Producer, parks official Arnold Levey dies

Arnold Levey, a producer and director of television commercials, a former Atlantic Beach parks commissioner and a Town of Hempstead artist, died Tuesday of heart disease at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset.

Levey, 81, loved life and seemed to enjoy entertaining people, said friends and family.

Town Supervisor Kate Murray said he embodied the Latin phrase "carpe diem" -- seize the day.

"Arnie showed everyone with whom he came in contact how to live life to its fullest while spreading joy to friends and colleagues alike," she said.

Levey had been Hempstead's audio-video specialist for the past 12 years. He helped direct and produce many of the town's video projects, including public service announcements, and he also illustrated environmental guides for children.

"He had been retired about two months when he got the town job," said a daughter, Missy Miller of Atlantic Beach. "He was going out of his mind sitting around the house. That job added 10 years to his life."

Levey, who grew up in Cedarhurst, did not go to college but attended classes at an illustrators' school, now the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan.

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Before joining the Army and serving two years in Korea, he was a "bronc buster" with a rodeo. He also had a lengthy stint playing the role of an American Indian in a Western show at the Knotts Berry Farm amusement park in California.

He also was employed as a horseback stuntman, and once rode for Elizabeth Taylor in the film "National Velvet," his family said.

Levey went on to become a cartoonist, working on "Mighty Mouse" and other popular TV cartoons and commercials, including Speedy, the Alka-Seltzer character.

He also originated the Bert and Harry commercials for Brooklyn-based Piels Beer "that some people credit with staving off Piels' closing for years," said Michael Deery, the Hempstead Town spokesman who worked closely with Levey.

Levey, who lived in Atlantic Beach, was the village's parks commissioner from 1962 to 1987.

"He was a surrogate father to hundreds of lifeguards over those years," Miller said.

She described Levey as a devoted grandfather who had a close relationship with her three children.

A sports car enthusiast, Levey was the Sports Car Club of America's Northeast Regional Champion in 1959. He owned many exotic sports cars, including a Morgan, his family said.

Survivors include another daughter, Elizabeth Levey-Pruyn, of Portsmouth, N.H.; a son, Andrew, of Atlantic Beach; a brother, Mark, of Malverne; and six grandchildren.

A service will be held at 1 p.m. Friday at Boulevard-Riverside Chapels in Hewlett. Burial will follow at New Montefiore Cemetery in West Babylon.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Oliver's Fund, 105 Richard St., Atlantic Beach, NY 11509.