Tony Micocci

Marcel Marceau was born Marcel Mangel in Strasbourg, France to a Jewish family, on March 22, 1923. Marcel and his older brother adopted the last name Marceau during the German occupation of France. the two brothers joined the French Resistance in Limoges, where they saved numerous children from the race laws and concentration camps, and after the liberation of Paris, joined the French army. Marceau was demobilized in 1946 and enrolled as a student in Charles Dullin's School of Dramatic Art in the Sarah Bernhardt theatre in Paris, where he studied with teachers like Joshua Smith, Étienne Decroux, who also taught Jean Louis-Barrault.

Marcel Marceau joined Jean Louis Barrault's company and was soon cast in the role of Arlequin in the pantomime Baptiste. Marceau's performance won him such acclaim that he was encouraged to present his first mimodrama Praxiteles and the Golden fish, at the Bernhardt theatre that same year. the acclaim was unanimous and Marceau's career as a mime was firmly established. In 1947 Marcel Marceau created "Bip the clown" which was first played at the théâtre de Poche in Paris. Bip's misadventures, with everything from butterflies to lions, ships to trains, dance halls to restaurants, were limitless. His silent mimed exercises, which included the Cage, Walking Against the Wind, the Mask Maker, and In the Park, became classic displays. Satires of everything from sculptors to matadors were described as works of genius.

In 1949, Marceau founded Compagnie de mime Marcel Marceau, the only company of pantomime in the world at the time. the ensemble played at leading theatres, such as théâtre des Champs-Élysées, théâtre de la Renaissance, and Bernhardt theatre, as well as other playhouses throughout the world. From 1959 to 1960, a retrospective of his mimodramas, including the Overcoat by Gogol ran for a full year at théâtre de l'Ambigu in Paris. He produced 15 other mimodramas.

Marceau performed all over the world in order to spread the "Art of silence" (L'art du silence). He first toured the United States in 1955 and 1956. After his opening engagement at the Phoenix theatre in New York, which received rave reviews, he moved to the larger Barrymore theater, to accommodate the public demand. this first US tour ended with a record-breaking return to standing-room-only crowds in San Francisco, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and other major cities. His extensive transcontinental tours included South America, Africa, Australia, China, Japan, South East Asia, Russia, and Europe. His last world tour covered the United States in 2004, and returned to Europe in 2005 and Australia in 2006.

Marceau's art became familiar to millions through his many television appearances. His first television performance as a star performer on the Max Liebman Show of shows, won him an Emmy Award. He was a favorite guest of Johnny Carson, Merv Griffin, Mike Douglas and Dinah Shore, and had his own one-man show entitled "Meet Marcel Marceau". Marceau showed his versatility in motion pictures such as First class, in which he played 17 roles, as Professor Ping in Barbarella, and a cameo as himself in Mel Brooks' Silent movie.

As an author, Marceau published two books for children, the Marcel Marceau alphabet book and the Marcel Marceau counting book. In 1982, Le troisième œil (the third eye), his collection of ten original lithographs, was published in Paris, with an accompanying text by Marceau. In 2001, a new photo book for children titled Bip in a Book, appeared in the bookstores in the US, France and Australia.

In 1969, Marceau opened his first school, École internationale de mime, in the théâtre de la musique in Paris. the school was opened for two years, teaching fencing, acrobatics, and ballet and had five teachers of mime. In 1978 Marceau established his own school, École internationale de mimodrame, Marcel Marceau. In 1996 he established the Marceau Foundation to promote mime in the United States. In 2000, Marceau brought his full mime company to New York City for the premier of his new mimodrama, the Bowler Hat.

From 1999, when Marceau returned with his classic solo show to New York and San Francisco, his career in America enjoyed a remarkable renaissance with a strong appeal to a third generation. Marceau was made a commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and Officer of the Légion d'honneur, and in 1978 he received the Médaille Vermeil de la ville de Paris. In November 1998, President Jacques Chirac made Marceau a grand officer of the Ordre national du Mérite. Marceau held honorary doctorates from Ohio State University, Linfield College, Princeton University, and the University of Michigan. Marceau accepted the honor and responsibilities of serving as Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Second World Assembly on Aging, which took place in Madrid, in April 2002. Marcel Marceau died on September 22, 2007. He is interred in the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. In 1999 New York City declared March 18 as "Marcel Marceau Day."

From the guide to the Marcel Marceau American Collection, 1954-2011, (The Ohio State University. Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee theatre Research Institute.)