“one of the few answers to the chaos that we have,”
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- #wikipedia
- #quote

Figure timeline
Theodore Meir Bikel was an Austrian-American actor, singer, and political activist.
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
business · Austrian-American actor and folk musician (1924–2015) · television actor · film actor · businessperson · musician · stage actor · trade unionist · politician · singer · actor · also Theodore Bikel, Theodore Meir Bikel, Bikel
Born 2 May 1924 · Died 21 July 2015 · Q215721
52 published statements · 0 followers
See & hear
4 photos
Media from Wikimedia Commons, hotlinked at the source under its own licence — see each file for author and terms.
Live now
Pulling headlines from trusted outlets — this usually takes a few seconds
Checking the wires…
Feed scan
These are live links, not archived citations — they only join the timeline once a collect run verifies and archives them.
Live pulse
Most recent outstanding titles, awards, and quotes
“one of the few answers to the chaos that we have,”
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Peter, this band, these rebels—they are us. They are what we were 20 years ago. Remember?”
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
The Forward: How Theodore Bikel found his calling in the civil rights movement
BroadwayWorld: Oscar and Tony Nominee Theodore Bikel Subject Of New Spotlight Series Documentary
Released album “While I'm Here”.
Democracy Now: Theodore Bikel Remembered: Fiddler on the Roof Actor and Activist Speaks Out on Israel and Palestine
Seattle Times: Theodore Bikel, versatile singer, actor and activist, dies at 91
Yahoo: Theodore Bikel Dies: Actor & Longtime Union Activist Was 91
Yahoo: Theodore Bikel, ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ Star, Dead at 91
Jewish Journal: Theodore Bikel, actor, singer and activist, 91
At Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles of natural causes, according to publicist Harlan Boll, survived by Aimee Ginsburg, his sons from his second marriage, Robert and Daniel, and three grandchildren
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Died 2015-07-21.
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Bikel starred in Journey 4 Artists, a documentary that celebrates the power of music and religious diversity
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Bikel played the title role in Visiting Mr
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
For outstanding solo performance for Sholom Aleichem: Laughter Through Tears, an off-Broadway play that he also wrote
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Released album “Theodore Bikel Sings More Jewish Folk Songs”.
Served as chair of the board of directors of Meretz USA (now Partners for Progressive Israel)
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Released album “Songs of Russia Old and New / Songs of a Russian Gypsy”.
Released album “Cantata of the Bitter Herbs / Jephta, Rhapsodic Poem (Symphony no. 5)”.
Released album “Treasury Of Yiddish Folk & Theatre Songs”.
Released album “The Jewish Experience - Chanukkah / Passover”.
Released album “The Chanukkah Story”.
As Rabbi Koslov in the first-season episode "TKO" and in 1998, as Ranger leader Lenonn in the TV movie Babylon 5: In the Beginning
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Released album “Yiddish Theatre & Folk Songs”.
Released album “Songs of a Russian Gypsy”.
While protesting the plight of Soviet Jews
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Career landmark: President of Actors Equity Association (1973–1982).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Bikel began acting and singing on stage as Tevye in the musical Fiddler on the Roof
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Bikel supported the presidential campaign of Eugene McCarthy and attended the 1968 Democratic National Convention after being elected as a pro-McCarthy delegate in New York
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
To Rita Weinberg Call, with whom he had two children
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Played Zoltan Karpathy, the dialect expert, in the film version of My Fair Lady
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Bikel joined Dylan, Seeger, Peter, Paul and Mary, and Joan Baez for the festival grand finale as they sang "Blowin' in the Wind" and "We Shall Overcome"
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Bikel became the first singer besides Dylan to perform "Blowin' in the Wind" in public
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
And in 1968, he was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Created the role of Austria-Hungary Empire naval Captain von Trapp in the original stage musical production of The Sound of Music, which earned him a second "Tony" nomination
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Bikel co-founded the Newport Folk Festival (together with Pete Seeger, Harold Leventhal, Oscar Brand, and George Wein)
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Released album “Folk Songs From Just About Everywhere”.
Co-founded the Newport Folk Festival, and created the role of Captain von Trapp opposite Mary Martin as Maria in the original Broadway production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's The Sound of Music
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Released album “Sings Jewish Folk Songs”.
Released album “Folk Songs of Israel”.
Released album “A Young Man and a Maid (Love Songs of Many Lands)”.
At the suggestion of Jac Holzman of Elektra Records, Bikel began recording songs, including several albums of Jewish folk songs and songs from Russia and other countries, making over 20 contemporary and folk music albums
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
In Tonight in Samarkand, and in 1958 was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for The Rope Dancers
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Bikel has been an advocate for the members of our union and his extraordinary achievements paved the way for so many
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
To pursue his career in the more lucrative Hollywood movie industry and on Broadway, becoming a naturalized citizen in 1961
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Studied at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (1948).
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Michael Redgrave recommended Bikel to his friend Laurence Olivier as understudy for the parts of both Stanley Kowalski and Harold "Mitch" Mitchell in the West End theatre district premiere of Tennessee Williams' A Stree
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“A few of my contemporaries regarded [not returning to Palestine] as a character flaw, if not a downright act of desertion. In me there remains a small, still voice that asks whether I can ever fully acquit myself in my own mind.”
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Moved to London to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
And was one of the founding members of the Cameri Theatre, which became a leading Israeli theatre company
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Bikel's family fled to Palestine, where his father's contacts helped the family obtain British passports
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Born 1924-05-02.
Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Connections