This March 22 marks the centenary of the birth of the mime Marceau. An artist who took the art of pantomime to the top. From the beginning of his career, he proved that silence is sometimes better than long speeches. Marked by Charlie Chaplin, whom he imitated to perfection, Marcel Mangel, his real name, grew up in Strasbourg in a Jewish family.
When war broke out, he joined the Resistance and called himself Marceau. With his cousin Georges Loinger, he made hundreds of Jewish children cross the Swiss border, whom he knew how to distract in silence. After the war, in 1947, Marcel invented Bip, a clown character expressing the tragedy of existence and the hope of a better world.
Michael Jackson was inspired by Marceau to create new dance moves for his craft and both have met numerous times throughout their careers and were also due to perform at the Beacon Theater on Broadway for concert for HBO in 1995. The special One Night Only was cancelled due to Michael falling sick.
When Marceau died in 2007 at the age of 84 and was buried in the Père Lachaise cemetery, hundreds of mourners paid their last respects to him in Paris. Today, Wednesday, the most famous pantomime would have been 100 years old. Google is therefore dedicating a doodle to him.
