MARCEAU, MARCEL

MARCEAU, MARCEL
MARCEAU, MARCEL (1923– ), French mime. Marceau was born in Strasbourg, the son of a butcher who was executed by the Nazis during World War II. Marceau worked for the French underground, helping Jewish children to cross the border into Switzerland. In 1944, he entered Charles Dullin's School of Dramatic Art and studied with Etienne Decroux (1898–1991). He made his début as Harlequin in Jean-Louis Barrault's production of Baptiste in 1947. That same year he formed his own company and created his famous character "Bip," a flour-faced clown always in conflict with the physical world. He wrote The Story of Bip, which was published in 1976, and celebrated Bip's 50th anniversary in 1997. Marceau, who is the best-known exponent of modern mime, toured either as a solo artist or with a small company in many parts of the world. In his U.S. tours in 1955–56 and 2000 he also made many television appearances. His silent eloquence and unique synthesis of corporeal mime with 19th century pantomime captured the public's imagination wherever he appeared. Most of Marceau's programs consisted of small sketches featuring "Bip," but in 1951 he created an extended drama, The Overcoat, based on the novel by Gogol. He also made a number of films. In 1971 he collaborated with the Hamburg Ballet on a version of Candide. Marceau described mime as "the art of expressing feelings by attitudes and not a means of expressing words through gestures." In 1998, French President Jacques Chirac named Marceau a Grand Officer of the Order of Merit. He was elected a member of the Academies of Fine Arts in Berlin and Munich, the Academie of Beaux Arts in France, and the Institut de France. -ADD. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Y. Karsh, Portraits of Greatness (1959), 124; B. Martin, Marcel Marceau: Master of Mime (1979). (Selma Jeanne Cohen / Amnon Shiloah (2nd ed.)

Encyclopedia Judaica. 1971.

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  • Marceau, Marcel — born March 22, 1923, Strasbourg, France French mime. After serving in World War II, he studied with the pantomimist Étienne Decroux and had his first success in the role of Arlequin in Baptiste. He formed a mime troupe (1948–64) and earned… …   Universalium

  • Marceau, Marcel — (1925 )    mime    Marcel Marceau, who is considered to have almost personally revived the art of pantomime, was born Marcel Mangel, in strasbourg. A student of theater mimes, he first worked with the compagnie Dullin, then joined the compagnie… …   France. A reference guide from Renaissance to the Present

  • Marceau, Marcel — (b. 1923)    French mime. Marceau is regarded as the greatest exponent in the world of mime, an art he has himself defined as the expression of feelings by attitudes rather than the expression of words by gestures. His most famous character is… …   Who’s Who in Jewish History after the period of the Old Testament

  • Marceau,Marcel — Mar·ceau (mär sōʹ), Marcel. Born 1923. French mime whose most famous character is Bip, a sad faced clown. * * * …   Universalium

  • Marceau, Marcel — pseud. di Mangel, Marcel …   Sinonimi e Contrari. Terza edizione

  • Marceau, Marcel — (b. 1923)    French mime. As a young man, he worked in the underground and helped smuggle Jewish children into Switzerland. He was regarded as the greatest exponent of mime …   Dictionary of Jewish Biography

  • Marceau, Marcel — (n. 22 mar. 1923, Estrasburgo, Francia). Mimo francés. Después de combatir en la segunda guerra mundial, estudió con el mimo Étienne Decroux. Obtuvo su primer éxito en el rol de Arlequín en Baptiste. Después formó una compañía de pantomima… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Marcel Marceau — as Bip the Clown Born Marcel Mangel 22 March 1923(1923 03 22) Strasbourg, France …   Wikipedia

  • Marcel Mangel — Marcel Marceau Pour les articles homonymes, voir Marceau. Marcel Marceau en 1977. Marcel Marceau, dit le mime Marceau, né Marcel Mangel le 22 mars 1923 à …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Marcel Mangel — Marcel Marceau, 1977 Marcel Marceau (* 22. März 1923 in Straßburg, Frankreich; † 22. September 2007 in Paris, eigentlich Marcel Mangel) war ein berühmter Pantomime. Dem Publikum war er als „Bip“ vertraut, der tragikomische Clown im Ringelhemd mit …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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