Theodore Bikel likens himself to a fire fighter. “When the bell rings, [I] slide down the pole,” ride the truck and race to extinguish the fire.
But for Bikel, “the fire” is an array of cultural and political battles that repeatedly call him to action and have, in part, defined his adult life.
As he wrote in his autobiography “Theo” (University of Wisconsin Press, 2002, paperback), the actor and singer attributes this activism to a “serious social and moral commitment” borne of his Jewish identity.
Bikel will share that sense of commitment in Milwaukee when he opens the Jewish Book and Culture Fair 2003 at the Harry & Rose Samson Family JCC on Sunday, Oct. 26, 7 p.m.
In his book, Bikel explains that, “To be a Jew, to me, means a heightened awareness of the human condition, and the sad-sweet knowledge that where we stand someone has stood before.
“Spiritually and culturally, to be a Jew is to be on the road from Jerusalem to Jerusalem. I am an American; that is my home and my daily solace. Jerusalem, however, is my hope and inspiration.”
These days, Bikel, born in 1924 in Vienna, remains involved in general politics, Israel survival and Jewish culture.
In an interview last week from his Los Angeles home, Bikel said, “The survival of the Yiddish language is something that is very close to me.”
“It was almost killed along with six million. But in America, it is being killed by apathy.”
Bikel upholds the language by translating Yiddish poetry into English and performing it in both languages so that audiences can hear “the beauty of the Yiddish rhythm and meter.”
Among his organizational involvement, Bikel sits on the board of directors of the National Foundation for Jewish Culture, which, according to its Web site, works with artists, scholars, cultural institutions and community agencies to enhance the quality of Jewish life in America through the arts and humanities, according to their Web site.
“I feel that people’s work needs to be acknowledged, especially people who receive less attention,” said Bikel, who chairs a committee that reviews potential recipients for awards in various arts.
Best known for his more than 2,000 performances as Tevye the Dairyman in “Fiddler on the Roof,” Bikel’s last Wisconsin appearance was in early 2002 with a run of “Fiddler” at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.
At the book fair, Bikel will perform his folk and theater songs, and discuss his 1994 book, which includes a postscript written in 2002.
The book was written in spurts, Bikel said, “in hotel rooms, dressing rooms, on planes and trains.” Writing it “was liberating in one sense, and in another sense, humbling.”
And certainly challenging. “If you’re honest,” he said, the process shows your warts and shortcomings. After all, “you’re not writing a PR treatise about yourself.”
But, Bikel added, “It’s been an involved life and because of its involvement, a committed life…. You can’t move people unless you’re moved.”
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