Irving Raskin Levine (August 26, 1922 – March 27, 2009)[1] was an American journalist and longtime correspondent for NBC News.
His reporting on Europe included accounts of the 1961 construction of the Berlin Wall by East Germany; the Vatican II Ecumenical Council, which opened in 1962; and the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia by the USSR.
As a national correspondent, Levine became known for his distinctive sign-off, slightly stressing his middle initial.
Famed for his impeccable grammar and diction, Levine made a crossover to entertainment, with a self-mocking appearance on Saturday Night Live.
When asked what he would miss most moving from NBC to CBS late night, Letterman answered, "backrubs from Irving R.
[4] After retiring in 1995 from NBC, Levine became dean of Lynn University's School of International Communication in Boca Raton, Florida.
[5] In 1957 Levine married Nancy Cartmell Jones, who had been working on the Dave Garroway Show.