Theo: An Autobiography

13: Come, Let Us Reason Together

13 The answer to the question "Anl I IllY brother's keeper?" nlust invariably be "No. I alll llly brother's brother." -MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. I T SEEMS THAT I HAVE C()N))UCTE)) MY LIFE on two different e1110tional planes: one lighthearted, gregarious, even frivolous; the other politically and socially involved and following a serious social and nl0ral commitnlent. The activisl1l based on this COl1lnlitment was not li111ited to union work or even to the arts. My involvenlent with politics in Anlerica started almost froln the day of nlY arrival at the airport in New York, possibly even earlier than that. Many of nlY friends in England had been expatriate Anlericans who were victims of the nlindless political witch-hunt of McCarthyisnl. I was determined, if I got the chance, to renlind Anlerica of its own claim to liberalisnl, as expressed in Jefferson's ringing words, "I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility to every fornl of tyranny over the nlind of Man." This would have been presunlptuouS had I harbored feelings of superiority as a European, 25() · THEO but Europe had too nlany sins of her own to answer for. Perhaps, like a freshlnan CongreSSl1lan, one ought to shut up for a ternl or two before voicing an opinion. But I was a new Anlerican with a stake in the country's well-being. And I becan1e a New Yorker very quickly. With that COllles a certain cOlllbativeness: In short order you find yourself standing on soapboxes at street corners making campaign speeches without finding it at all strange. Soon after nlY first n1arriage broke up, I rented a s111all apartrnent on Waverly Place in Greenwich Village, three doors away fronl Washington Square })ark. My involvenlent with John F. Kennedy's presidential calnpaign had been star stuff-going to rallies and holding the crowd until the candidate arrived, nlaking speeches, either short or long, depending on how late Kennedy's schedule ran. After JFK's election I becall1e involved with local Democratic Party politics, specifically in the struggle to return decency to the way the Denlocratic Party in nlY district was run. This fight revolved around the attenlpts to oust an old-line Tall1nlany Hall political n1achine run fron1 s1110kefilled back rOOlllS by a sinister figure nall1ed Carllline DeSapio, who gave out patronage jobs all year round and Christlnas presents in July to ensure a loyal following in the district. For years he had been unbeatable. But this was a new era, and a rival club of l1l0Stly young liberals known as the Village Independent l)enl0crats (VID) decided to challenge DeSapio. The first few tinles the challenge was unsuccessful , although some other elective positions were wrested away froll1 Carnline's crowd. Yet he hinlself was a harder nut to crack. By the tin1e I got involved with the VII), they were gearing up for another round. This till1e ])eSapio's opponent was a young lawyer by the nanle of Edward I. Koch. I was nlaking street-corner speeches throughout the district, extolling the virtues of our candidate. Koch pronlised an open door and an open ear, in contrast to the back-roonl dealings of the nlan who always wore dark glasses indoors and who, instead of gaining your trust, bought it. Lo and behold, in 1963 we prevailed, and Ed Koch was elected district leader. Fronl there he went on to be elected to Congress and eventually, in 1978, he becanle the flanlboyant n1ayor of New York. Years later, at a dinner we both attended, Ed Koch told the assembled guests the following story concerning our past association. "Theo Bikel call1paigned for ll1e in the Village when I was running nlY first race. We were on a street corner, Theo was ll1aking a speech, talking about nlY candidacy, citing virtues neither of us knew I had. I was quite enraptured by his eloquence, and so impressed that I was prepared to vote for this fellow Koch myself, any chance I'd get. A lady tapped nIe on the shoulder and asked, '1)0 you like this speech?' I said, 'Yes, very nIuch,' and the lady said with pride, pointing to the speaker, 'That's nlY son.' I said, 'Oh yeah? Well, that's nlY fi~iend.'" Ed renlenlbered this incident for years, it seenlS. In 1988, on nIY nlother's ninetieth birthday, he issued a congratulatory ll1ayoral citation and sent it...