Posts tagged: Theodore Bikel

Theodore Bikel, A Versatile Man

By , August 24, 2015 6:53 pm
Theodore Bikel on stage as Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof.

Theodore Bikel on stage as Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof.

With his grey beard, clear voice, and room filling performance, Theodore Bikel had so much in common with Tevye the Milkman. He was the fiddler on the roof, a versatile man.

Theodore Bikel, actor, activist and folk singer, passed away at the age of 91 last month on July 21, 2015 in Los Angeles. He played Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof onstage in thousands of performances, created the role of Baron von Trapp in the original Broadway production of The Sound of Music, recorded as a singer and guitarist for many albums in different languages, and was involved in civil rights causes.

Bikel was born into a Jewish family in Vienna, and named after Zionist Theodore Herzl. They fled to Palestine in 1938. and according to his mother in his autobiography, he sang before he could talk. Theodore started acting at a young age and performed in the Habimah Theatre in Tel Aviv in 1943. Bikel moved to London in 1945 and next to the United States in 1954, where he started his acting career on Broadway.

Bikel released thirteen albums between 1955 to 1965. The most popular recordings were: Theodore Bikel Sings Jewish Folk Songs (1958), Songs of a Russian Gypsy (1958), Theodore Bikel Sings More Jewish Folk Songs (1959), A Harvest of Israel Folk Songs (1961), and Theodore Bikel Sings Yiddish Theatre and Folk Songs (1965). With this repertoire, he paved the way for a renewed interest in Yiddish folk songs, and ultimately for the klezmer revival in the late seventies.

Along with folk singer Pete Seeger, Bikel became one of the founders of the Newport Folk Festival in 1959. This festival is known for the performances of Joan Baez and Bob Dylan in 1963 and played a crucial role in the American folk music revival of the sixties.

Just recently, a documentary film was released about the intertwining of Theodore Bikel’s life with writer Sholom Aleichem, the great storyteller of Jewish life in Eastern Europe: Theodore Bikel: In the Shoes of Sholom Aleichem. In March this year, Record Sound Archives’ Alethea Perez wrote a blog about this portrait. click here to read more.

Listed below are some of his popular tunes.

 Dona Dona

Di Mame Iz Gegangen

Az Der Rebbe Zingt

Dodi Li

 Click here for more Theodore Bikel recordings.

Due to copyright concerns only snippets can be heard on the RSA public website. Full versions are available to users of the RSA Research Station.

If you enjoyed this guest blog post you may enjoy Gone but not forgotten – the Barry Sisters.

RSA Guest Blogger, Niels Falch, is a PhD candidate at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands and is currently writing a dissertation on the influence of Jewish music in American popular songs.

 

Theodore Bikel: In the Shoes of Sholom Aleichem

By , March 9, 2015 7:53 pm

theodore-bikel-in-the-shoes-of-sholom-aleichemPortraits of two beloved icons–Sholom Aleichem and Theodore Bikel–are woven together in this enchanting new documentary. The two men have much in common: wit, wisdom and talent, all shot through with deep humanity and Yiddishkeit.

Theodore Bikel, the unstoppable performer whose career spans more than 150 screen roles (including an Oscar-nominated turn in “The Defiant Ones”) and countless stage and musical productions, is also the foremost interpreter of Sholom Aleichem’s work. Now 90, Bikel has played Tevye the Milkman on stage more than 2,000 times, and he has animated Aleichem’s work through his creation of two celebrated musical plays about the great Russian author.

The new film Theodore Bikel: In the Shoes of Sholom Aleichem combines Bikel’s charismatic storytelling and masterful performances with a broader exploration of Aleichem’s remarkable life and work.

A pioneer of modern Jewish literature who championed and luxuriated in the Yiddish language, Sholom Aleichem created dozens of indelible characters. His Tevye the Milkman, Motl the Cantor’s Son, and Menachem Mendl–“shtetl Jews” for whom humor and pathos were two sides of the same Yiddish coin–remain invaluable windows into pre-war Eastern European Jewish life, real and imagined.

Watch the Trailer!

Theodore Bikel: In the Shoes of Sholom Aleichem (Trailer) from National Center for Jewish Film on Vimeo.

The National Center for Jewish Film is a unique, independent nonprofit motion picture archive and distributor. This month several screenings of Theodore Bikel: In the Shoes of Sholom Aleichem will be presented across Florida.

Below you will find information on these screenings and where tickets can be purchased.

jewish-film-festival

Sarasota, FL – March 8 & 10 2015
Jewish Film Festival of Sarasota-Manatee OPENING NIGHT WITH THEODORE BIKEL RECEPTION FOLLOWING Sunday, March 8, 6:30 pm at Hyatt Regency Sarasota Encore Screening (film only) Tuesday, March 10, 3pm at Jewish Federation See Festival website for tickets
tampa-jewish-film-festival Tampa, FL – Friday, March 13, 2015
Tampa Bay Jewish Film Festival  Friday, March 13, 1:15 pm at Villagio Cinemas North Tampa Buy Tickets! LIMITED SEATING
movies-delray Delray Beach, FL  – March 13-19
Week Theatrical Run March 13-19 Tickets and showtimes coming soon!
movies-lake-worth Lake Worth, FL  – March 13-19
Week Theatrical Run March 13-19 Tickets and showtimes coming soon!

JSA celebrates Israel’s statehood: Vistas of Israel

By , May 5, 2011 9:18 am

In celebration of Israel’s Independence Day (May 9, 2011) the JSA has compiled a special Israeli music mix to honor the spirit of the pioneers.

During the 1960s and 1970s the State of Israel produced Vistas of Israel, a series of original half-hour broadcasts which were aired on local radio stations throughout the USA. The programs featured popular Israeli performers of the day, topical discussions, and interviews with prominent government officials and academics.

The Judaica Sound Archives has been fortunate enough to acquire an extensive collection of these Vistas of Israel radio broadcasts. Over 400 of these recorded programs will eventually be available to you on this website.

The music and topics on these recordings represent an important time in the history of Israel and remind us of the eager pioneer spirit that founded the country.

This special JSA collection of songs from Vistas of Israel features the voices of Hendl and Eliran, Shoshana Damari, Theodore Bikel, and Yafah Yarkoni. Unfortunately, the specific dates of these broadcasts are not known.

The songs in this Israeli Music Mix are from the following Vistas of Israel broadcasts:

VZL 2: Folk Music of Israel

VZL 6: Folk Music of Israel

VZL 7: Folk Music of Israel

VZL 8: Folk Music of Israel

VZL 12: Folk Music of Israel

VZL 26: Folk Music of Israel

VZL 76: Songs of Israel

VZL 166: Folk Songs of Israel

VZL 172: Folk Songs of Israel

VZL 173: Folk Songs of Israel

VZL 199: Folk Songs of Israel

VZL 236: Songs of Israel

VZL 280: Songs of Israel

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