Theodore Bikel, an accomplished actor of stage and screen who starred in the original productions of Fiddler on the Roof and The Sound of Music, has died. He was 91.
Bikel’s family announced on his website that he died of natural causes on Monday. His publicist told the Hollywood Reporter that he died at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles.
Bikel was incredibly versatile, starring in countless classic films, including My Fair Lady, The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming, The African Queen, I Want To Live! and The Defiant Ones. He earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his role as a sheriff in The Defiant Ones.
However, Bikel was a true renaissance man. On Broadway, he was the original Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof and played Captain Von Trapp in the first production of The Sound of Music. He also performed in operas and recorded folk music albums. He even founded the famed Newport Folk Festival.
Bikel was born in Vienna in May 1924 and fled Austria after the Nazis took over. He studied acting in London and starred in Laurence Olivier’s production of A Streetcar Named Desire.
In later years, Bikel appeared on television, making appearances on JAG, Murder, She Wrote, Babylon 5 and LA Law.
Bikel is survived by his wife Aimee, two sons, two stepsons and three grandchildren.
image courtesy of Peter West/ACE/INFphoto.com
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