1906–1972 · American concert pianist, composer, actor and wit
Oscar Levant (27 December 1906 – 14 August 1972) was an American concert pianist and composer who became far better known as a professional talker — on the radio quiz Information, Please!, in films, and on his own television shows. He built a public character out of neurosis and insult, and the self-deprecating one-liner was his stock in trade, which is exactly why a joke about sharpening your tongue sits naturally on him. It is also why his lines are so easy to lose: Levant’s fame faded, Parker’s did not, and orphaned wisecracks drift toward the name people still recognise.