Research on Marcel Marceau
Marcel was born in 22nd March 1923. He was a very popular actor from France who has been seen in films and on TV. Mainly associated to the dramatic tradition of mime.
He came from a Jewish family that had a creative lean based on the countless dancers and musicians that it created. When he was 15 Marcel changed his last name to Marceau (after a famous French general), to hide his Jewish origins when France entered WWII. Together Marceau and his brother Alain worked in the French underground, often risking their lives to help out Jews escape their engaged homeland.
Young Marcel went so far as to show a Boy Scout director to lead hundreds of young Jewish children on "hikes" in the Alps, helping them flee into Switzerland.
By 1944, Marceau's father was deported to Auschwitz (where he passed away), and Marceau and his brother departed to Paris, where they felt safe. It was at this time that Marceau resumed his previous dreams of becoming an actor, motivated by silent film greats like Chaplin, Keaton, and the Marx Brothers.
Finally in 1946, he enrolled in the famous Charles Dullin School of Dramatic Art where he studied under Etienne Decroux, who introduced him to the art form of mime. Shortly after Marceau developed his own different style of mine, which was easily accessible to a mass audience. As his fame grew, he produced what he called "mimodramas" which led rapidly to what is currently famous as modern mime.
Over the next ten years Marceau appeared on stage, screen, and television, making his mark in all art forms, even though his live performance will be what he is best remembered for; it was in the 1950s that Americans everywhere were awakened to the magic of mime because of his appearances on TV. At the same time as he did not appear in a large number of films, Marceau did apply his art to the fullest advantage. In First Class, he played 17 different roles; in Shanks he played the title character who is a deaf-mute puppeteer, allowing him to showcase his talent. He also appeared in Barbarella as Professor Ping, and was the only one among a speaking part in the Mel Brooks comedy Silent Movie ("Non!"). Marceau continuously appeared in various film projects throughout his later life, but the greater part of those years he spent teaching his craft to others. After formally retiring from stage movement in 2005, Marceau died of private causes at age 84, in 22nd September 2007. All Movie Guide
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