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&quest;, 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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