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
artist theatre labels
Despite a large body of work in films, TV, theatre and concerts, I am viewed by many as a Jewish artist. I do not resent the label, except for the fact that I disapprove of labels in general.
art world language
In my world, history comes down to language and art.
country art pride
Must we be put to shame by much smaller and poorer countries, by Ireland, France, Austria or Sweden, who have understood that a nation's support of its arts is a matter of both national pride and cultural survival?
art government abiding
As an artist I have an even more abiding interest in the compact between the Arts and Government.
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.
art people please
You cannot please all of the people all of the time, and that is truer in the arts than anywhere else.
art world specialists
I am not a specialist but a general practitioner in the world of the arts.
artist culture fields
But, when I toil in the field of Jewish culture which I frequently do, I am indeed a Jewish artist.
art past heirlooms
No heirloom of humankind captures the past as do art and language.
appeal awe capacity filled filmmakers stir visceral
I am filled with awe that filmmakers have the capacity to stir us and give us a sense of wonder. Film, like no other medium, makes a visceral appeal to our humanity.
beauty heaps hopelessly manure sing tried work worker
I tried for a while to be an agricultural worker and was hopelessly bored. I would stand around in heaps of manure and sing about the beauty of the work I wasn't doing.
claim cultures jewish superior
I make no claim that Jewish culture is superior to other cultures or that the Jewish song is better than the song of my neighbor.
flops learn
You learn more from the flops than you do from the hits.
mere
No doubt, unity is something to be desired, to be striven for, but it cannot be willed by mere declarations.