Entertainer. A mime artist, he became one of the most famous entertainers of the 20th century, acclaimed as the epitome of the mime's art.
Marceau was born Marcel Mangel in Strasbourg, France, into a Jewish family. His father, Charles Mangel, was a kosher butcher originally from Będzin, Poland. His mother, Anne Chancia Werzberg Mangel, came from Yabluniv, present-day Ukraine. As a child, he was fond of the movies of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, which inspired him to become a performer. According to Marceau, when he was five years of age, his mother took him to see a Charlie Chaplin film, which entranced him and led him to want to become a mime artist.
During the German occupation of France, Marcel and his younger brother Alain changed their surname to "Marceau" to escape being identified as Jews. Their cousin, Georges Loinger, one of the members of the French Jewish Resistance in France, urged them to join in order to help rescue Jews during the Holocaust. The organization, which was composed of nine clandestine Jewish networks, rescued thousands of Jewish children and adults during the war in France. The first time Marcel used mime was after France was invaded, in order to keep Jewish children quiet while he helped them escape to neutral Switzerland.
After the liberation of Paris in August 1944, the two brothers joined the French Army. Marcel gave his first major performance to 3,000 troops after the liberation of Paris. Owing to his fluency in English, French, and German, he worked as a liaison officer with General George Patton's Third Army.
Afterwards he studied in Charles Dullin's School of Dramatic Art in the Sarah Bernhardt Theatre in Paris. In 1947, he created his renowned character "Bip," a clown with a white face, battered silk hat, and a striped pullover, whom he said symbolized the fragility of life. In 1944, Marcel's father had been captured by the Gestapo and deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where he was killed. A hugely successful tour of the United States in 1955 and 1956 brought him international fame.
His performances, known as "mimodramas," a type of drama in which the actors use mime to convey the story, included "Pierrot de Montmartre," "The 3 Wigs," "Paris Cries—Paris Laughs," and "Don Juan." He was an influence on countless young performers, among them Michael Jackson, who based his famous "Moonwalk" dance on Marceau's sketch "Walking Against the Wind." He also appeared in motion pictures, such as "First Class," "Shanks," "Barbarella," and "Silent Movie."
Marceau was the founder of an international school for pantomime, the L'Ecole International de Mimodrame in Paris. He was named an Officier de la Legion d'honneur by the French government in 1999. He remained lithe and active until his death. The biographical movie "Resistance," about Marcel's life, was released in 2020.
Marceau passed away in a retirement home in Cahors, France, on September 22, 2007, at the age of 84. At his burial ceremony, the second movement of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 (which he had long used as an accompaniment for an elegant mime routine) was played.
Marceau was born Marcel Mangel in Strasbourg, France, into a Jewish family. His father, Charles Mangel, was a kosher butcher originally from Będzin, Poland. His mother, Anne Chancia Werzberg Mangel, came from Yabluniv, present-day Ukraine. As a child, he was fond of the movies of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, which inspired him to become a performer. According to Marceau, when he was five years of age, his mother took him to see a Charlie Chaplin film, which entranced him and led him to want to become a mime artist.
During the German occupation of France, Marcel and his younger brother Alain changed their surname to "Marceau" to escape being identified as Jews. Their cousin, Georges Loinger, one of the members of the French Jewish Resistance in France, urged them to join in order to help rescue Jews during the Holocaust. The organization, which was composed of nine clandestine Jewish networks, rescued thousands of Jewish children and adults during the war in France. The first time Marcel used mime was after France was invaded, in order to keep Jewish children quiet while he helped them escape to neutral Switzerland.
After the liberation of Paris in August 1944, the two brothers joined the French Army. Marcel gave his first major performance to 3,000 troops after the liberation of Paris. Owing to his fluency in English, French, and German, he worked as a liaison officer with General George Patton's Third Army.
Afterwards he studied in Charles Dullin's School of Dramatic Art in the Sarah Bernhardt Theatre in Paris. In 1947, he created his renowned character "Bip," a clown with a white face, battered silk hat, and a striped pullover, whom he said symbolized the fragility of life. In 1944, Marcel's father had been captured by the Gestapo and deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where he was killed. A hugely successful tour of the United States in 1955 and 1956 brought him international fame.
His performances, known as "mimodramas," a type of drama in which the actors use mime to convey the story, included "Pierrot de Montmartre," "The 3 Wigs," "Paris Cries—Paris Laughs," and "Don Juan." He was an influence on countless young performers, among them Michael Jackson, who based his famous "Moonwalk" dance on Marceau's sketch "Walking Against the Wind." He also appeared in motion pictures, such as "First Class," "Shanks," "Barbarella," and "Silent Movie."
Marceau was the founder of an international school for pantomime, the L'Ecole International de Mimodrame in Paris. He was named an Officier de la Legion d'honneur by the French government in 1999. He remained lithe and active until his death. The biographical movie "Resistance," about Marcel's life, was released in 2020.
Marceau passed away in a retirement home in Cahors, France, on September 22, 2007, at the age of 84. At his burial ceremony, the second movement of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 (which he had long used as an accompaniment for an elegant mime routine) was played.
Entertainer. A mime artist, he became one of the most famous entertainers of the 20th century, acclaimed as the epitome of the mime's art.
Marceau was born Marcel Mangel in Strasbourg, France, into a Jewish family. His father, Charles Mangel, was a kosher butcher originally from Będzin, Poland. His mother, Anne Chancia Werzberg Mangel, came from Yabluniv, present-day Ukraine. As a child, he was fond of the movies of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, which inspired him to become a performer. According to Marceau, when he was five years of age, his mother took him to see a Charlie Chaplin film, which entranced him and led him to want to become a mime artist.
During the German occupation of France, Marcel and his younger brother Alain changed their surname to "Marceau" to escape being identified as Jews. Their cousin, Georges Loinger, one of the members of the French Jewish Resistance in France, urged them to join in order to help rescue Jews during the Holocaust. The organization, which was composed of nine clandestine Jewish networks, rescued thousands of Jewish children and adults during the war in France. The first time Marcel used mime was after France was invaded, in order to keep Jewish children quiet while he helped them escape to neutral Switzerland.
After the liberation of Paris in August 1944, the two brothers joined the French Army. Marcel gave his first major performance to 3,000 troops after the liberation of Paris. Owing to his fluency in English, French, and German, he worked as a liaison officer with General George Patton's Third Army.
Afterwards he studied in Charles Dullin's School of Dramatic Art in the Sarah Bernhardt Theatre in Paris. In 1947, he created his renowned character "Bip," a clown with a white face, battered silk hat, and a striped pullover, whom he said symbolized the fragility of life. In 1944, Marcel's father had been captured by the Gestapo and deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where he was killed. A hugely successful tour of the United States in 1955 and 1956 brought him international fame.
His performances, known as "mimodramas," a type of drama in which the actors use mime to convey the story, included "Pierrot de Montmartre," "The 3 Wigs," "Paris Cries—Paris Laughs," and "Don Juan." He was an influence on countless young performers, among them Michael Jackson, who based his famous "Moonwalk" dance on Marceau's sketch "Walking Against the Wind." He also appeared in motion pictures, such as "First Class," "Shanks," "Barbarella," and "Silent Movie."
Marceau was the founder of an international school for pantomime, the L'Ecole International de Mimodrame in Paris. He was named an Officier de la Legion d'honneur by the French government in 1999. He remained lithe and active until his death. The biographical movie "Resistance," about Marcel's life, was released in 2020.
Marceau passed away in a retirement home in Cahors, France, on September 22, 2007, at the age of 84. At his burial ceremony, the second movement of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 (which he had long used as an accompaniment for an elegant mime routine) was played.
Marceau was born Marcel Mangel in Strasbourg, France, into a Jewish family. His father, Charles Mangel, was a kosher butcher originally from Będzin, Poland. His mother, Anne Chancia Werzberg Mangel, came from Yabluniv, present-day Ukraine. As a child, he was fond of the movies of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, which inspired him to become a performer. According to Marceau, when he was five years of age, his mother took him to see a Charlie Chaplin film, which entranced him and led him to want to become a mime artist.
During the German occupation of France, Marcel and his younger brother Alain changed their surname to "Marceau" to escape being identified as Jews. Their cousin, Georges Loinger, one of the members of the French Jewish Resistance in France, urged them to join in order to help rescue Jews during the Holocaust. The organization, which was composed of nine clandestine Jewish networks, rescued thousands of Jewish children and adults during the war in France. The first time Marcel used mime was after France was invaded, in order to keep Jewish children quiet while he helped them escape to neutral Switzerland.
After the liberation of Paris in August 1944, the two brothers joined the French Army. Marcel gave his first major performance to 3,000 troops after the liberation of Paris. Owing to his fluency in English, French, and German, he worked as a liaison officer with General George Patton's Third Army.
Afterwards he studied in Charles Dullin's School of Dramatic Art in the Sarah Bernhardt Theatre in Paris. In 1947, he created his renowned character "Bip," a clown with a white face, battered silk hat, and a striped pullover, whom he said symbolized the fragility of life. In 1944, Marcel's father had been captured by the Gestapo and deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where he was killed. A hugely successful tour of the United States in 1955 and 1956 brought him international fame.
His performances, known as "mimodramas," a type of drama in which the actors use mime to convey the story, included "Pierrot de Montmartre," "The 3 Wigs," "Paris Cries—Paris Laughs," and "Don Juan." He was an influence on countless young performers, among them Michael Jackson, who based his famous "Moonwalk" dance on Marceau's sketch "Walking Against the Wind." He also appeared in motion pictures, such as "First Class," "Shanks," "Barbarella," and "Silent Movie."
Marceau was the founder of an international school for pantomime, the L'Ecole International de Mimodrame in Paris. He was named an Officier de la Legion d'honneur by the French government in 1999. He remained lithe and active until his death. The biographical movie "Resistance," about Marcel's life, was released in 2020.
Marceau passed away in a retirement home in Cahors, France, on September 22, 2007, at the age of 84. At his burial ceremony, the second movement of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 (which he had long used as an accompaniment for an elegant mime routine) was played.
Bio by: Angela
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