Theodore Bikel is an exceptionally talented and respected actor and performer of his generation, renowned for his mastery of languages, dialects, and accents. He has had a storied career, taking on a wide range of film roles, from cinematic villains to complex, multidimensional characters that would be reduced to cardboard cutouts in the hands of lesser actors.
Throughout his illustrious career, Bikel has appeared in a variety of notable films, including The African Queen (1951),Moulin Rouge (1952),and The Enemy Below (1957),where he played memorable supporting roles, such as a German naval officer, the king of Serbia, and a German submarine officer, respectively.
One of his most notable roles was as Captain Von Trapp in the original Broadway cast of "The Sound of Music" opposite Mary Martin, a role he created. Additionally, he appeared onstage in productions such as "Tonight in Samarkand", "The Lark", and "The Rope Dancers".
Bikel is a polyglot, fluent in more than half a dozen European and Middle Eastern languages, and is also a skilled musician, able to sing folk songs in nearly 20 languages, accompanied by himself on a variety of instruments, including guitar, mandolin, balalaika, and harmonica.
In the early 1960s, he was a regular on the popular TV show Hootenanny (1963),a weekly showcase of folk music. Throughout his career, he has performed on college campuses and in concert halls across the country, and has recorded numerous albums of folk music from around the world.
Theodore Bikel's impressive range and versatility have made him a beloved figure in the entertainment industry, and his contributions to the world of music and theater continue to be celebrated and cherished.
