At 97, Bunny Levine was still reading for parts. The actress — who spent 25 years as a school librarian before starting over in front of a camera, landing roles in “Gilmore Girls,” “La La Land” and several Adam Sandler comedies — died on August 20, 2026, at her home in Tarzana, Calif.
She died peacefully in her sleep, according to her manager, Brandon Kjar, who confirmed the death on Sunday, August 23. After a report of an unresponsive person brought officers to the home that morning, the Los Angeles Police Department said the death appeared natural.
“She was a great and fearless actress and such a nice lady,” Kjar said.
That same sentence turned up word for word in an emailed statement from her agent, Mike Eisenstadt, to CBS News, with a line added: “What a full life. She will be missed.” Kjar also said Levine was still going out for roles at 97, and that her last job came in June.
A Librarian’s Long Detour
The desire to perform showed up early in the life of Bernice Utal, born December 22, 1928, in East Orange, N.J. It also waited a long time. For 25 years after high school, the woman who would become Bunny Levine worked as a school librarian, raised three children and earned master’s degrees from New York University and Columbia University.
Retirement didn’t slow her down; it pointed her somewhere else. She enrolled in acting classes and began auditioning for the career she had put off for a quarter-century. After her husband, Bernard “Bernie” Levine, died in 2003, she moved to Los Angeles and went to work.
In a statement, her family said she left a mark on people across both halves of that life — the years in schools and the years on camera.
The Actors Connection Years
Hollywood came second. In 1991, Levine and her husband of 53 years founded Actors Connection in New York City, an organization built to walk performers through the business and get them in the room with the people doing the hiring. Her family said the couple helped a great many actors move their careers ahead.
“Her passion for helping actors has launched countless careers,” the group said in a statement following her death, thanking Levine for building a community for the artists she loved.
A Career Built on Guest Spots
Read her television résumé and you get something like a syllabus for the past 30 years of American TV: “Law & Order,” “Everybody Loves Raymond,” “Gilmore Girls,” “Ugly Betty,” “Private Practice,” “Criminal Minds,” “2 Broke Girls,” “Raising Hope,” “Southland,” “New Girl,” “Getting On,” “The Mindy Project,” “Fuller House,” “Shameless” and “Dave.”
Her movie work stretched from “Slime City” and “The Jimmy Show” to “A Thousand Words” and “La La Land.” She turned up in 2008 in “You Don’t Mess With the Zohan,” the comedy starring actor and comedian Adam Sandler, then worked with him again on “Sandy Wexler” in 2017 and on the 2023 Netflix film “You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah.”
The jobs kept coming deep into her 90s. “The Invisible Raptor” arrived in 2023, followed by two 2024 releases: “Sacramento,” directed by actor and filmmaker Michael Angarano and starring Kristen Stewart and Michael Cera, and “Thelma,” the comedy led by veteran actress June Squibb. On June 14, 2024, Levine walked the Los Angeles premiere of “Thelma” at The Egyptian Theatre Hollywood.
Audiences saw her again in 2026, in the final season of “The Upshaws” and in “The Cure.”
Survivors and Services
Her survivors include her three children — Marty, Francie and Joe — and two grandchildren, Robin and Jeffrey.
The Jewish Memorial Chapel in Clifton, N.J., hosted services at 1 p.m. on August 27. The family has asked that donations in her memory go to the Entertainment Community Fund.
Run the usual Hollywood story in reverse, and you have Bunny’s. Actors typically show up young, hungry and untethered, then fade out once the auditions stop. Levine showed up late, with a full career and a full house behind her, and stayed. Before she began telling her own stories, she spent 25 years shelving everyone else’s — and at 97 she was still auditioning.