Born and raised in St. Louis, MO, Alan J. Levi began his filmmaking career at age 15, producing and directing a half-hour 16mm black-and-white comedy called "Keep Your Spirits High" while a sophomore in high school.
He found no one willing to hire him, so he organized his own company, "Petite Productions," which was financed entirely by his fellow schoolmates, with a grand total of $256 in operating costs. By the time he graduated from high school, he had completed a total of 43 films, produced for various organizations such as the National Conference of Christians and Jews, St. Louis Board of Education, and the National Safety Council.
During the summer between high school and college, Alan came to Hollywood, where he studied film technique under the guidance of his mentor, Dick Powell. He learned direction from André De Toth, makeup from William Tuttle at MGM, photography at Paramount and Warner Bros., editing with the Warner's TV editing staff, and more.
A graduate of Northwestern University with a degree in Radio, TV, and Film, and minors in Psychology and Electrical Engineering, Alan has directed and/or photographed over 2000 hours of live and videotaped television around the world. He has also functioned as Director of Photography and Director for over 450 prime-time network commercials.
His directing credits have earned him a Cannes Film Festival Gold Lion, a Western Heritage Award, two New York International TV and Film Festival Grand Awards, two Clio Awards, and several Silver Spikes. He has guest-lectured on filmmaking technique at various institutions, including AFI, USC, UCLA, National Institute of Health, and Brooks Institute of Photography.
As a director and/or director of photography, Alan has worked on nearly 70 Wide World of Sports and the acclaimed "Up Close and Personal" for the 1972 and 1976 Olympics. He has also directed over 350 hours of prime-time network television, including movies-of-the-week, pilots, and miniseries such as "Scruples," "The Immigrants," "Battlestar Galactica," "The Incredible Hulk," and more.
Among the series he has directed are "NCIS," "NCIS: Los Angeles," "ER," "JAG," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Dr. Vegas," "The Fugitive," "Magnum, P.I.," "Miami Vice," "Tales of the Gold Monkey," "Quantum Leap," "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman," and many others.
Alan has also produced the pilots and/or series of "Columbo," "Airwolf," "Voyagers," "Misfits of Science," "The Invisible Woman," and "Probe." He lives in the Los Angeles area with his wife, actress Sondra Currie, and their rescue cat, Boo.
