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JANUARY 2005

Ninety-Six And Too Busy To Die

By Merri Rosenberg

Here’s something that might very well inspire those students who are currently enrolled in alternative high schools or similar programs.

Mortimer Levitt, the founder of the now-defunct Custom Shops Shirtmakers, is perhaps one of the most successful businessmen to actually flunk out of high school. In this entertaining and diverting—if sometimes confusing and name-dropping narrative—Levitt reveals the secrets of his success: an attitude that wouldn’t accept failure, a can-do spirit that propelled him to experiment and be comfortable going against the prevailing wisdom, and a determination to embrace as many of life’s experiences as possible.

While he relished the challenges of establishing his own business, and enjoyed the benefits of making money, Levitt wasn’t about to have money determine how he led his life. Sure, he had fun opening an art gallery, meeting artists and being part of a “glamorous” world, but he wanted to be sure that he also had ample opportunity to travel, ski, play tennis and sail his beloved boat. He actually retired from the daily responsibilities of managing his business less than four years after he opened his first shop, at the age of 34. In later years, he cared deeply about philanthropy and the arts, and launched the Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts more than 30 years ago in Connecticut. Other centers opened in California and Pennsylvania.

More recently, Levitt has turned his energies and attention to education, developing courses for Mercy College, Bard College and a consortium of high schools in Lawrence, Long Island.

While most people obviously don’t have his financial resources, or his distinctive set of skills and talents, Levitt’s embrace of life could well inspire legions of baby boomers who need to redefine how they’ll spend their ever-longer post-work lives. #

Ninety-Six And Too Busy To Die
by Mortimer Levitt
(Published by Aspator Books, 2003) 199 pp.

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