THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS PEOPLE Entertaining Activist Continued from Page 80 before. And so if they see you as a Russian then there's a whole spate of. Russians of- fered to me." He said he hoped that Hollywood would realize that he could speak English without an accent and give him other roles. Looking back, he said his favorite role had to be that of Zorba. "Perhaps the most ful- filling role that I've had was Zorba. In terms of my success with it, it equals, every bit of it, Tevye, except Tevye is my own grandfather or great- grandfather and I didn't have to stretch too far to encompass him and to reach him because I knew him viscerally and tra- ditionally. For Zorba I had to stretch." He could not choose a least favorite part and explained why: "The least is tough to say . . . If you have ten children you can't really say which one is your favorite or your un- favorite in front of the kids be- cause they're always there." There are many parts he would like to play, particu- larly the classics. "I still ha- ven't done King Lear yet, but I'm working my way up to the age bracket of King Lear." He haS been affiliated with the Actors Equity Association and is its past president. He is a vice president of the Interna- tional Federation of Actors and was appointed by President Carter in 1977 to serve a five-year term on the National Council for the Arts. Dressed in a herringbone jacket, V-neck sweater, shirt and jeans, he reminds one of college professors. Hearing him sing brings visions of cof- fee house days, the Greenwich Village folk scene of the late '50s and early '60s when sin- gers like Joan Baez, Bob Dy- lan, Tim Hardin, the Muldars, the Farinas, Pete Seeger and Phil Ochs held sway, and were noted for belting out tunes of social protest. Did he think there could be a revival of that musical move- ment? He answered by quot- ing blues singer Mississippi John Hurt: "Daddy, it ain't never been away." He is critical of the popular music scene today, and said he preferred classical music. "I think there's a lot of arro- gance in contemporary pop music that, for example, did not exist in the days Of the Beatles because the Beatles not only stole from all sources, but acknowledged that they did, indeed, paid respect to their sources. They would tell you that they took sitar music Theodore Bikel: Social artist from the (East) Indians, that they took Southern 12-bar blues and used them in their music. They took Bach and baroque and all and incorpo- rated it into their music and made no bones about it, and indeed said 'We're very grateful that that existed, and we could take from it.' " He called today's pop music "simple and overbearing." "Maybe that's a sign that maybe I'm too old to ap- preciate it. But I don't think so." His time is taken up with performing and television commitments, and he claims to have no spare time. How- ever, he admits to playing chess and dabbling in photog- raphy. He doesn't pursue any athletic activity and even found himself faltering in the sports category of "Trivial Pursuit." "Whatever sports question you ask me, the answer is Heisman trophy. It's either Heisman or trophy — one of the two." Bikel said he likes to read when he has the time, but "time is an enemy for me. It's not an ally." But, he is not regretful that he turned to acting and entertaining. Rather, he finds it fulfilling. "I could've been a linguist or academician. But I can and do cultivate my languages just as much with more fun in be- tween. And I like performing. For want of a better definition, I am an artist. There are cer tain imperatives that impel you toward it." He has written some songs but prefers not to sing them in concert. His reason? "I prefer to perform other people's bril- liant material rather than run the risk of marketing medioc- rity because one is never objec- tive enough to know whether one's own material is really good." But what he does is good. His audience gives him stand- ing ovations, his story-telling is unmatched. And when as Tevye, he beseeches God to make him a wealthy man, well, Theodore Bikel has noth- ing to worry .about. He racks it up in talent. 39 Friday, February 1, 1985 • • • o•• ■■ •••• ■ ••••••• ■ ••••••• ■ ••••• • • INTERIOR DESIGNS • • • • BY NANCY, INC. • • • • (formerly Interiors By Nancy) • • • • proudly announces • • • • the GRAND OPENING of their • • SHOWROOM and DESIGN STUDIO • • • • For complete Interior Designs for your home and office • • 'CUSTOM FORMICA FURNITURE I • • • • • Full line of accessories, silk floral arrangements and gift items at • • 20% DISCOUNT • • • • • • • • Located in the Horizon-Heritage Bldg. 24901 Northwestern Hwy. 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