Tribute: Theodore Bikel

Before he was cast in “The Defiant Ones,” with Sidney Poitier and Tony Curtis – a role for which he would be nominated for an Academy Award, the Austrian-born Theodore Bikel told director Stanley Kramer that he was neither an American, nor Southern. “A good actor is a good actor,” Kramer answered. Bikel, who could speak nine languages and sing in 21, had a parallel career as a folk singer and social advocate. In 1959, he helped found the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island. Plus, he created the role of Captain von Trapp in the original Broadway production of “The Sound of Music,” and played Tevye in “Fiddler on the Roof” more than 2,000 times. He died at the age of 91. You can hear his interview with Leonard from 1999, when he discussed his role in “The Gathering.”