74 | AUGUST 29 • 2024 J
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Theodore Bikel: 
Renaissance Man
L

ast Sunday, The J held a special event to commemorate a most extraordinary person: Theodore Bikel 
(1924-2015). It featured the debut of the documentary, Theodore Bikel: In the Shoes of Sholom Aleichem. 
As the event announcement stated, Bikel’s “contributions in the fields of music, drama, Yiddishkeit and 
tikkun olam continue to influence.” 
If anyone deserves the title of a “Renaissance” person, it is the Austrian-born Bikel, who was named after 
Theodor Herzl. After the Nazis annexed Austria in 1938, his family fled to British Mandate Palestine. There, 
Bikel began his acting career as a teenager with the Habimah Theater. He also became a lifelong 
Zionist.
Perhaps Bikel is best known for his legendary Broadway portrayal of Tevye the Milkman in 
Fiddler on the Roof, which he performed over 2,000 times, more than any other actor.
By the time Bikel passed away at the age of 91, he had established himself as a truly 
exceptional actor, musician and storyteller. Bikel also earned a reputation as a prominent and 
bold political activist, and staunch supporter of the Labor movement. Just the brief rendering of 
his accomplishments in his Wikipedia entry will impress any reader. 
I decided to see what the William Davidson Digital Archive of Detroit Jewish History could 
tell me about Bikel. Plenty, it seems. It holds 371 pages that mention him, including several 
excellent feature stories.
Bikel appears in the JN beginning in the 1950s. A brief item in the Dec. 12, 1952, issue, “Israeli Entertains 
British Queen,” is the first of many references to Bikel in the Archive. A few years later, there is “Theodore 
Captivates Audience with Song, Talk” and Borenstein’s was selling records of his renditions of Jewish folk 
songs (March 13, 1959, July 24, 1959).
BTW: Bikel could speak nine languages and sing in 21. 
Reports in the JN demonstrate that Bikel had a deep connection to Detroit. He was not only a frequent 
visitor to the metro area for his artistic performances, Bikel also supported local communal work. Bikel was 
the featured celebrity at several Jewish Allied Campaign events, fundraisers for Bar-Ilan University and the 
40th anniversary of Israel, to name just a few occasions (Jan. 11, 1958, April 22, 
1988).
To be sure, I am an unabashed fan of Bikel. I spent some hours of my youth 
watching his fascinating character portrayals on TV or in movies. One of 
my favorite movies is The Enemy Below. In a classic WWII cat-and-mouse 
adventure, Bikel played the second officer to German submarine captain Curt 
Jurgens, who was pursued by destroyer captain, Robert Mitchum. 
I have a more personal story regarding Bikel. One day, when I was on duty 
as reference archivist at the Walter Reuther Library at Wayne State University, 
a colleague, Dan Golodner, brought a family friend to the Reading Room. It 
was Theodore Bikel. I was thrilled, to say the least.
Bikel warmly greeted me and asked me a few questions about my 
background and work. Then, it was down to business. Bikel was at the 
Reuther for research into Labor history, one of his passions. He spent the 
rest of the afternoon buried in documents, learning as much as he could. I 
was impressed.
Bikel was a giant of an artist. The depth and breadth of his talents have 
rarely been matched. 

Want to learn more? Go to the DJN archives, available for free at thejewishnews.com.

Mike Smith
Alene and 
Graham Landau 
Archivist Chair

Looking Back

From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History 

accessible at thejewishnews.com

