Hollywood Man Wants To Find Good Samaritan Who Saved His Life

HOLLYWOOD (CBS) — Keith Levidow said he had just stepped out of his apartment building when he collapsed. Neighbors told him a stranger jogging by administered CPR while they called 911. After undergoing heart surgery, Levidow is alive and well, and says he now wants to find the man who saved his life.

"A stranger saved my life and I don't know who he is," Levidow told CBS2's Rob Schmitt.

Levidow had just walked out of his apartment complex on Hollywood Boulevard at 7 p.m. last Thursday when his heart stopped.

"It's called a ventricular fibrillation -- everything stops. I was dead, that's it," Levidow said. "I was just going down the stairs and from there I don't know what happened. I blacked out or something, fell down the stairs and was out cold."

Fortunately for the Hollywood resident, a man jogging by knew exactly what to do.

"But this guy stopped by and performed mouth-to-mouth and CPR on me and, basically, saved my life, because I was dead," Levidow said.

Doctors credit that immediate medical attention with saving his life.

"They said, 'You had a guardian angel, for sure, because it's a one-in-a-billion chance that someone walking by is going to perform mouth-to-mouth, CPR, and know what to do,'" Levidow said.

Levidow woke up in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Beverly Hills and underwent a major surgery, where doctors had a pacemaker installed.

"This is like an insurance policy, the doctor says...the doctor says, 'If anything happens to your heart, if it stops, this will automatically shock it back into motion,'" Levidow said.

Levidow is an actor and an avid collector of rare collectibles.

He's back on his feet and as active as ever. Now, Levidow says he feels the need to find the man who has made his recovery possible.

"It feels good to be alive, yeah. I'm going to try to enjoy life," said Levidow, as his eyes welled up with tears. "But I want to thank that man. I want to thank him for saving my life."

Anyone with information about the Good Samaritan is asked to contact CBS2 News at (818) 655-2000.