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Marcel Marceau (born March 22, 1923) is a well-known mime and among the most popular representatives of this art form world-wide.
He was born in Strasbourg, France. After having seen Charlie Chaplin he became interested in acting and from 1946 on he studied at the Sarah-Bernhardt-Theatre in Paris with teachers like Charles Dullin and Étienne Decroux (who was also the teacher of Jean-Louis Barrault).
In 1947 he performed for the very first time as BIP, his tragicomic figure with silk dented hat and red flower. This has become his most famous character. In his career he performed all over the world in order to spread the "art of silence" (L'art du silence). In 1978 he established his own school in Paris: "École Internationale de Mimodrame de Paris, Marcel Marceau".
In the 1976 comedy film, Silent Movie, Marceau appeared as himself and spoke one word ("Non") -- the only character to speak in the film.
He wrote several books translated in up to 7 languages (eg. the history of BIP) and obtained many honours in France and USA (eg. Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres). His last world tour took place in 2004.
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