Character actress Bunny Levine dies at 97 after four-decade screen career

Passing in California and early background

Character actress Bunny Levine died peacefully in her sleep on Thursday at her home in Tarzana, California, at the age of 97. Her death was confirmed by her manager and reported by regional and entertainment outlets. Born on 22 December 1928 in East Orange, New Jersey, Levine maintained an ambition to perform throughout her childhood. After graduating from college in 1951, she paused her acting aspirations for 25 years. During that period, she worked as a school librarian in New Jersey while raising three children.

Second career and move to Los Angeles

Levine transitioned into acting full-time only after taking early retirement from her educational career. Upon stepping down from her library post, she enrolled in professional acting classes and attended open auditions. Following the death of her husband, Bernard Levine, in 2003, she moved across the country to Los Angeles to expand her screen opportunities. In 2025, she reflected on her motivation to pursue performing in an interview with her alma mater's student newspaper, The Daily Evergreen.

I don't know why. I don't know that many of us could explain why -- it's just something. Maybe it's in the genes.

Extensive television portfolio

Standing 4 feet 10 inches tall (1.47 metres), Levine spent nearly four decades working as a television character actress. She frequently filled character archetypes, often billed in end credits simply as "Old Lady", "Kindly Older Woman", or "Grandmother". Her television credits began with soap operas such as As the World Turns and expanded across network dramas and sitcoms. Over the years, she appeared in episodes of Gilmore Girls, Shameless, Law & Order, Everybody Loves Raymond, Chappelle's Show, and Las Vegas. Her later episodic work spanned Ugly Betty, Private Practice, Community, Criminal Minds, 2 Broke Girls, Raising Hope, Southland, New Girl, Getting On, The Mindy Project, Fuller House, Mayans M.C., and Dave.

Feature films and work into her nineties

Levine's screen career also encompassed dozens of feature films, starting with an appearance in the 1990 film Cadillac Man alongside Robin Williams and Tim Robbins. She subsequently secured parts in Slime City, The Jimmy Show, A Thousand Words, Let Go as Mrs. Grossman, and La La Land as a cinema cashier. She collaborated three times with Adam Sandler, playing a salon customer in You Don't Mess With the Zohan in 2008, the lead character's grandmother in Sandy Wexler in 2017, and an uncredited role in the 2023 release You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah.

Her late-career output remained steady well into her nineties. In 2024, she played Mona opposite 96-year-old June Squibb in the comedy Thelma, attending the film's premiere on the red carpet in Los Angeles. Her additional nineties roles included The Invisible Raptor in 2023 and Michael Angarano's 2024 film Sacramento, which featured Kristen Stewart and Michael Cera. Her final screen credits aired earlier in 2026, including the drama The Cure and the final season of the comedy series The Upshaws.