Shuki Levy | |
|---|---|
שוקי לוי | |
| Born | (1947-06-03)June 3, 1947 (age 77) |
| Nationality | Israeli,American |
| Spouse(s) | Tori Avey |
| Children | 2 |
Shuki Levy (Hebrew:שוקי לוי; born June 3, 1947) is anIsraeli-American music composer andtelevision producer. Levy createdsoundtrack compositions for children's television programs of the 1980s, such asThe Real Ghostbusters,Inspector Gadget,The Mysterious Cities of Gold,M.A.S.K.,Dinosaucers,He-Man and the Masters of the Universe,She-Ra: Princess of Power, andJayce and the Wheeled Warriors. In the 1990s, he worked on thePower Rangers franchise,Digimon: Digital Monsters,Masked Rider,VR Troopers, andBig Bad Beetleborgs. He has also written and directed episodes for some these television shows, and directed a few films, such asPerfect Victims (1988) andBlind Vision (1991). He was also part of the musical duoShuky & Aviva (alternatively Shuki & Aviva), with his partner Aviva Paz.
Levy was born inJaffa,British Mandate of Palestine. His father was anAshkenaziJew originally fromRussia, and his mother ofSephardi Jewish origin.[1]
His career began as a singer and music performer, playing in various clubs aroundTel Aviv. He also appeared in the musicalHair.[citation needed]
During the 1970s, Levy performed in France and Germany with Aviva Paz as the duo "Shuki & Aviva" or "Shuky and Aviva". His duo partner was also born in Israel, and four years older than him. Together they scored a hit single throughout Europe called "Signorina - Concertina" which sold two million copies.[citation needed] He also appeared with her on several other releases and music videos. In 1975, Shuki & Aviva sung"You and Me and Two Dreams", which competed as one of the possible German entries during the preliminary rounds of the1975 Eurovision Song Contest.[2] Levy later composed "Halayla", the Israeli entry to the1981 Eurovision Song Contest.[citation needed]
While living inParis, he met businessman and musicianHaim Saban, with the two becoming friends and collaborators. In an interview, Levy recalled "Haim said, 'We'll be co-composer. You do the composing, I'll do the deals.' I figured, 'Great. Brothers.' That was the last business conversation we had for many years. We were partners. We never had a written agreement. It was all verbal."[3] They eventually moved toLos Angeles and foundedSaban Entertainment, a production company responsible for animated shows and Japanese adaptions, such asDigimon,X-Men,Spider-Man andPower Rangers. The company was sold toThe Walt Disney Company by the end of 2001.[citation needed]
During the 1980s and 1990s, he composed television music; according toBMI's music publishing database, he has written a combined total of 4,210 themes, background scores and songs.[4] In a 1998 investigation byThe Hollywood Reporter, it was alleged that many of these compositions wereghostwritten by other composers, in order for Levy and Haim Saban to gain control of all publishing rights and music royalty revenue.[5]
The first project Levy worked on following the dissolution of Saban Entertainment wasItty Bitty HeartBeats, a 2003 animated children's DVD. In 2009, he also directed and composed music for the live action filmAussie and Ted's Great Adventure. The film was co-written with his wife Tori Avey, and featured his daughter Jordan in one of the roles.[6]
In 1977, Levy was married toMiss USA 1970 and actressDeborah Shelton (Dallas), with whom he has a daughter.[7] Shelton went on to appear in the 1982 horror filmBlood Tide, which was one of the first film and television projects Levy composed for.[8] He was also in a relationship with television actressSarah Brown (General Hospital), with whom he has a second daughter.[9] When they started dating in 1994, Brown was only 19 years old and 27 years younger than Levy. At that point, he was also secretly engaged to another actress named Shell Danielson, and still married to Shelton.[10] Levy remained in a secret relationship with Danielson even after Brown moved in with him, and also remained married to Shelton until early 2000, nearly two years after Brown's daughter was born.[10] Brown and Levy split in 2000, with Brown accusing him of spying on her over the next few years.[10] Levy is currently married to food blogger Tori Avey, who he met in the early 2000s.[1] Levy has owned properties in both California andMiami.[10]
Shuki Levy is credited[11] as a composer on the following works:
(As part of duo Shuky & Aviva)
