Marcel Marceau (real surname Manzhel) - French actor, founder of the school of memes in Paris. He was called the most popular person in France. For his work, Marcel was awarded two Emmys and two Oscars, was awarded the Legion of Honor.
Marcel Marceau devoted his life to pantomime. His work was admired all over the world. In France, many educational institutions were named after the actor, and the public considered him a national treasure. The actor, who did not utter a single word in his performances, made people sad, rejoice and admire his work.
Childhood and youth
The boy was born in Strasbourg, in 1923, on March 22. Marcel's future parents fled from Poland, fleeing the persecution of Jewish families. The biography of the boy is very difficult. Father was sent to Auschwitz concentration camp, where he died at the end of the war.
During the occupation of France, the boy, together with his brother, joined the local underground and helped to save children from Jewish families by transporting them across the border to Switzerland. His gift of pantomime manifested itself precisely in this period. Almost instantly changing his expression, he could pretend to be anyone, without causing suspicion among the guards, who always thought that they were seeing this person for the first time. This helped Marcel to bring several dozen children out of France.
Later he joined the French army and there he changed his name to Marceau, taking it in honor of one of the French generals who participated in the revolution. Already at this time, he began to show his first pantomime, speaking to the military in short breaks between battles.
As soon as France was liberated, Marseille and his friends gave their first big concert in one of the squares.
The beginning of the creative path
Carried away by the work of Charlie Chaplin and the theater, Marseille enrolled in the art school of the city of Limoges, and a little later - at the Theater named after Sarah Bernhardt, where he received an acting education. His teacher was the famous actor Etienne Decoux, who was the first to consider his gift and talent as a young man. Marcel also studied with the great representative of art actor Jean-Louis Barrot, who played in one of the films of the 19th century mime - Deburo.
Soon, Marcel began to independently perform on the theaters of France, and his amazing gift was immediately accepted by the French public. The actor became a discovery and sensation in the world of theater, then his magnificent stage career began. Marcel came up with the image of the clown Beep, in which he appeared before the French. A rumpled hat-bowler, a striped sweater, disheveled ash-colored hair, dusting, white make-up on the face and a sad look of let-down eyes - this is what millions of viewers remembered.
Without saying a single word, using only his own plastic body, he "spoke" with the audience in his own language, and he was understood. Together with him, people cried with joy and wept with grief. Marceau said that, owning every cell of the body, words are not needed, they only interfere with communication with the audience and violate the silence of the image created by the mime. Only occasionally did the actor use music in his theatrical productions that could complement the image of a sad clown. Thanks to his talent and theatrical skill, Marseille was recognized not only by the public, but also by the theater community, for which he received the Deburo Prize in 1948.
One of the most famous numbers of Marceau became the pantomime "Against the wind." Throughout the performance, a man in the form of a clown covered the distance from one edge of the stage to the other, resisting the force of the wind and slowly moving forward. To get there, he has to fight the elements and, with all his strength, give her a rebuff. The actor made the audience admire his hero, who had the courage, the will to win and achieved his goal, no matter what. Interestingly, part of Marcel’s movements was based on the famous moon Michael Jackson, who admired Marceau’s plastic and revised his numbers many times.
With his idol, Charlie Chaplin, under the influence of the image of which the clown Bip was created, Marceau met only once, quite by accident, returning from the filming of one of his films. They collided at the airport and spent together for about an hour. At the end of the meeting, the actor, not knowing what to say before breaking up, kissed the hand of the great master of silent films, and he only burst into tears in response.
Tours and performances
In the mid-50s, Marcel was invited on a tour of America, where he makes a real sensation. His talent was instantly noticed in Hollywood and the actor was offered a contract. But Marceau starred in only one film, directed by Mel Brooks.
After visiting the United States, the actor began to tour all over the world. He gave a huge number of performances and every time the audience enthusiastically received the great master of pantomime.
Marceau first came to the USSR in 1957 and, like the rest of the world, made a lasting impression on the audience and colleagues in the theater scene. He visited Galina Vishnevskaya and Mstislav Rostropovich many times, who became close friends for him. Also, often Marceau talked with Arkady Raikin, with whom they also quickly became friends. Konstantin Raikin in his interviews more than once said that Marceau was and remains the greatest artist of the pantomime genre and nobody was able to repeat what he did, or at least to approach his skill.
Marceau announced the cessation of his creative activity in 2000, but did not leave the stage, staging one more his play “Hands” two years later.
Fans of the actor did not cease to admire his talent and still remember this great actor not only in France, but throughout the world.
Marcel Marceau died in 2007, he did not live to see his 85th birthday. He was buried in France at the Pere Lachaise Cemetery.
