Theodore Bikel papers, 1946-2014

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Summary

Creators:
Bikel, Theodore
Abstract:
This collection primarily consists of correspondence and subject files pertaining to Theodore Bikel's careers in music, stage, film, and television, as well as personal and family matters, and political and social activism. Also included are sheet music, scripts, and screenplays; clippings and ephemera; audiovisual material; awards; and a small amount of photographs.
Extent:
120.8 linear feet (249 boxes, 56 flat boxes) and 19 audiovisual carriers (16 unprocessed film reels, 1 unprocessed audiocassette, 1 unprocessed film, 1 unprocessed VHS)
Language:
Materials are in English and German.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Theodore Bikel papers (Collection 2321). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection primarily consists of correspondence and subject files pertaining to Theodore Bikel's careers in music, stage, film, and television, as well as personal and family matters, and political and social activism. Also included are sheet music, scripts, and screenplays; clippings and ephemera; audiovisual material; awards; and a small amount of photographs.

Biographical / historical:

Actor, folk singer, and political activist Theodore Bikel was born in Vienna, Austria on May 2, 1924. In 1938, Nazi Germany invaded Austria and Bikel's family emigrated to British administered Palestine, where he lived on a kibbutz. Bikel got his start in acting at the Habimah Theater in Tel Aviv. He emigrated to Great Britain following World War II to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, performing several roles on the London stage in the 1940s. Bikel made his Broadway debut in Tonight in Samarkand in 1955, making the decision soon after to emigrate to the United States. In 1959, he originated the role of Baron von Trapp in the original Broadway production of The Sound of Music, opposite Mary Martin. His best-known stage role was that of "Tevye" in the musical Fiddler on the Roof, with more than 2000 performances over several decades. Bikel's film debut was in The African Queen (1951); he also appeared in The Defiant Ones (1956), My Fair Lady (1964), and The Russians Are Coming, the Russians are Coming (1966), among others. He was cast in numerous television roles during his career in both sitcoms and dramas. His stage, film, and television roles encompassed a wide variety of nationalities.

Bikel was also a folk singer, recording 37 albums for the Elektra label, and sang in over 20 languages, including Yiddish, Hebrew, Russian, German, and Spanish. He was a founder of the Newport Folk Festival and was involved with planning as well as performing at the annual event in the 1960s and early 1970s. He was active in the New York folk scene in the 1960s, living in Greenwich Village.

Bikel's activism and involvement in politics encompassed a variety of areas. He served as Vice President and President (1973-1982) of Actors' Equity Association (AEA) and as Vice President of the Federation Internationale des Acteurs (FIA); in addition, he was President of the AFL-CIO affiliated Associated Actors and Artistes of America ("Four A's") for over 25 years. In 1977, Bikel was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to serve a five-year term on the National Council for the Arts. Outside of the arts, Bikel was active in civil rights and anti-Apartheid causes and was a delegate to the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. He campaigned for New York City mayors John V. Lindsay and Edward Koch. Bikel was a long-time supporter of Israel and was especially active in Jewish causes; he served as Vice President of the American Jewish Congress (AJC) and was also interested in the welfare of Jews in the Soviet Union.

Bikel continued to perform and be politically active until shortly before his death. He died on July 21, 2015 in Los Angeles.

Acquisition information:
Purchased from Golden Legend, Inc. on behalf of Aimee Bikel, 2016.
Processing information:

Processed by Melissa Haley, 2018-2019, with assistance by Kuhelika Ghosh. Series 2 processed by Ciera Ott, 2019 in the Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT) under the supervision of Courtney Dean.

Initial processing by Melissa Haley with assistance from Ciera Ott in 2019. Final processing by Kelly Besser with assistance from Paola Salazar, 2022.

Collections are processed to a variety of levels depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived user interest and research value, availability of staff and resources, and competing priorities. Library Special Collections provides a standard level of preservation and access for all collections and, when time and resources permit, conducts more intensive processing. These materials have been arranged and described according to national and local standards and best practices

We are committed to providing ethical, inclusive, and anti-racist description of the materials we steward, and to remediating existing description of our materials that contains language that may be offensive or cause harm. We invite you to submit feedback about how our collections are described, and how they could be described more accurately, by filling out the form located on our website: Report Problematic Content and Description in UCLA's Library Collections and Archives.

Arrangement:

This collection has been arranged in the following series:

  • Series 1: Correspondence and subject files, 1946-2012
    • Subseries 1.1: Chronological files, 1946-2002
    • Subseries 1.2: Loose and hanging files, 1962-2012
    • Subseries 1.3: Actors' Equity Association subject files, 1960-1985
    • Subseries 1.4: Writings, circa 1960-1993, 2000s
  • Series 2: Musical arrangements, 1940s-2000s
  • Series 3: Scripts and screenplays, 1951-2014
  • Series 4: Photographs, 1950s-2006
  • Series 5: Memorabilia, 1944-2014
  • Series 6: Audiovisual material, 1957-2014

Physical / technical requirements:

CONTAINS UNPROCESSED AUDIO AND AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS: Audio and audiovisual materials are not currently available for access and will require further processing and assessment. If you have questions about this material please email spec-coll@library.ucla.edu.

Physical location:
Stored off-site. All requests to access special collections material must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.

Terms of access:

Property rights to the physical objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Theodore Bikel papers (Collection 2321). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Location of this collection:
A1713 Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575, US
Contact:
(310) 825-4988
AskLSC@library.ucla.edu
Website