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Remembering My Friend, Theo Bikel

JL;DR SUMMARY The article reflects on the life and legacy of Theodore Bikel, an iconic actor, activist, and Yiddishist who passed away at 91. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Jewish CultureYiddishActivismTheaterHolocaust RemembranceFolk MusicTheodore BikelMeretzPeace Movement

Places mentioned

Queens, New York, United States
"I first met Bikel on March 5, 1978 when he was the guest artist at Queens College Yiddish Programs Seventh Annual Sholem Aleichem Festival chaired by Sholem Aleichems granddaughter Bel Kaufman."
Vienna, Austria
"Bikel recalled that as a little boy in Vienna, whenever his father wanted him to perform, he would put a newspaper at his feet as a surrogate stage."
Krakow, Lesser Poland, Poland
"In 2003, Bikel was in Krakow, where he sang If I Were A Rich Man and in Yiddish Az der Rebbe Zingt (When the Rabbi Sings) for a 10,000-strong (mostly Polish) crowd."
Israel
"At a 1994 reception for Bikels autobiography, Theo (Harper-Collins), hosted by Israels then-consul general Colette Avital, Bikel recalled that as a little boy in Vienna."

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This item was indexed and curated by Cairo, JL;DR's web crawler.
Cairo Item ID 62850
Cairo Source ID 35
Retrieved 2025-10-01 05:31:13 UTC
Curated 2025-10-01 08:32:52 UTC