Theodore Bikel
Theodore Bikel
Theodore Meir Bikelwas an Austrian-American Jewish actor, folk singer, musician, composer, and activist...
NationalityAustrian
ProfessionMovie Actor
Date of Birth2 May 1924
CityVienna, Austria
CountryAustria
want actors direct
Every actor wants to direct.
believe jewish-life principles
For I firmly believe that Jewish life, indeed any communal life, can only be organized according to democratic principles.
country risk age
Having come to live in this age is as though one were to have entered another country. Learn its language or risk being left out.
I always sang, I always acted, I always played.
song art play
In my world, history comes down to language and art. No one cares much about what battles were fought, who won them and who lost them - unless there is a painting, a play, a song or a poem that speaks of the event.
stage ends middle
On the stage you're there, it's live. There's a beginning, a middle, an end. When something is funny you hear it right away.
song rights
Throughout my life I have cared as deeply about the songs of all peoples as I have about the rights of all peoples.
practice doubt ongoing
While we all could agree that the Zionist ideal is alive and well, there is serious doubt whether the Zionist movement can be said to be an ongoing proposition, fragmented as its components are in ideology and in practice.
laughing six-months may
You always draw on your experiences with live audiences to know how to do comedy on films. You're working for a laugh that may or may not come six months later, but you're working in a vacuum at the time you are doing it.
retirement believe tired
Retiring' - within that word is 'tiring,' and I'm not tired. I don't believe in retirement, really.
moving audience breaths
When something is moving you get that intake of breath and that stillness from the audience.
fashion thinking theatre
An actor is supposed to emulate life. Instead, alas, many are imitating other actors. You don't fashion your knowledge of theatre or your approach to a role on the basis of what other actors have done. This kind of thinking is a great danger, especially in dealing with TV producers who frequently say things like, 'This is a Sean Connery type.'
song drama hands
I am first, and foremost, an actor. That's what I am. To me, a song is a mini-drama. My musical ability informs the actor as well because it gives me a sense of timing that non-musicians don't have. So, one hand washes the other.
responsibility speaks-out voice
I don't speak out because I am an actor nor will I keep silent because I am an actor. I respect my profession, but it endows me with no special privileges; but it also does not limit me or muzzle me. I am a person and a citizen with the attendant responsibilities of voice and vote.