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" 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. "

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" 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

" If I have one vanity wish, it would be to direct. It's the only thing I haven't done yet that I would like to. "

" Right up to the middle of this century all perceptions of the world around us were delivered via the bookshelf or the paper route. "

" You always draw on your experiences with live audiences to know how to do comedy on films. You're working for a laugh that may or may not come six months later, but you're working in a vacuum at the time you are doing it. "

" 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

Endurance

" I am determined to give the Yiddish language a fighting chance to survive. "

" 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. "

" I am not a specialist but a general practitioner in the world of the arts. "

" But, when I toil in the field of Jewish culture which I frequently do, I am indeed a Jewish artist. "

Theodore Bikel

I Am

Jewish

" Accents. I'm very good with accents. I'm exceedingly good. "

" 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. "

" I am first, and foremost, an actor. That's what I am. To me, a song is a mini-drama. My musical ability informs the actor as well because it gives me a sense of timing that non-musicians don't have. So, one hand washes the other. "

" While we all could agree that the Zionist ideal is alive and well, there is serious doubt whether the Zionist movement can be said to be an ongoing proposition, fragmented as its components are in ideology and in practice. "

" I prefer to make common cause with those whose weapons are guitars, banjos, fiddles and words. "

" I do prefer the stage. It's really the granddaddy of them all. "

" I know for certain of only one commandment, one obligation, that God imposes upon us, and that is to be compassionate toward other human beings. "

" 'Retiring' - within that word is 'tiring,' and I'm not tired. I don't believe in retirement, really. "

" Audiences are audiences. "

Theodore Bikel

Audiences

" 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. "

" I am filled with awe that filmmakers have the capacity to stir us and give us back a sense of wonder. "

Theodore Bikel

Sense

Awe

" You learn more from the flops than from the hits. "

Theodore Bikel

Than

Flops

" I am a universalist, passionately devoted to the cause of equality within the human family. "

" As an artist I have an even more abiding interest in the compact between the Arts and Government. "

Theodore Bikel

Artist

Interest

" I do not know who there is among us that can claim to know God's purpose and God's intent. "

Theodore Bikel

God

Claim

" Every actor wants to direct. "

" 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.' "

" The play is always fresh to me. It's not the audience's fault that I've said the words before. "

" I have always striven to raise the voice of hope for a world where hate gives way to respect and oppression to liberation. "

" I created the role of Captain Von Trapp. "

" I remain convinced that I can be a true universalist only when I am a better Jew. "