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" You cannot please all of the people all of the time, and that is truer in the arts than anywhere else. "
Theodore Bikel
Than
Arts
Cannot
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" I always sang, I always acted, I always played. "
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" But, when I toil in the field of Jewish culture which I frequently do, I am indeed a Jewish artist. "
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I Am
Am
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" I am filled with awe that filmmakers have the capacity to stir us and give us back a sense of wonder. "
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Sense
Awe
Us
" There is no role I cannot play except a midget. "
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Play
Except
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" I make no claim that Jewish culture is superior to other cultures or that the Jewish song is better than the song of my neighbor. "
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Song
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Claim
" An actor is supposed to emulate life. Instead, alas, many are imitating other actors. You don't fashion your knowledge of theatre or your approach to a role on the basis of what other actors have done. This kind of thinking is a great danger, especially in dealing with TV producers who frequently say things like, 'This is a Sean Connery type.' "
Theodore Bikel
Theatre
Knowledge
Life
" By showing hunger, deprivation, starvation and brutality, as well as endurance and nobility, documentaries inform, prod our memories, even stir us to action. Such films do battle for our very soul. "
Theodore Bikel
Action
Us
Endurance
" Despite a large body of work in films, TV, theatre and concerts, I am viewed by many as a Jewish artist. I do not resent the label, except for the fact that I disapprove of labels in general. "
Theodore Bikel
Artist
Work
Theatre
" What moves me is neither ethnocentric pride nor sectarian arrogance. I make no claim that Jewish culture is superior to other cultures. But it is mine. "
Theodore Bikel
Pride
Me
Cultures
" In my world, history comes down to language and art. No one cares much about what battles were fought, who won them and who lost them - unless there is a painting, a play, a song or a poem that speaks of the event. "
Theodore Bikel
World
History
Art
" No movement can afford to be caught in a time warp and exist in a state of suspended animation. "
Theodore Bikel
Afford
Time
Exist
" I tried for a while to be an agricultural worker and was hopelessly bored. I would stand around in heaps of manure and sing about the beauty of the work I wasn't doing. "
Theodore Bikel
Beauty
Stand
Work
" It's a sad thing to contemplate, but I'm the last surviving cast member of 'The African Queen.' "
Theodore Bikel
Queen
Thing
Surviving
" Audiences are audiences. "
Theodore Bikel
Audiences
" 'Retiring' - within that word is 'tiring,' and I'm not tired. I don't believe in retirement, really. "
Theodore Bikel
Within
Believe
Retirement
" Accents. I'm very good with accents. I'm exceedingly good. "
Theodore Bikel
Very
Accents
Exceedingly
" For I firmly believe that Jewish life, indeed any communal life, can only be organized according to democratic principles. "
Theodore Bikel
Organized
Principles
Believe
" No doubt unity is something to be desired, to be striven for, but it cannot be willed into being by mere declarations. "
Theodore Bikel
Something
Doubt
Being
" I have always striven to raise the voice of hope for a world where hate gives way to respect and oppression to liberation. "
Theodore Bikel
Way
Hope
Respect
" Although I am deeply grateful to a great many people, I forgo the temptation of naming them for fear that I might slight any by omission. "
Theodore Bikel
Am
People
I Am
" I refuse to do shows that are narrowly constructed, that appeal to only one sentiment. I do a lot of Jewish material in front of non-Jews and a lot of non-Jewish material in front of Jews on the simple theory that the non-Jews are entitled to a glimpse of a Jewish world and the Jews are entitled to a glimpse of the world. "
Theodore Bikel
Simple
World
Theory
" As an artist I have an even more abiding interest in the compact between the Arts and Government. "
Theodore Bikel
Artist
More
Interest
" Having come to live in this age is as though one were to have entered another country. Learn its language or risk being left out. "
Theodore Bikel
Country
Risk
Live
" In my mind the city of Ariel is a thorn in Israel's side and a serious obstacle to peace. "
Theodore Bikel
Obstacle
Mind
City
" I'm exceedingly proud of being an actor, but I never recommend it to anyone. "
Theodore Bikel
Actor
Recommend
Being
" On the stage you're there, it's live. There's a beginning, a middle, an end. When something is funny you hear it right away. "
Theodore Bikel
Beginning
You
Right
" But there is a difference here: When Jewish children are murdered, Arabs celebrate the deed. The death of an Arab child is no cause for celebration in Israel. "
Theodore Bikel
Here
Child
Celebrate
" I am a Zionist, an ardent supporter of Israel, its defender when I deem Israel to be right and its critic when I deem it to be wrong. "
Theodore Bikel
Right
Critic
Am
" I am a universalist, passionately devoted to the cause of equality within the human family. "
Theodore Bikel
Family
Within
I Am
" I prefer to choose which traditions to keep and which to let go. "
Theodore Bikel
Let Go
Go
Keep