LOS ANGELES—Legendary industry salesman and AVN Hall of Famer Howard Levine passed away late Wednesday evening after a long battle with cancer, AVN has learned. He was 64.
Fellow Hall of Famer Marci Hirsch, who worked with Levine for many years at Vivid Entertainment, where he served as national sales manager throughout its heydey, informed AVN of the news, noting, "Howard was arguably the best salesman in the business."
A message on Levine's Facebook page posted at approximately 11:15 Wednesday night and co-signed by his wife Louise, daughter Jessica and son Justin reads: "It is with breaking hearts that we tell you Howard's 3 1/2 year fight with cancer has ended on Wednesday June 26th, 2019. A funeral service will be held at Mt. Sinai Memorial Park, Simi Valley, CA. Please see their website for details. Memorial donations in Howard's name may be made to the City of Hope or your favorite charitable organization."
Hirsch told AVN further details about the funeral would be made available Thursday, and said, "Anyone wanting to pay their respects is welcome to come to the service."
A native of Cleveland, Levine got his start in adult at General Video of America in 1986, serving as the national sales manager there before joining Vivid in 1990. His legacy with arguably adult's best known brand lasted for over 20 years, and he was responsible for some of its—and the industry's—biggest selling titles of all time, including Pam & Tommy Lee: Hardcore & Uncensored, Kim Kardashian Superstar, Batman XXX: A Porn Parody, The New Devil in Miss Jones and many more.
Between 2007 and 2009, Levine shifted his focus to Jenna Jameson’s Club Jenna label and Reality Kings. He returned to repping Vivid in July 2009 by way of selling the studio’s product at Pulse Distribution.
A 2015 inductee into the Executive Branch of the AVN Hall of Fame, Levine directed a handful of movies during his career, beginning in December 2014, when he made his directorial debut, Super Porn, for Pleasure Dynasty and Jama Entertainment.
He had a passion for motorcycle culture, even becoming a liaison for porn stars to appear on on the FX show Sons of Anarchy. A member of the Screen Actors Guild since 1985, Levine first aligned with SoA when he was hired as an extra by another member of his sober-life bike club, Messengers of Recovery.
He later worked as an associate producer on Sons of Anarchy cast member David Labrava’s film Street Level.
Before adult, Levine worked at a Vidal Sassoon Salon in San Francisco in the early 1980’s, when he was moonlighting as a stand-up comic.
In 2011, he founded his own new distribution company, Exile Distribution, in partnership with Exquisite Multimedia owner Jerry. Exile's portfolio of studios includes such top brands as Forbidden Fruits Films, BurningAngel Entertainment, Kick Ass Pictures, ATKingdom/AMK Empire and Severe Sex Films.
Dan Miller contributed to this story.
