Levine & Co. Creative Television & Film was founded by Emmy-Award winning former anchorman Jerry Levine. A distinguished broadcast professional who gave up a high profile and top-rated anchor position at WPLG TV10 in Miami, to pursue his passion for humanitarian endeavors across the globe through independent filmmaking. Represented by the William Morris agency and bound for the networks, Jerry (also known as Jerrod) defied convention and shocked his South Florida fans by leaving the daily grind of broadcast television to embark on a new creative path focused on developing humanitarian films and documentaries. He founded Higher Authority Productions in 1993 to "be an emotional mirror reflecting the life saving philanthropic endeavors transforming the world" and impacting sophisticated donors that could make a difference. Jerry's films became widely acclaimed for their unique quality, construction and emotional punch. His early capital campaign films for foundations, institutions and capital campaigns across the globe helped raise more than half a billion dollars.
Today, Jerry spearheads both non-profit and commercial broadcast projects for clients worldwide, and is regarded as one of the nation’s foremost experts on strategic non-profit filmmaking; a field which includes philanthropic short films, commercials, documentaries and hybrid infomercials. He is also a pioneer in the development of intricate and richly woven biographical films and family documentaries privately produced for well known families with an important story and legacy to preserve and protect. These cinematic, often feature length projects, bring the lives and achievements of their subjects into stunning relief on the screen, and become video time capsules and reservoirs for historically significant imagery such as family photographs, film clips, and news articles, as well as vintage footage that brings to life the era and events that shaped the world around them. What truly sets them apart is Jerry's unique storytelling style, which not only draws viewers into the intimate world of his subjects, but takes them on an emotional journey - filled with the indelible and often triumphant stories that shaped their lives.
His compelling international fund raising films for notable Jewish agencies, causes and iconic brands such as Boy Scouts of America, have included interviews with U.S. Presidents, and have been at the center of philanthropic initiatives that have raised public awareness and generated desperately needed philanthropic funding the world over.
Born into a creative family that includes notable success stories in the world of advertising (ACR/ Ted Bates Worldwide / Saatchi and Saatchi), television (60 Minutes), designer menswear (Ron Chereskin), and venture capital (Frontgate), Jerry also continues to produce award-winning television commercials, corporate presentations and some of America’s best known and successful direct-response campaigns. His clients in this arena include Hotels.com, Burger King Corporation, The Backstreet Boys, Duty Free Americas, Air France, Andrew Lloyd Webber, the Weizmann Institute of Science, Universal Home Studios, the University of Miami Medical School, Great Central Mines, Elite Modeling, Skyguide, the Women's International Zionist Organization, and Stem Cell leaders Cryocell International.
Mr. Levine is that rarity in his field. A creative artist who commands most of the primary disciplines of filmmaking: script writing, field producing, interviewing, lighting, directing, shooting, editing, audio mixing, and musical composition. As a former anchorman and reporter he can also work in front of the lens. This unique skill set has enabled him to demystify the complexities of the production process for clients, and to guide them through each step of the creative and technical filmmaking process - from project initiation through completion. His signature storytelling style is well known for its penetrating interviews, cutting edge cinematic technique and uplifting emotional content.
Jerry’s background in "long-form" programming began as a producer and on-air correspondent for Post-Newsweek's nationally acclaimed documentaries unit, where he co-produced "The Smell of Money" which earned him the coveted Colombia University duPont Award, and WPLG’s Emmy Award-winning "Eyewitness News Magazine" which he co-hosted with legendary South Florida news anchor Dwight Lauderdale. His film credits include a number of critically acclaimed network and PBS documentaries, among them “Israel’s Forgotten Heroes,” honored with six national film and television awards including an Emmy Award for Best Documentary.
He is also well known internationally for his films reflecting faith and spirituality, including: Still Waters Run Deep - about the Jewish mystical practice of Mikvah; Windows To The Soul - the only authorized biography of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem M. Schneerson; Generations In The Sun - Jewish pioneers who transformed Florida; Inspired - about people like Israeli television legend Uri Zohar who suddenly became religious; Addicted Nation - using faith-based institutions to combat the US drug epidemic, produced by the Hanley Foundation; and Echoes of the Holocaust - about the docents who breath life, tragic drama and history into the Holocaust Memorial of Miami Beach.
As a broadcast journalist, Jerry held full time positions with WPTV, WJXT, and WPLG as well as being an independent director / producer for PBS. He has anchored thousands of television shows including his own morning show in Miami called "Daybreak," appeared live on Good Morning America, and hosted ambitious international telecasts carried by Fox and PBS in more than 220 American TV markets. One of his epic and ambitious projects was contributing to the production of "Chanukah Live" a festive, live, menorah-lighting extravaganza he co-hosted with popular New York anchorwoman Sarah Lee Kessler. The live, annual program brought together tens of thousands of Chabad emissaries from the Western Wall to the Eiffel Tower, plus millions of TV viewers via satellite over PBS stations nationwide.
Over the years, Jerry has conducted in-depth interviews with world leaders and luminaries including Michael Douglas, Martin Sheen, Shimon Peres, Benjamin Netanyahu, Mikhail Gorbechev, Yitzchak Rabin, Sir John Major, Donald Trump, Larry King, Margaret Thatcher, Barbara Walters, Rudolph Giuliani, Sumner Redstone, Shirley Jones, Giullio Andriotti, MC Hammer, Hollywood Henderson, Hal Linden, Adam West, Fran Drescher, Peter Fonda and dozens of others.
Beyond South Florida where he resides with his wife Geri and four children - Sivan, Talya, Dana and Matt - Mr. Levine has produced films and documentaries in Geneva, Barcelona, Jerusalem, Paris, the Negev Desert, Venice, Buenos Aires, Melbourne, Rome, Amman, and Sydney.
Portions of his films have appeared on ABC Nightline with Ted Koppel, CNN’s Moneyline program with Lou Dobbs, and have received positive reviews from the Wall Street Journal, Miami Herald, Foundation News and Commentary, and other respected publications.
A state champion National Forensic League speaker who studied debate theory at Harvard University, Jerry competed in national tournaments at venues like Georgetown University and Emory before entering the broadcast field. In college he co-founded and anchored a popular college cablecast called “1800 Seconds” with his high school friend and roommate David Garfinkle - who went on to become Executive Producer of pop culture TV hits such as Blind Date, Fifth Wheel, and Naked and Afraid. The program launched the professional TV careers of dozens of students, and was the only weekly on-air student-run and produced television production in the United States in the early 1980s. Jerry was also the editor of a popular newspaper section in college, and founding editor of the magazine "Of Course" one of the first publications to ever rate college professors.
Jerry is also highly regarded as a voiceover artist, narrating projects for The National Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Hotels.com, and United Airlines. He has also voiced many successful national direct-response initiatives, some of which are currently airing on television.
Many of his short films, commercials, and documentaries are available for immediate viewing on this website. Many more are also available via link, upon request.