‘He was the cool one’

He was the cool father. The one who could talk to all his children’s friends. Arnie Levey was known throughout Atlantic Beach. He was the incorporated village’s first parks commissioner, who hired the lifeguards and gate guards.

The Cedarhurst native died of heart disease on Feb. 14 at North Shore University Medical Center in Manhasset. He was 81.

“My two sisters and I remember when our friends would be hanging out with my dad and mom and we wouldn’t even be there,” said the youngest of Levey’s three children, son Andrew. “He would take in friends during difficult times with their families. If he had it, you had it.”

Levey could often be seen surfing, fishing or sailing. His annual summer parties were legendary, with 100 to 200 people attending. In his younger days, he was a stunt horseman who appeared in the Elizabeth Taylor movie “National Velvet.” Later, as an animator, he brought Mighty Mouse to life. He collected cars and was a champion race driver.

“For us growing up, that was part of our childhood,” said daughter Missy Miller, Levey’s second child, referring to the parties and the sheer number of people who knew her dad. “Everyone knew our father. He was the cool one.”

Born on Nov. 17, 1930, Levey grew up in the Five Towns, when there were more barns and stables than asphalt. He learned to ride and became an accomplished equestrian, Andrew said. After graduating from Lawrence High School, he headed to California, where he worked as a stunt rider in shows at the popular amusement park Knott’s Berry Farm. “He used to say he got shot twice a day and three times on Saturday,” said Andrew, who called his father his “best friend.”

Levey also knew what it was like to get shot at for real, serving in the Army in Korea from 1951 to 1953.

His talents also extended to the drawing board. As an animator for Terrytoons in New York City, he brought life to Mighty Mouse, Casper the Friendly Ghost and Deputy Dawg. “When we couldn’t go out for recess, I brought in cartoons on reel-to-reel,” said Elizabeth Levey-Pruyn, Levey’s oldest daughter, recalling her years as a student at the Number One School. “It was kind of a cool thing.”

Her father animated 10 seconds of red arrows highlighting a pair of lungs in a 30-second Primatene Mist commercial, and that helped Levey launch Pictures International, a New York-based production company. He traveled the world shooting commercials. “Many people called him Uncle Arnie and loved to sit with him,” said Andrew. “He was a great storyteller. Everyone who came across him loved him.”

Levey loved cars, and not only collected them — Levey-Pruyn remembers the family having a different car every six months — but raced them at Connecticut’s Lime Rock and Long Island’s Bridgehampton tracks. He was an East Coast champion in 1960, Andrew said.

Having a “Levey car” meant being prepared for its idiosyncrasies — and the possibility that it could fall apart, Levey-Pruyn recalled. “I bought my first car and he had open-heart surgery,” she said. “I blew a tire the first night. He spent his recovery from open-heart surgery rebuilding this little MG.” Later, she said, she found motorcycle parts and coat hangers under the hood. “He used whatever he could find.”

Later in life, Levey worked for the Town of Hempstead, producing television spots. “Arnie was a very well-loved member of the town family and will be missed dearly,” said Supervisor Kate Murray, who was scheduled to speak at his funeral last Friday but couldn’t attend because she had the flu.

In addition to his children, Levey is survived by his former wife, Dr. Judith Levey, a brother, Marc Levey, and grandchildren Katy, Gabi, Oliver, Ryan, Karli and Kendall.

His funeral service was held at Riverside-Boulevard-Hewlett Chapel, and he was interred at New Montefiore Cemetery in West Babylon. The family requested that donations be made to Oliver’s Fund, 105 Richard St., Atlantic Beach, N.Y. 11509.