Theodore Bikel (1924–2015)
Author of Theo: The Autobiography of Theodore Bikel
About the Author
Theodore Bikel was born in Vienna on May 2, 1924. He moved to Palestine with his family when he was 13 years old. He apprenticed at the Habimah theater in Tel Aviv in 1943. Three years later he went to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. While there, he starred in numerous small show more productions and graduated with honors in 1948. He made his Broadway debut in 1955 in Tonight in Samarkand. He created the role of Baron von Trapp in the original Broadway production of The Sound of Music and toured for decades as Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof. He became a U.S. citizen in 1961. He began recording folk song albums in 1955. His albums included Israeli Folk Songs, Songs of Russia Old and New, A Taste of Passover, A Taste of Hanukkah, and In My Own Lifetime: 12 Musical Theater Classics. He also wrote an autobiography entitled Theo. He died on July 21, 2015 at the age of 91. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Disambiguation Notice:
(yid) VIAF:82627937 (yivo)
Works by Theodore Bikel
Songs of a Russian Gypsy 4 copies
Classic Jewish Holiday Songs 3 copies
An Actor's Holiday [sound recording] 3 copies
KJV, Psalms and Proverbs for Commuters, Audio CD: 31 Days of Praise and Wisdom from the King James Version Bible (2011) 2 copies
Theodore Bikel Sings Songs of Israel 2 copies
Best Of Bikel 1 copy
Passover Story 1 copy
FROM BONDAGE TO FREEDOM 1 copy
Bravo Bikel 1 copy
Thank goodness it's Shabbat 1 copy
On Tour [sound recording] 1 copy
Town Hall Concert 1 copy
Associated Works
Goodbye, Columbus and Five Short Stories (1959) — Narrator, some editions — 3,404 copies, 57 reviews
The Garden of Eden and Other Criminal Delights (2006) — Narrator, some editions — 325 copies, 10 reviews
On the Firing Line: The Public Life of Our Public Figures (1989) — Contributor — 126 copies, 1 review
Beautiful Hair Breck Presents A Hootenanny — Artist — 1 copy
Lilian Jackson Braun 2-in-1 Edition, Volume 3: The Cat Who Knew a Cardinal and The Cat Who Moved a Mountain (2018) — Narrator, some editions — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Bikel, Theodore Meir
- Birthdate
- 1924-05-02
- Date of death
- 2015-07-20
- Gender
- male
- Education
- University of London (BA | 1944)
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (diploma | 1948) - Occupations
- actor
musician
linguist
photographer - Organizations
- Actors Guild
American Federation of Television and Radio Artists
Friars Club
Actors Equity Association - Relationships
- Bikel, Ofra (former spouse)
- Nationality
- Austria (birth)
USA (naturalized) - Birthplace
- Vienna, Austria
- Places of residence
- Austria
Israel
London, England, UK
New York, New York, USA
Los Angeles, California, USA - Place of death
- Los Angeles, California, USA
- Disambiguation notice
- VIAF:82627937 (yivo)
Members
Reviews
Awaiting to confirm illustrated book versus picturebook:
Book is based on a short story by legendary actor, singer and social justice activist, Theodore Bikel, tells the story of a young boy (Bikel) and his childhood in the City of Light (Vienna). His was a beautiful childhood, in the wondrous City of Light, surrounded by the love of his family. But soon, the dark clouds of Anti-Semitism grew, and the city was occupied by the army from across the border. Those who were once friendly neighbors show more and classmates become dangerous enemies, wishing him great harm for no reason other than he is a Jewish. The Boy dreams that his hero, Judah Maccabi, enters the city to save the Jews, but when he awakes, it had only been a dream. The Boy and his family must flee, leaving the home that they loved forever. Many years later, The Boy, now an Old Man, returns to The City and finds that the light has always been inside his own heart. show less
Book is based on a short story by legendary actor, singer and social justice activist, Theodore Bikel, tells the story of a young boy (Bikel) and his childhood in the City of Light (Vienna). His was a beautiful childhood, in the wondrous City of Light, surrounded by the love of his family. But soon, the dark clouds of Anti-Semitism grew, and the city was occupied by the army from across the border. Those who were once friendly neighbors show more and classmates become dangerous enemies, wishing him great harm for no reason other than he is a Jewish. The Boy dreams that his hero, Judah Maccabi, enters the city to save the Jews, but when he awakes, it had only been a dream. The Boy and his family must flee, leaving the home that they loved forever. Many years later, The Boy, now an Old Man, returns to The City and finds that the light has always been inside his own heart. show less
A basic problem: this isn't a serious book of folk music, but rather a glorified fake-book for the cabaret/church-basement coffeehouse fakers who blighted the 1960s. Once again, it's a tough book to distill down into our Star System. For its musical value, it's about a 1, for entertainment value (anecdotes, odd facts, etc) it's about a 2. As a document of a certain droll but ultimately silly episode in American culture, let's give it a deuce and a half. But honestly, there's a very good show more reason I couldn't be bothered to keep it in my collection. Probably the best single thing in it is Gene Raskin's faux-Russian gypsy song "The Kretchma". I wonder how many of these books will have appeared in the estate-sales of 60s' folkies? show less
This is an amazing book. Theodore Bikel is an actor and singer and he put together this book of...well, the title says it all; "Folksongs and footnotes". There are several sections and there are songs from all over Europe, and the Americas. There is even one African song! And there's humorous and fascinating footnotes and opinion statements for each song. This is great!!!
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Statistics
- Works
- 33
- Also by
- 40
- Members
- 159
- Popularity
- #132,374
- Rating
- 3.8
- Reviews
- 3
- ISBNs
- 14
- Languages
- 1
- Favorited
- 1