Theodore Bikel

Theodore Bikel Headshot

Actor • Singer • Musician • Composer • Activist

Birth Date: May 2, 1924

Death Date: July 21, 2015

Birth Place: Vienna, Austria

Internationally renowned actor and folksinger Theodore Bikel made his first stage appearance as the Village Clerk in a Tel Aviv production of "Tevye, the Milkman" and would in fact play the life-loving Tevye so many times in productions of "Fiddler on the Roof" that it became his signature role (although he claimed to have liked "Zorba!" better).

After graduating from London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he won acclaim for his work in West End productions of "A Streetcar Named Desire" (1949, directed by Laurence Olivier) and "The Love of Four Colonels" (1951, directed by Peter Ustinov) before making his Broadway debut in "Tonight in Samarkand" (1955). Though he also played Robert de Baudricourt in "The Lark" that year on Broadway, a part he would reprise for the 1967 NBC "Hallmark Hall of Fame" presentation of "St. Joan" his best-known theatrical credit (aside from Tevye) is probably his creation of Captain Georg von Trapp for the Broadway production of "The Sound of Music" (1959), starring Mary Martin.

Bikel's feature debut came as the First officer of the Luisa in the John Huston classic "The African Queen" (1951). He would find himself on (or under) the water again as second-in-command of the German U-boat in "The Enemy Below" (1957) and the (Soviet) Captain in Cold War farce "The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming" (1966). In fact, his facility for languages (fluent in Yiddish, Hebrew, French, German and English) helped land a plethora of international roles throughout his career.

Bikel earned an Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of the moderate sheriff in "The Defiant Ones" (1958), and he played Russian linguist Zoltan Karpathy in the Academy Award-winning "My Fair Lady" (1964). A guest star on countless TV series, he appeared on four episodes of "Murder, She Wrote" (CBS 1984-1996) in the '80s and '90s, not to mention having recurring roles on "Dynasty" (ABC 1981-89) and "Falcon Crest" (CBS 1981-1990). He also portrayed Henry Kissinger in the ABC movie "The Final Days" (1989), based on the book by Bob Woodward.

As Bikel entered his mid-'70s, his acting career slowed down to occasional small roles in films ranging from the thrillers "Shattered" (1991) and "Benefit of the Doubt" (1993) to the post-Soviet comedy "My Family Treasure" (1993) and the inspirational drama "Second Chances" (1998). He appeared as a rabbi in the science fiction hit "Babylon 5" (syndicated 1994-98) and as a farmer in the procedural drama "JAG" (CBS 1995-2005). His final screen roles came in Menahem Golan's modern-day adaptation of "Crime and Punishment" (2002) and in the Israeli drama "The Little Traitor" (2007), starring Alfred Molina.

Theodore Bikel died of undisclosed natural causes on July 21, 2015 in Los Angeles. He was 91 years old.

Credits

Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own WordsStream

Actor
Rance Muhammitz
Movie
2016
92%

Theodore Bikel: In the Shoes of Sholom Aleichem

Screenwriter
Movie
2014

Hootenanny

Music Performer
Show
2013

Incredible Dream History of Hebrew University

Narrator
Show
2009

The Little Traitor

Actor
Security Officer
Movie
2007

Between the Lines With Barry Kibrick

Guest
Show
2006

Crime and Punishment

Actor
Captain Koch
Movie
2002

Babylon 5: In the Beginning

Actor
Lenonn
Movie
1998

Brooklyn South

Guest Star
Show
1997

Michael Hayes

Guest Star
Show
1997

Shadow Conspiracy

Actor
Prof. Yuri Pochenko
Movie
1997

The Burning Zone

Guest Star
Series
1996
43%

JAGStream

Guest Star
Series
1995

Babylon 5Stream

Guest Star
Series
1994

Benefit of the Doubt

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Gideon Lee
Movie
1993

My Family Treasure

Actor
Grandpa Danieloff
Movie
1993

Crisis in the Kremlin

Actor
Leo
Movie
1992

Destrozado

Actor
Movie
1991

ShatteredStream

Actor
Dr. Berkus
Movie
1991
33%

Memories of Midnight

Actor
Georgius Lato
Movie
1991

Law & OrderStream

Guest Star
Series
1990

The Final Days

Actor
Henry Kissinger
Movie
1989

Christine Cromwell: Things That Go Bump in the Night

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Horace
Movie
1989

Lodz Ghetto

Voice
Movie
1988

The True Story of Frank Zappa's 200 Motels

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1988

Star Trek: The Next GenerationStream

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Sergey Rozhenko
Series
1987
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Star Trek: The Next Generation 2.0

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1987

Beauty and the Beast

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Eli
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1987

Torres Diabólicas

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Movie
1987

Dark Tower

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Max Gold
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1987

Very Close Quarters

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Victor
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1986

The Equalizer

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1985

Murder, She WroteStream

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Rosanno Bertolucci
Series
1984

Super PasswordStream

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Game Show
1984

Mike HammerStream

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1984

Prince Jack

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Georgi
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1984

Hotel

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Soap
1983

Knight RiderStream

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Graham Deauville
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1982

The Fall GuyStream

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1981

The Return of the King

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Aragorn
Movie
1980

Trapper John, M.D.

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1979

The Stingiest Man in TownStream

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Special
1978

Fantasy IslandStream

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1978

The Curse of Rava/Con Caper

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Mandak
Movie
1978

Testimony of Two Men

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1977

Colombo: Prova d'intelligenza

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Oliver Brandt
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1977

Charlie's AngelsStream

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Series
1976

Victory at Entebbe

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Yakov Shlomo
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1976

Murder on Flight 502Stream

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Otto Gruenwaldt
Movie
1975

Police Woman

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Adamus Tarash
Series
1974

Little House on the PrairieStream

Guest Star
Yuli Pyatakov
Series
1974

The Little Ark

Actor
The Captain
Movie
1972

ColumboStream

Guest Star
Oliver Brandt
Series
1971
84%

Cannon

Guest Star
Mike Tampa
Series
1971

All in the FamilyStream

Guest Star
Series
1971

200 Motels

Actor
Rance Muhammitz/Dave
Movie
1971

Killer by Night

Actor
Sgt. Phl "Sharkey" Gold
Movie
1971

La Muerte No Es Testigo

Actor
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1970

Verdugo a Destajo

Actor
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1970

Darker Than Amber

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Meyer
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1970

My Side of the Mountain

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Bando
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1969

L'Amant de novembre

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Movie
1969

Mod Squad

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Max Kalatsis
Series
1968

Dulce Noviembre

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Movie
1968

Sweet NovemberStream

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Alonzo
Movie
1968

St. Joan

Actor
Show
1967

The Diary of Anne Frank

Actor
Mr Van Daan
Movie
1967

The Last Chapter

Narrator
Movie
1966

The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are ComingStream

Actor
The Russian Captain
Movie
1966
86%

Noon Wine

Actor
Movie
1966

The Trials of O'Brien

Guest Star
Ben Moravian
Show
1965

Pijesak Kalaharija

Actor
Movie
1965

Sands of the Kalahari

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Dr. Bondrachai
Movie
1965

My Fair LadyStream

Actor
Zoltan Karpathy
Movie
1964
95%

Corridor 400

Actor
Ralph Traven
Movie
1964

East Side West Side

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Series
1963

Combat!

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1962

Dr. Kildare

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Series
1961

Route 66Stream

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Dr. Anton Koseloff
Series
1960

The Dybbuk

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Sender
Show
1960

Play of the Week

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Show
1959

The Twilight ZoneStream

Actor
Oliver Crangle
Series
1959
92%

RawhideStream

Guest Star
Series
1959

A Dog of Flanders

Actor
Piet van Gelder
Movie
1959

The Angry Hills

Actor
Dimitrios Tassos
Movie
1959

Woman Obsessed

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Dr. R. W. Gibbs
Movie
1959

The Blue Angel

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Klepert
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1959

The Defiant OnesStream

Actor
Sheriff Max Muller
Movie
1958
91%

I Want to Live!Stream

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Carl G.G. Palmberg
Movie
1958
94%

I Bury the Living

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Andy McKee
Movie
1958

Fraulein

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Col. Dmitri Bucaron
Movie
1958

Wagon TrainStream

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Series
1957

There Shall Be No Night

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Uncle Vlahos
Show
1957

Zorros del Mar

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1957

The Pride and the PassionStream

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General Jouvet
Movie
1957
30%

Escape From the Iron Curtain

Actor
Kosice
Movie
1957

The Enemy Below

Actor
"Heinie" Schwaffer
Movie
1957

The Vintage

Actor
Eduardo Uribari
Movie
1957

The Alcoa Hour

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Il vecchio
Show
1955

Alfred Hitchcock PresentsStream

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Sergeant Ottermole
Series
1955

GunsmokeStream

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Martin Kellums
Series
1955

The Colditz Story

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Vandy
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1955

Climax!

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Series
1954

The Elgin Hour

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1954

The Divided Heart

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Josip Slavko
Movie
1954

Forbidden Cargo

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Max
Movie
1954

The Love Lottery

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Parsimonious
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1954

Chance Meeting

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Joseph
Movie
1954

The Little Kidnappers

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Dr. Willem Bloem
Movie
1954

The United States Steel Hour

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Fritz Gerhardy
Show
1953

A Day to Remember

Actor
Henri Dubot
Movie
1953

Never Let Me Go

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Lieutenant
Movie
1953

The African QueenStream

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First Officer
Movie
1951
96%

What's My Line?Stream

Guest
Game Show
1950