Marcel Marceau dies

His former assistant Emmanuel Vacca announced the death on French radio yesterday, but gave no details about the cause.

Marceau came to single-handedly represent his art form, though his character of Bip the clown, with white face paint and battered hat topped with a red flower.

He never uttered a word in a career spanning more than 50 years – except for his role in Mel Brookes’ Silent Movie, where he spoke the film’s only word: ‘Non.’

Offstage, however, he was famously chatty. ‘Never get a mime talking. He won't stop.’

Marceau – who was born Marcel Mangel on March 22, 1923, in Strasbourg – said his biggest inspiration was Charlie Chaplin, but also loved the work of Buster Keaton and the Marx brothers.

As a youth, he fled to Western France to escape the advancing Nazis He changed his last name to Marceau to hide his Jewish originsand worked for the French Resisitance. But in 1944, Marceau's father was sent to Auschwitz, where he died.

When Paris was liberated, Marceau began his performing career, becoming internationally famous following hugely successful tour of the American in the mid Fifties.

He continued performing his physical comedy with agility well into his old age, Four years ago, he said: ‘If you stop at all when you are 70 or 80, you cannot go on. You have to keep working’

marcel at work:

Published: 23 Sep 2007