Biography: Theodore Meir Bikel was born on May 2, 1924 in Vienna, Austria to Miriam and Josef Bikel. He apprenticed at the Habimah theater in Tel Aviv in 1943, and then studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. He created the role of Baron von Trapp in the original Broadway production of The Sound of Music. He had a radio show on WBAI in New York. His autobiography, "Theo," was published in 1994 and revised in 2002 and 2014. With Pete Seeger, he co-founded the Newport Folk Festival. He served as president of Actors' Equity from 1973 to 1982. He was a member of the National Council on the Arts from 1977 to 1982. He married Ofra Ichilov and then Rita Weinberg Call, with whom he had two children. He then married conductor and pianist Tamara Brooks, who died in 2012. He then married journalist Aimee Ginsburg.

Film/TV Credits: Film credits include: "My Fair Lady," "The African Queen," "The Defiant Ones," "Shattered," "Crime and Punishment," "The Enemy Below," "Shadow Conspiracy," "I Want to Live!," "My Side of the Mountain," and "Sands of the Kalahari." Television credits include: "Star Trek: The Next Generation," "Law & Order," "Columbo," "Little House on the Prairie," "The Twilight Zone," "Murder, She Wrote," and "Gunsmoke."

Other Awards: Emmy Award for "Los Angeles History Project" in 1989. Received a star on the Walk of Fame in 2005.

Trivia:
He toured for decades as Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, performing the role over 2,000 times.
He sang in 21 languages.
He opened two espresso cafes in Hollywood.
The marquees of Broadway theaters were dimmed in his honor on July 24, 2015.