March10
October 23rd, 1998
From The New York Times
Timothy (Speed) Levitch, the loquacious New York City tour-bus guide, sidewalk philosopher and one-man almanac of urban lore profiled in Bennett Miller’s compelling documentary film ”The Cruise,” is a man who enjoys making himself dizzy. One of his favorite activities, he confides, is to spin around under the twin towers of the World Trade Center and, when thoroughly disoriented, to look up and reel under the illusion that the buildings are toppling down on him.
Read the full article.
March10
September 28th, 2008
From presentmagazine.com
Timothy “Speed” Levitch, famed New York tour guide featured in Waking Life, School Of Rock, Adult Swim’s Stroker and Hoop, and subject of award winning documentary The Cruise, is now living in his hometown of Kansas City. Levitch and director Zac Eubank of Skinless Productions are producing weekly video blogs around Kansas City where Levitch hosts and reels off thoughts on his new love affair with the city.
View the video
March10
April 27th, 2009
From AHistoryOfNewYork.com
Bryan began his lecture on Tony Kushner’s play Angels in America today with a brief clip from the video of the “Central Park Sunset Tour” that Timothy “Speed” Levitch took us on three years ago. By that time, we’d been showing excerpts from The Cruise, Bennett Miller’s documentary about Levitch and his Grayline bus tours, for a couple of years, and when when of our TA’s turned out to have a connection Levitch and found out that he was going to be in town . . . well, we jumped at the chance to have him lead us and some of our students on our tour.
Read full article
March10
November 30th, 1998
From Weeklywire.com
ON BEING A TOUR GUIDE: “I came to the tour route with the understanding that it is one of the great opportunities for self-expression and I do think that the people who really moved mountains in human history were all great tour guides. I do think that being a tour guide — understanding it to be a great opportunity for self-expression — enhanced my own use of language. It enhanced my understanding, if you will, that language is the instrument of life. It is the music of life, and really a shamanic journey in its own right. I do think that the frontiers of human awareness are in the language, and so that when we’re playing with the language, we are at play and frolicking in the frontiers of human awareness.”
Read full interview
March10
From Hybridmagazine.com
In 1997 Timothy “Speed” (you’ll see why) Levitch was without a mattress to call his own, and making his “living” in Manhattan giving tours of the city for visitors from around the globe. His tours were less historical anecdotes of the city, than sermons, diatribes, and philosophy dissertation rolled into one. A friend thought the life of Speed would make a good documentary-and it did. The result was The Cruise, which won Best Documentary at the 1998 Sundance Film festival and was released internationally by Artisan.
Read full article
March10
Meet a man who has mastered the art of living in Manhattan without actually having a place of his own. Timothy “Speed” Levitch, New York’s loopiest and most eccentric tour bus guide to date.
See full post
Recent Comments