Theodore Bikel
Theodore Bikel was an actor and singer best known for his role as Tevye the Milkman in more than 2,200 performances of Fiddler on the Roof and Captain Von Trapp in the original Broadway production of The Sound of Music, the latter of which earned him a Tony nomination.
In 1946 he studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, followed by an acclaimed performance in Laurence Olivier’s production of A Streetcar Named Desire. The Vienna native often played roles of authority and appeared on Broadway in productions of Tonight in Samarkand, The Rope Dancers (which earned him another Tony nod) and The Lark. He also appeared in operas, including La Gazza Ladra and The Abduction from the Seraglio, among others.
He hosted a weekly radio program, At Home with Theodore Bikel, which was nationally syndicated. He was also a folk singer, and recorded 37 albums over the course of his career. In 1961 he founded the Newport Folk Festival, and in the same year he sang at Carnegie Hall for Queen Elizabeth.
Bikel also received an Academy Award nomination for his supporting performance in the 1958 film The Defiant Ones, in which he played a Southern sheriff. Additionally, he appeared in the films The African Queen, The Little Kidnappers, The Enemy Below, The Pride and the Passion, I Want to Live!, Fraulein, My Fair Lady, See You in the Morning, Crisis in the Kremlin, Shadow Conspiracy, Crime and Punishment and The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming.
Theodore Bikel was an actor and singer best known for his role as Tevye the Milkman in more than 2,200 performances of Fiddler on the Roof and Captain Von Trapp in the original Broadway production of The Sound of Music, the latter of which earned him a Tony nomination.
In 1946 he studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, followed by an acclaimed performance in Laurence Olivier’s production of A Streetcar Named Desire. The Vienna native often played roles of authority and appeared on Broadway in productions of Tonight in Samarkand, The Rope Dancers (which earned him another Tony nod) and The Lark. He also appeared in operas, including La Gazza Ladra and The Abduction from the Seraglio, among others.
He hosted a weekly radio program, At Home with Theodore Bikel, which was nationally syndicated. He was also a folk singer, and recorded 37 albums over the course of his career. In 1961 he founded the Newport Folk Festival, and in the same year he sang at Carnegie Hall for Queen Elizabeth.
Bikel also received an Academy Award nomination for his supporting performance in the 1958 film The Defiant Ones, in which he played a Southern sheriff. Additionally, he appeared in the films The African Queen, The Little Kidnappers, The Enemy Below, The Pride and the Passion, I Want to Live!, Fraulein, My Fair Lady, See You in the Morning, Crisis in the Kremlin, Shadow Conspiracy, Crime and Punishment and The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming.
He also had many television roles, including appearances in Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Naked City, Wagon Train, Twilight Zone, Route 66, Rawhide, Gunsmoke, Mission: Impossible, Hawaii Five-O, Ironside, Mod Squad, Little House on the Prairie, Charlie's Angels, Columbo, The Amazing Spider-Man, Fantasy Island, All in the Family, Knight Rider, The Fall Guy, Dynasty, The Paper Chase, Falcon Crest, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The New Lassie, L.A. Law, Law & Order, The Pretender and JAG.
Bikel was a civil-rights activist and served a five-year term on the National Council for the Arts, appointed by President Carter.
He wrote an autobiography, Theo, which was published in 1994, as well as the book Folksongs and Footnotes, a collection of folk songs from around the world.
Bikel died July 21, 2015, in Los Angeles. He was 91.
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