Harold Leventhal, a renowned folk-music promoter who worked with Woody Guthrie and introduced Bob Dylan in his first major concert-hall show, has died. He was 86.
Leventhal died on Tuesday at New York University medical centre.
His death was announced on the website of the Woody Guthrie Foundation and Archives.
From the 1950s to the end of the 20th century, Leventhal was a champion of folk music who introduced audiences to both American and foreign artists.
He presented a 21-year-old Bob Dylan at Town Hall in New York in Dylan’s first major concert-hall appearance on April 12 1963. He was also the long-time producer of the Thanksgiving folk concert at Carnegie Hall, which featured Arlo Guthrie and Pete Seeger.
Leventhal won a Grammy in 1989 as a producer for the album Folkways: A Vision Shared — A Tribute to Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly.
He also produced several movies about the folk-music world, including Alice’s Restaurant in 1969; a 1976 biography of Woody Guthrie called Bound for Glory; and Wasn’t That a Time! in 1982. Bound for Glory received two Academy Awards, for music and cinematography.
Besides Dylan and Guthrie, some of the artists Leventhal worked with included Harry Belafonte; Joan Baez; Johnny Cash; the Mamas and the Papas; Peter, Paul and Mary; Earl Scruggs; and Neil Young.
Leventhal was born on May 24 1919 in Ellenville, New York, and grew up in Manhattan and the Bronx. He served in the Army Signal Corps during World War II, stationed in India.
He is survived by his wife, the former Natalie Buxbaum; two daughters, Debra Leventhal-Nuyen and Judy Leventhal; and four grandchildren. — Sapa-AP