Theodore Bikel Biography (1924-)

Full name, Theodore Meir Bikel; born May 2, 1924, in Vienna, Austria; son ofJosef and Miriam (maiden name, Riegler) Bikel; married Ofra Ichilov, 1942 (divorced, 1943); married Rita Weinberg Call, 1967; children: (second marriage)Robert Simon, Daniel Martin. Addresses: Agent: William Morris Agency,151 El Camino Dr., Beverly Hills, CA 90212-2775.

Favorite roles Zorba.

Nationality
Austrian
Gender
Male
Occupation
Actor, singer, writer, editor
Birth Details
May 2, 1924
Vienna, Austria

Famous Works

  • CREDITS
  • Stage Appearances
  • (Stage debut) Village clerk, Tevye the Milkman, Habimah Theatre, Tel Aviv, Israel, 1943
  • Charley, Charley's Aunt, Chamber Theatre, Tel Aviv, Israel, 1945
  • Father, The Insect Play, Chamber Theatre, 1945
  • (London debut) You Can't Take It with You, 1948
  • Pablo Gonzalez, then Howard Mitchell, A Streetcar Named Desire, Aldwych Theatre, London, 1949
  • Colonel Ikonenko, The Love of Four Colonels, Wyndham Theatre, London, 1951
  • Jan, Dear Charles, New Theatre, London, 1954
  • (Broadway debut) Inspector Massoubre, Tonight in Samarkand, Morosco Theatre, 1955
  • Robert de Baudricourt, The Lark, Longacre Theatre, New York City,1955
  • Dr. Jacobson, The Rope Dancers, Cort Theatre, New York City, 1957
  • Captain Georg von Trapp, The Sound of Music, Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, New York City, 1959
  • (Concert reading) Brecht on Brecht, Theatre de Lys, New York City,1962
  • Samuel Cole, Cafe Crown, Martin Beck Theatre, New York City, 1964
  • Professor George Ritter, Pousse-Cafe, 46th Street Theatre, New York City, 1966
  • Tevye, Fiddler on the Roof, Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas, NV, 1967 , then Honolulu, HI, 1969
  • Meyer Rothschild, The Rothschilds, Westbury Music Fair, Long Island, NY, 1972
  • Major, The Inspector General, Circle in the Square, New York City,1978
  • Macheath, Threepenny Opera, Guthrie Theatre, Minneapolis, MN, 1984
  • Tevye, Fiddler on the Roof, St. Louis Municipal Opera, St. Louis,MO, 1984
  • My Fair Lady, Phoenix, AZ, 1988-89
  • La Gazza Ladra, Philadelphia Opera Company, PA, 1989
  • The Abduction from the Seraglio, Cleveland Opera Company, OH, 1992
  • Ariadne auf Naxos, Los Angeles Opera Company, 1992
  • Sholom Aleichem Lives, 1997
  • Die Fledermaus, Yale Opera Company, 1998
  • The Disputation, Coconut Grove Playhouse, Miami, FL, 1999
  • Gabe, The Gathering, Jewish Repertory Theatre, New York City, 1999
  • Also appeared in A Servant of Two Masters; Blood Wedding; She Stoops to Conquer; Antigone; Twelfth Night; St. Joan; Shop at Sly Corner; It's Hard to Be a Jew; The Thistle and the Rose; Ten Little Indians; Marriage-Go-Round.
  • Major Tours
  • Harold Mitchell, A Streetcar Named Desire, U.K. cities, 1950
  • Tevye, Fiddler on the Roof, U.S. cities, 1969 , 1971 , 1979
  • Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, U.S. cities, 1972 , 1974
  • Meyer Rothschild, The Rothschilds, U.S. cities, 1972
  • Paul Delville, The Marriage Go Round, U.S. cities, 1973
  • Al Lewis, The Sunshine Boys, U.S. cities, 1973
  • Michael, I Do, I Do, U.S. cities, 1974
  • Chekhov, The Good Doctor, U.S. cities, 1975
  • Title role, Zorba, U.S. cities, 1976
  • She Loves Me, U.S. cities, 1989-90
  • Tevye, Fiddler on the Roof, U.S. cities, 2000-01
  • Film Appearances
  • Narrator, Ein Breira (also known as No Alternative), 1949
  • First officer of the "Luisa," The African Queen, United Artists, 1951
  • Milo IV, King of Serbia, Moulin Rouge, United Artists, 1953
  • Paul Brotha, Melba, United Artists, 1953
  • Anton Meyer, Desperate Moment, Universal, 1953
  • Russian patrol boat cop, Never Let Me Go, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1953
  • Henri Dubot, A Day to Remember, 1953
  • Willem Bloem, The Little Kidnappers (also known as The Kidnappers), United Artists, 1954
  • Parsimonious, The Love Lottery, Ealing, 1954
  • Josip, The Divided Heart, 1954
  • Joseph, Chance Meeting (also known as The Young Lovers), Paramount, 1954
  • Vandy, The Colditz Story, 1955
  • German officer, Above Us the Waves, 1955
  • Max, Forbidden Cargo, Fine Arts, 1956
  • Kosice, Flight from Vienna, 1956
  • General Jouvet, The Pride and the Passion, United Artists, 1957
  • "Heinie" Schwaffer, The Enemy Below, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1957
  • The Vintage, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1957
  • Colonel Dmitri Brikett, Fraeulein, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1958
  • Carl G.G. Palmberg, I Want to Live!,United Artists, 1958
  • Sheriff Max Muller, The Defiant Ones, United Artists, 1958
  • Andy McKee, I Bury the Living, 1958
  • Klepert, The Blue Angel, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1959
  • Dr. Gibbs, Woman Obsessed, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1959
  • Dimitrios Tassos, The Angry Hills, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1959
  • Piet, A Dog of Flanders, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1960
  • Man on the Run (also known as The Kidnappers), 1963
  • Zoltan Karpathy, My Fair Lady, Warner Bros., 1964
  • Dr. Bondrachai, Sands of the Kalahari, Paramount, 1965
  • Kisielev, The Desperate Ones (also known as Beyond the Mountains and Mas alla de las montanas), David Films, 1966
  • The Russian captain, The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, United Artists, 1966
  • Festival, 1967
  • Alonzo, Sweet November, Paramount, 1969
  • Bando, My Side of the Mountain, Paramount, 1969
  • Meyer, Darker than Amber, National General, 1969
  • The captain, The Little Ark, National General, 1970
  • Rance Muhammitz, 200 Motels (also known as Two Hundred Motels), United Artists, 1971
  • The March for Disarmament, 1984
  • Georgi, the Russian ambassador, Prince Jack, 1984
  • Victor, Very Close Quarters, 1986
  • Dr. Max Gold, Dark Tower, 1987
  • Bronie, See You in the Morning, 1989
  • Voice, Lodz Ghetto, 1989
  • Doctor Berkus, Shattered, 1991
  • Leo, Crisis in the Kremlin (also known as The Assassination Game), 1992
  • Narrator, The Business of Art and the Artist, 1992
  • Attorney Gideon Lee, Benefit of the Doubt (also known as Im Bann des Zweifels), 1993
  • Grandpa Danieloff, My Family Treasure (also known as Sokrovishche moyej semi), 1993
  • Auric Goldfinger in screen test (archive footage), Behind the Scenes with Goldfinger, 1995
  • Professor Pochenko, Shadow Conspiracy, Buena Vista, 1997
  • Second Chances, KOAN, Inc., 1998
  • Mr. Fix, Trickle, 1998
  • Captain Koch, Crime and Punishment, Twenty-First Century Film Corp., 2000
  • Television Appearances
  • Series
  • The Eternal Light, NBC, 1958-60
  • Look Up and Live, CBS, 1958-60
  • Directions '61, ABC, 1961
  • Miniseries
  • Peter Heger, Testimony of Two Men, 1977
  • Tom Feiffer, Loose Change, NBC, 1978
  • Napoleon Chotas, Sidney Sheldon's Memories of Midnight (also known as Memories of Midnight), CBS, 1991
  • Movies
  • The Bridge of San Luis Rey, 1958
  • Noon Wine, 1966
  • Sergeant Phil "Sharkey" Gold, Killer by Night (also known as The City by Night), CBS, 1972
  • Otto Gruenwaldt, Murder on Flight 502, 1975
  • Yakov Shlomo, Victory at Entebbe, 1976
  • Oliver Brandt, Columbo: The Bye-bye Sky High I.Q. Murder Case, 1977
  • Marley's ghost, The Stingiest Man in Town, 1978
  • Abe Moser, A Stoning in Fulham County, NBC, 1988
  • Henry Kissinger, The Final Days, ABC, 1989
  • Easy Come, Easy Go, ABC, 1989
  • Dr. Horst Reichert, Christine Cromwell: Things That Go Bump in the Night (also known as Things That Go Bump in the Night), ABC, 1989
  • Dr. Horst Reichert, In Vino Veritas, ABC, 1990
  • Lennon, Babylon 5: In the Beginning (also known as In the Beginning), syndicated, 1998
  • Specials
  • The Cherry Orchard, BBC, 1948
  • Who Has Seen the Wind?, ABC, 1965
  • The Diary of Anne Frank, ABC, 1967
  • "St. Joan," Hallmark Hall of Fame, NBC, 1967
  • Narrator, "Jews of Moscow," Jews of Moscow: An Inside Story Special Edition, PBS, 1986
  • Martin Luther King: The Dream and the Drum, PBS, 1986
  • Narrator, Inside the Soviet Circus, PBS, 1988
  • Narrator, Voices of Leningrad, PBS, 1990
  • A Laugh, a Tear, a Mitzvah, PBS, 1997
  • The American Film Institute Salute to Robert Wise, NBC, 1998
  • Host, A Taste of Chanukah, PBS, 1999
  • Host, A Taste of Passover, PBS, 1999
  • Also appeared in Birthday of an Idea; Angry Harvest; There Shall Be No Night; The Hunted; One Night Stand.
  • Episodic
  • (Television debut) Star Tonight, ABC, 1955
  • "Julius Caesar," Studio One, CBS, 1955
  • "Visit to a Small Planet," Goodyear Television Playhouse, 1955
  • "A Patch of Faith," Goodyear Television Playhouse, 1956
  • "Sound the Pipes of Pan," Goodyear Television Playhouse, 1956
  • "Hunted," The United States Steel Hour, 1956
  • Mr. Ottermole, "The Hands of Mr. Ottermole," Alfred Hitchcock Presents, CBS, 1957
  • "The Bridge of San Luis Rey," Dupont Show of the Month, CBS, 1958
  • "Sundance Returns," Hotel de Paree, 1959
  • "Murder Is a Face I Know," Naked City, ABC, 1961
  • "Portrait of a Painter," Naked City, ABC, 1962
  • Dr. Kildare, NBC, 1962
  • Sam Benedict, NBC, 1962
  • "The Dr. Denker Story," Wagon Train, 1962
  • Oliver Crangle, "Four O'Clock," The Twilight Zone, 1962
  • "No Wings At All," East Side/West Side, CBS, 1963
  • Perrault, "Mountain Man," Combat!, 1964
  • "Canliss," Rawhide, 1964
  • Martin Kellums, "Song for Dying," Gunsmoke, 1965
  • "Noon Wine," Stage '67, ABC, 1966
  • General Casimir Zepke, "The Cardinal," Mission: Impossible, CBS, 1968
  • Professor Erich Stoss, "Sweet Terror," Hawaii Five-O, 1969
  • Ironside, NBC, 1971
  • Mike Tampa, "Blood on the Vine," Cannon, CBS, 1972
  • Sergio Vargo, "The Adventure of the Two-Faced Woman," Ellery Queen, 1976
  • Yuli Pyatakov, "Centennial," Little House on the Prairie, 1976
  • Professor Wycinski, "Angels on a String," Charlie's Angels, 1977
  • Albrescht Klemmer, "Love Comes to the Butcher," All in the Family,1978
  • Guest, Front Page Challenge, 1979
  • Albrescht Klemmer, "A Girl Like Edith," All in the Family, 1979
  • Graham Deauville, "16 Chariot of Gold," Knight Rider, 1984
  • Kamal, "Reel Trouble," The Fall Guy, 1985
  • Professor Harold Crenshaw, "Indian Giver," Murder, She Wrote, CBS,1987
  • Eli, "Chamber Music," Beauty and the Beast, 1988
  • Rosanno Bertolucci, "When the Fat Lady Sings," Murder, She Wrote,CBS, 1989
  • CPO Sergey Rozhenko, ret., "Family," Star Trek: The Next Generation, 1990
  • Yuri Lermentov, "The List of Yuri Lermentov," Murder, She Wrote, CBS, 1991
  • "Great Balls Afire," L.A. Law, NBC, 1992
  • Sol Bregman, "Snatched," Law & Order, NBC, 1994
  • Rabbi Lennon Koslov, "TKO," Babylon 5, TNT, 1994
  • Inspector Van Horn, "Amsterdam Kill," Murder, She Wrote, CBS, 1994
  • Father Gregory, "St. Michael's Nightmare," The Burning Zone, UPN, 1996
  • Chaim Rosenfeld, Brooklyn South, CBS, 1997
  • Martin Zeller/Dr. Werner Krieg, "Hazards," The Pretender, NBC, 1998
  • Also appeared in "The Dybbuk," Play of the Week; Hootennany(multiple episodes); Climax!; Trials of O'Brien; Playhouse 90; Kraft Television Theatre; Producer's Showcase;Alcoa Hour; Danny Thomas Hour; Dick Powell Theatre; Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre; Mod Squad; Dynasty;Falcon Crest; Paper Chase; City; Trapper John, M.D.; Glitter; Cover- Up; The New Mike Hammer; AnotherWorld; Falcon Crest; The New Lassie; The Equalizer;Michael Hayes.
  • Television Editor
  • Directions '61, ABC, 1961
  • Radio Appearances
  • At Home with Theodore Bikel, 1957-62
  • RECORDINGS
  • Albums
  • Israeli Folk Songs, Elektra Records, 1955
  • An Actor's Holiday, Elektra Records, 1958
  • Jewish Folk Songs, Elektra Records, 1958
  • Folk Songs of Israel, Elektra Records, 1958
  • Songs of a Russian Gypsy, Elektra Records, 1958
  • (With Cynthia Gooding) A Young Man and a Maid: Love Songs of Many Lands, Elektra Records, 1958
  • (With Geula Gill) Folk Songs from Just About Everywhere, Elektra Records, 1959
  • More Jewish Folk Songs, Elektra Records, 1959
  • Bravo Bikel: Theodore Bikel's Town Hall Concerts, Elektra Records, 1959
  • Songs of Russia, Old and New, Elektra Records, 1960
  • From Bondage to Freedom, Elektra Records, 1961
  • A Harvest of Israeli Folk Songs, Elektra Records, 1962
  • Poetry and Prophecy of the Old Testament, Elektra Records, 1962
  • The Best of Bikel, Elektra Records, 1962
  • Theodore Bikel on Tour, Elektra Records, 1963
  • A Folksinger's Choice, Elektra Records, 1964
  • Yiddish Theatre and Folk Songs, Elektra Records, 1967
  • Songs of the Earth, Elektra Records, 1967
  • Theodore Bikel Is Tevye, Elektra Records, 1968
  • The Sound of Music (original cast recording), Columbia, 1960
  • The King and I, Columbia, 1964
  • A New Day, Reprise, 1970
  • Silent No More: Soviet Jewish Underground Songs, Star American, Jewish Congress, 1972
  • Theodore Bikel for the Young, Ambassador, 1973
  • Theodore Bikel Sings Jewish Holiday Songs, 1987
  • Yiddish Theatre & Folk Songs, Bainbridge Records, 1991
  • A Passover Story, Western Wind, 1991
  • A Chanukkah Story, Western Wind, 1992
  • Songs of a Russian Gypsy, Bainbridge Records, 1992
  • Theodore Bikel Sings Jewish Folk Songs, Bainbridge Records, 1992
  • Theodore Bikel Sings More Jewish Folk Songs, Bainbridge Records, 1992
  • Rise Up and Fight--Songs of Jewish Partisans, U.S. Holocaust Museum, 1996
  • A Taste of Passover, Rounder Records, 1998
  • Taped Readings
  • (With others) Jewish Stories from Old World to the New, 1998
  • (With others) Shadows on the Hudson: Volume 1, Dove, 1998
  • (With others) Goodbye, Columbus and Five Short Stories, 1999
  • Also read Herman Wouk's The Hope and the Glory, Audio Renaissance; Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose, Audio Renaissance.
  • WRITINGS
  • Television Episodes
  • The Eternal Light, NBC, 1958-61
  • Look Up and Live, CBS, 1958-60
  • Directions '61, ABC, 1961
  • Nonfiction
  • Folksongs and Footnotes, Meridian Books, 1961
  • Autobiography
  • Theo: The Autobiography of Theodore Bikel, HarperCollins, 1994
  • Contributor to U.S. Camera and Popular Photography.

Further Reference

OTHER SOURCES

    Periodicals:
    • New York Times, July 28, 1989, p. B2.

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