Theo: The Autobiography of Theodore Bikel

Noted film actor (The Defiant Ones), Broadway star (The Sound of Music) and folksinger Bikel documents his life, beginning in 1938, when he escaped with his family at age 13 from German-occupied Austria. He recalls his early days in the Hebrew Theatre in Palestine, his training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and his move to the U.S., where he continued his acting career and became intimately involved with folk music. Extremely versatile, he has performed in the theater, in films, on radio, on TV and in other venues. Bikel has led an active political life as well, and his narrative is interspersed with comments on his work for Democratic Party causes, the National Council on the Arts, the civil rights movement, the antiwar movement of the 1960s and on behalf of Soviet Jewry and other Jewish causes. Pride in accomplishment is understandable, but it's no excuse for an autobiography that is too long and at times tedious. Photos not seen by PW. Jewish Book Club alternate. (Oct.)