)


Wow! What an upset! Kris Allen won. The All-American fresh-faced boy next door beat a theatrical guy who wore leather and eyeliner. Who knew??? This country is not yet ready to crown a young man who looks like Liza Minnelli their next American Idol. Not that Kris didn't deserve it...

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American Idol: Adam and the Two Other Guys

45 Comments | Posted May 13, 2009 | 10:48 AM (EST)


Some idle Idol questions:

How do they schedule only six songs in 64 minutes and still go over? Especially when, in years past, they'd do nine songs and finish on time.

Was Simon and Ryan in the tanning booth too long? Their skin was the same shade as Bob Evans'...

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Mannyroid

25 Comments | Posted May 7, 2009 | 05:35 PM (EST)


It will sure be interesting hosting Dodger Talk on KABC tonight. Manny Ramirez has tested positive for performance enhancing drugs and has been suspended for fifty games. Uh, there goes Mannywood. Big sale on those dreadlocks at the concession stands. And of course there are the thousand Manny billboards that...

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