Please Join Me in Observing a Moment of Silence

[thebobman]

FULL STORY AT CNN
Marcel Marceau Has Passed Away at the Age of 84

PARIS, France (AP) -- Marcel Marceau, who revived the art of mime and brought poetry to silence, has died, his former assistant said Sunday. He was 84.

Marceau died Saturday in Paris, French media reported. Former assistant Emmanuel Vacca announced the death on France-Info radio. The cause of Marceau's death was not announced.

Wearing white face paint, soft shoes and a battered hat topped with a red flower, Marceau, notably through his famed personage Bip, played the entire range of human emotions off and on stage for more than 50 years, never once uttering a word. Out of character, however, he was famously chatty. "Never get a mime talking;" he once said, "he won't stop."

His biggest source of inspiration was Charlie Chaplin. Marceau, in turn, has inspired countless young performers. Michael Jackson borrowed his famous "moonwalk" from a Marceau sketch, "Walking Against the Wind."

Marceau performed tirelessly around the world until late in life, never losing his agility, never going out of style. In one of his most poignant and philosophical acts, "Youth, Maturity, Old Age, Death," he wordlessly showed the passing of an entire life in just minutes.

When interviewed about the performance Marceau was quick to ask, "Do not the most moving moments of our lives find us without words?"

--

Marceau was born Marcel Mangel on March 22, 1923, in Strasbourg, France. His father Charles, a butcher who sang baritone, introduced his son to the world of music and theater at an early age. As a boy Marcel adored the silent film stars of the era: Chaplin, Buster Keaton and the Marx brothers.

A French Jew, Marceau worked with the French Resistance to protect Jewish children so that they could survive the Holocaust.

When the Nazis marched into eastern France, he and his family were given just hours to pack their bags. They fled to southwest France and changed their last name to Marceau to hide their Jewish origins.

With his brother Alain, Marceau became active with the French Resistance. Marceau altered children's identity cards, changing their birth dates to trick the Nazis into thinking they were too young to be deported. While he was born in France he spoke English and as a result he was recruited to be a liaison officer with Gen. George S. Patton's army.

In 1944, Marceau's father was sent to Auschwitz, where he died. Later, his son reflected on his father's death: "Yes, I cried for him."

Marceau also recalled thinking of all the others killed in the war. "Among those kids was maybe an Einstein, a Mozart, somebody who (would have) found a cancer drug," he told reporters in 2000. "That is why we have a great responsibility. Let us love one another."

(Lightly edited because the AP piece didn't follow some basic rules of English; starting a sentence with 'but' or 'because')

[Grapes]

"Moment of Silence".

Hilarious.

[thebobman]

Originally Posted by Grapes

"Moment of Silence".
Hilarious.

Hey, I bet NOBODY made that pun today besides me.

[GSG9]

mimes suck miles and miles of dick.

[thebobman]

I always did wonder what they were pulling at
Now I know.