Levene is best remembered for his work as an arranger for Dean Martin and orchestration for numerous Hollywood film productions, including the 1956 hit film The King and I. Gershun Levene was born into a family of Jewish merchants in Dallas, Texas.
Levene began his career as the chief arranger for the pit orchestra at the Palace Theater in Dallas, and composed music for string quartets in the city.
[1] On September 4, 1932, his composition "Ballet Suite Exodus", which he had written at the age of 18, was performed by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.
[1] In 1933 he and his new wife Julia (1914–2001)[2] moved to New York City,[1] where he continued to study music while working as an arranger and guitarist for Andre Kostelanetz and Ray Bloch.
[3] He later moved to Hollywood, where he was employed as an arranger for most of the major studios, mostly uncredited work for films such as The Eddie Cantor Story (1953), The King and I (1956),[1] Carousel (1956), The Big Land (1957), Marjorie Morningstar (1958), The Music Man (1962), and At Long Last Love (1975).