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Levis, Carroll Richard
Category: Performer
Carroll Richard Levis (March 15, 1910 – October 17, 1968) was a talent scout, impresario and television and radio personality.
Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and brought up in Vancouver, he moved to England in 1935 and joined the BBC, where he hosted a regular programme showcasing unknown performers discovered through his touring stage show.
BBC website - CARROLL LEVIS AND HIS DISCOVERIES [Regional Programme London, 10 November 1937 20.15]
What has become Carroll Levis 's life-work in searching for amateur talent, and bringing it before the public, came about almost by accident.
In the days when he was broadcasting in Canada he introduced from time to time new artists to the radio, and one day was inspired to invite any member of the audience to come up and show what they could do.
This grew into an amateur hour in Canada and he received an offer to go to the States. As he was a British subject, however, this was impossible.
He sailed for England at the end of 1935 and a year later started his first series of broadcasts.
He discovers talent in all parts of the British Isles, and in the last two years has heard thirty thousand people.
Of the amateur acts he has introduced, forty-five have turned professional. Not one of them is earning less than £5 a week, and one is getting as much as £25. He runs two shows presenting his radio discoveries and gives contracts for not less than a year to those who are really good. But he advises everyone, unless exceptionally talented, to stick to his job.
In 1939 he appeared in the film "Discoveries".
In 1948 he starred in the British mystery film Brass Monkey, in which he played himself. He also had an acting role in The Depraved (1957).
In 1945, Levis was featured in a concert show which entertained troops of the First Canadian Army.
In the 1950s he hosted a talent competition for young people called The Carroll Levis Discovery Show.
In 1961 he removed himself from the public eye, only to attempt a return in 1968 after a four year struggle with a stomach ailment.
He died the same year.
And Carroll Richard Levis was able to lucid dream, dreams which probably combined out of body experiences.
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