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Last updated on July 16th, 2017 at 11:42 am
A moment of silence, please.
A death that will be heard around the world?
Posted by surfmaster on 2007 09 23 at 06:04 AM • permalink
I wonder if his last words will go on his tombstone?
Posted by surfmaster on 2007 09 23 at 06:07 AM • permalink
And I am not going to mention the minutes silence. 🙂
Posted by surfmaster on 2007 09 23 at 06:10 AM • permalink
He was a clever professional but I think you had to be French to truly appreciate him.
Posted by walterplinge on 2007 09 23 at 06:10 AM • permalink
A dictator with the right idea…
Admittedly, Vetinari did ban street theatre and tends to hang mime artists upside down in a scorpion pit opposite a sign reading “Learn The Words,” but this is generally taken by the population as simply an amusing character trait.
Posted by eeniemeenie on 2007 09 23 at 06:16 AM • permalink
- Posted by Jim Treacher on 2007 09 23 at 06:38 AM • permalink
It seems that authorities are staying silent on the cause of death?
Posted by surfmaster on 2007 09 23 at 06:38 AM • permalink
Marcel has a worthy successor to carry on the tradition.
- Q: How do you kill a mime?
A: Wait until it’s in one of those little glass boxes and then shoot it!
Q: If a tree fell on a mime in the forest, would it make a sound?
Q: If a tree fell on a mime in the forest, would anyone care?
Q: When you shoot a mime, do you have to use a silencer?
Q: What do you get by rolling a mime up really thin and long, then using him to tie things with?
A: Twime.
Q: What’s a mime’s favorite watch?
A: Mimex.
Q: And what is the Mimex Watch Co.‘s slogan?
A: It takes a lickin’ and then hopefully it stops.
Q: What did the king say to the guard who was trying to kill the Mime?
A: Stop! A Mime is a terrible thing to waste!and last but not least…I put a blank cassette tape in my tape stereo last night and turned the volume all the way up….the mime next door went nuts!
- I didn’t even know he was ill.
He should have said something.Posted by SwinishCapitalist on 2007 09 23 at 07:09 AM • permalink
Some may find this in questionable taste, but I found it deeply satisfying, and disturbingly addictive.
“Never get a mime talking. He won’t stop.”-Marcel Marceau
“It’s good to shut up sometimes.”-Marcel Marceau
at least he seems to have had a sense of humour about his work- but I’m still with the Sandford (Hot Fuzz) Best Village committee on the subject of mimes in general
Posted by eeniemeenie on 2007 09 23 at 07:15 AM • permalink
Right on all counts, Habib. I only stopped to avoid spraying dinner all over the screen.
Posted by SwinishCapitalist on 2007 09 23 at 07:16 AM • permalink
The Gendamerie wanted to interview his wife but she exercised her right to silence.
Posted by surfmaster on 2007 09 23 at 07:20 AM • permalink
- Kae, I thought you said a little ‘bisque’, to which I would have replied, no, it looks more like a thick, cream or milk-based shellfish soup, usually made with crawfish, shrimp or oysters.
But no, I think you may have misinterpreted me. I said——>;;;{})————>^/( not——>;:;{])————>^/(. I can see how you might confuse that conjugating verb, it’s easy to do.
You should sit down, shutup and mime your own business.
Posted by mr creosote on 2007 09 23 at 08:53 AM • permalink
Just in- footage of the former French national treasure’s state funeral.
At least he’s no longer in an existential funk- I wonder if the grave is to be dug by Heidiggers?
This whole thread is a veritable mimefield. The UN will go nuts if they plant another mime.
Posted by surfmaster on 2007 09 23 at 09:14 AM • permalink
Also just in- how Marcel Marceau met his maker.
(A buck and 87 cents to see the whole thing, you cheapskates. At least his missus is off the hook).
#43- The UN should take action about the widespread persecution of performance artists– it seems a bigger problem worldwide than anti-Semitism.
I’m thirsty – I fancy a refreshing lemon, mime and bitters.
Posted by David Morgan on 2007 09 23 at 09:48 AM • permalink
P.S. And, re #49, his Jewish family’s wartime history.
Posted by andycanuck on 2007 09 23 at 09:50 AM • permalink
Another story of desperation, discrimination and degradation from the mime underclass.
#49- So he was Marcel Maquis then- my dislike is diminished.
Mime still is a load of old wank though, probably the worst form of performance art- a genre that is matched in awfulness only by fucking puppets.
I’ll never forget his interview on local radio. Brilliant!
Posted by Rob Crawford on 2007 09 23 at 10:31 AM • permalink
- Marceau was a French Jew, father murdered by the Nazis, member of the French resistance. He almost single handedly revived mime after WWII.
He was a master of his art – and I mean master – influenced by the heroes of silent cinema (eg Chaplin et al.) but exceeding their craftsmanship by far. At his prime, he was simply breathtaking.
- I was never into mime myself after turning twelve. Used to love it as a kid.However the film Barbarella made up for that lack of interest when he play the character of Professor Ping.(Not that was my only interest in the film, but let us not bring up JF) And yes he had a lot to say. Nice voice too.
I believe they are making a remake of the movie at present.
If you shoot a mime, should you use a silencer?
Posted by joe bagadonuts on 2007 09 23 at 11:45 AM • permalink
In my family, it’s a tradition to bring food to post-funeral gatherings (no restaurants here). Anyone for Key mime pie?
Posted by Blue State Sil on 2007 09 23 at 12:39 PM • permalink
Will you be able to sleep after reading scary mime stories?
Famous Mime Fails to Get Out of Final Box…
Posted by richard mcenroe on 2007 09 23 at 01:44 PM • permalink
Marceau is DEAD! Saddam killed all the Marceaus.
sorry, don’t tase me bro’…
Posted by Shaky Barnes on 2007 09 23 at 02:56 PM • permalink
OK, now this is truly sad, apparently the man died penniless and virtually alone:
A relative of Marceau, Israeli singer Yardena Arazi, said that her mother and Marceau, who were cousins, hid together in the French countryside during World War Two. According to Arazi, towards the end of his life the great mime’s financial situation was dire.
“Although he was a national hero in France who received all the honors of an international artist, he remained very much alone, broke and very ill. My uncle took care of him. This is a sad ending to a magnificent career that has left its imprint on this field.”
Posted by Spiny Norman on 2007 09 23 at 05:14 PM • permalink
That is sad. His daughter, I understand, broke the news to the press – which means he had family. Wonder if he did not get along with them? Who knows?
At least he did lead an amazing life. He lived through an incredibly turbulent time, developed a talent, became famous, traveled the world. That has something to be said for it.
I went to see him in Brisbane a long time ago. Sadly it was a matinee performance, the airconditioning was not working well, and I’d had a late night. Combine that with silence and a dark theatre, and you get snores!
oops!
Anyway, for the parts I was awake for, he was quite amazing. When the audience clapped, I was disappointed, as I thought we’d should have mimed it.
The only lasting memory was of his ego though – the audience on their feet, after about 10 minutes of clapping, were well and truly ready to get out of the stiffling air and grab some refreshments – but the ghosty one didn’t want to leave the stage! He kept staying there! And the clapping would have to wind up again!
Oh well, I don’t begrudge it now, but it was funny / sad at the time.
Also sad to hear he died poor – alone. He should have said something.
#53, Habib, when you mentioned fucking puppets the first thing that sprang to mind was this.
And it’s a sad loss for the theatrical world with M. Marceau now departed.
Posted by Nilknarf Arbed on 2007 09 23 at 07:20 PM • permalink
At least now we can say that all mime artists are crap.
Posted by Margos Maid on 2007 09 23 at 10:51 PM • permalink
Marceau was born Marcel Mangel, of Jewish parents in Strasbourg, France, on March 22, 1923. His father, a butcher, was deported to a concentration camp by the Germans in 1944 and never returned. Marcel moved to Paris, with a new surname and false identification papers. Until the liberation of Paris, he worked in the resistance, hiding Jewish children from the Gestapo and the French police, who helped round up Jews for deportation.
Mime. Is there anything wankier?