Theodore Bikel Remembered: Fiddler on the Roof Actor and Activist Speaks Out on Israel and Palestine

AMY GOODMAN: Yes, that is actor, singer, activist Theodore Bikel, famous for playing, among other characters, Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof. Theodore Bikel died on Tuesday at the age of 91. I interviewed him last year, and today we spend the hour featuring our conversation. I began by asking Theodore Bikel why this issue of Bedouin displacement was so important to him.

THEODORE BIKEL: There is a human equation here, and it has to do with the basic humanity of human beings who are nominally free to pursue whatever it is that their faith tells them to do, people who lived on the land for centuries, long before there was even a state of Israel, who all of a sudden are being told to get out, to be relocated, an agrarian society that is forced into sometimes urban ghettos. It seems less than just.

The point is that these are not simple questions, and complicated questions very often ask for complicated answers. But one thing that is absolutely clear in my mind is that human beings cannot be treated like cattle. Human beings must be given the dignity and the respect that all human beings deserve, especially by a people who themselves—Jews—have experienced such deprivation in the past. So when I say that the very people who were told to get out of Anatevka in the fictional village of Fiddler on the Roof, the descendants of those very people are now telling others, strangers in their midst, that they must get out of their homes, seems fundamentally wrong. And a wrong cannot be allowed to stand.

Now, I’m not a naive person. I know—and I’ve said this before—this is a complicated question, and the Bedouin themselves don’t always agree among themselves about what the solution is. I also know that the commissions that have been in place never consulted them, never had them as part of the solution. And that is wrong also. You cannot tell people to get out of their homes without their having a say in it.

There was a commission headed by former Justice Goldberg of the Supreme Court of Israel that had recommendation powers, but no implementation powers. Later, there was another commission by Prawer and Benny Begin, the son of Prime Minister Begin, and that came to naught because people on the right objected to the plan, saying that it gave away too much, and people on the left objected, saying that it gave too little.

Again, it’s not a simple question, but what is simple to me is the fact that we’re talking here about human beings, citizens of a state, whether or not you want it, whether or not it is true. But the basic law of Israel speaks of all its inhabitants regardless of their providence, regardless of their faith, regardless of the color of their skin. And that, we surely—we, as Americans—must understand.

Bikel died of natural causes on Tuesday morning at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, publicist Harlan Boll announced.

Internationally renowned and respected as one of the most versatile actors of his generation, Bikel received an Academy Award nomination as best supporting actor for "The Defiant Ones" (1958), where he played a Southern sheriff.

Conversant in a number of languages, Bikel's background and versatility led to a wide, multinational range of roles. Often playing authority figures, the native of Vienna starred as a Dutch doctor in "The Little Kidnappers" (1953); a Germany submarine officer in "The Enemy Below" (1957); a French general in "The Pride and the Passion" (1957); Russian military men in in "Fraulein" (1958) and "The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming" (1965); and a Hungarian phonetics expert in "My Fair Lady" (1964),

Other memorable feature credits include "The African Queen" (1951), "I Want to Live!" (1958), "See You in the Morning" (1989), "Crisis in the Kremlin" (1992) and "Shadow Conspiracy" (1996).

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In "The Sound of Music," which opened on Broadway in 1959 and ran until 1963, Bikel earned a Tony Award nomination for his work. The musical also starred Mary Martin as Maria. (Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer took their parts in the 1965 version, which won the Oscar for best picture.)

Actor and folksinger Theodore Bikel, seen here in 2003, had a long and successful career.

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On television, Bikel made hundreds of appearances, co-starring as Henry Kissinger in the 1989 ABC miniseries "The Final Days" and guesting on shows as diverse as "The Twilight Zone," "Gunsmoke," "All in the Family," "Law & Order," "JAG," "Colombo" and "Star Trek: The Next Generation." He had recurring roles on the primetime soaps "Dynasty" and "Falcon Crest."

Bikel did a weekly radio program, "At Home With Theodore Bikel," which was nationally syndicated. He is the author of "Folksongs and Footnotes," and his autobiography "Theo" was published in 1994.

Late into his life, Bikel wrote and starred in numerous performances of the play and musical "Sholom Aleichem: Laughter Through Tears," which had its world premiere in Washington in 2008.

More recent film credits include "Dark Tower" (1989), "Second Chances" (1998) and "Crime and Punishment" (2002).

Bikel appeared in opera productions including "La Gazza Ladra," Philadelphia Opera Company (1989); "The Abduction From the Seraglio," Cleveland Opera Company (1992), "Ariadne auf Naxos," Los Angeles Opera Company (1992); and "Die Fledermaus," Yale Opera Company (1998).

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On Broadway in the 1950s, he starred in productions including "Tonight in Samarkand," "The Rope Dancers" (in which he received a Tony Award nomination) and "The Lark."

Bikel was a noteworthy recording artist who enjoyed international popularity as a folk singer. He appeared at Carnegie Hall and sang for Queen Elizabeth, and in 1961, he founded the Newport Folk Festival.

He recorded 37 albums, more than 20 for Electra. "Folksong of Israel," "A Young Man and a Maid" and "An Actor's Holiday" featured songs in 12 languages, including Ukrainian and Zulu. He collected exotic folk instruments, sang with Pete Seeger and once owned a bistro in Hollywood.

A civil rights activist who became a naturalized American citizen in 1961, he was appointed by President Carter in 1977 to serve a five-year term on the National Council for the Arts.

"Everything that I've done and that I've lived through" Bikel said in a 2001 interview, "has really informed a commitment I have. I'm not just somebody who mouths words or sings songs on the stage; I'm also a human being, and that counts for something."

Bikel was a delegate to the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago, senior vp of the American Jewish Congress, vp of the International Federation of Actors (1981-91), a board member of Amnesty International (USA) and president of the Associated Actors and Artistes of America. He also was president emeritus of Actors Equity, which he served as president from 1973-82.

Bikel was born in Vienna on May 2, 1924. He was educated in Austria until the Nazis arrived when he was 13. His father, an insurance salesman and ardent Zionist, soon moved his family to Palestine (later Israel) and became director of the public health service. Bikel spent his teens living on a kibbutz and got his first acting job as a Czarist constable in a Hebrew production of the Tevye stories.

In 1946, he went to London to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatics Arts. He followed with work on the London stage, winning acclaim for his performance in Laurence Olivier's production of "A Streetcar Named Desire." Bikel also was noteworthy in Peter Ustinov's "The Love of Four Colonels."

Bikel came to the U.S. in 1954 to appear with Louis Jourdan in "Tonight in Samarkand" on Broadway. Strong critical notices helped him land the main supporting role opposite Julie Harris in "The Lark."

He lived for many years in Connecticut and belonged to the Theater Artists Workshop of Westport. Most recently, he lived in Southern California.

Active until the end, Bikel was touring festivals with screenings of his latest film, "Theodore Bikel: In the Shoes of Sholom Aleichem."

Survivors include his wife Aimee, sons Rob and Danny, stepsons Zeev and Noam and three grandchildren.

Donations can be made to The Actors Fund or Mazon: A Jewish Response to Hunger.

When he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the National Foundation for Jewish Culture in 1997, Bikel said: "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."