A moments silence for Marcel Marceau

[WhiteCrow]

One of those legends you were sure had died ages before.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7009040.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7009189.stm

The French mime artist Marcel Marceau has died at the age of 84, his family has announced.

The performer was known around the world for his portrayal of a white-faced clown with battered hat.

[Dirk Gently]

I thought he was older than that &, as you say, had died ages ago.

I wonder if his funeral will be a silent affair?

R.I.P Marcel.

[Carol Baynes]

[WhiteCrow]

I loved mime, we used to cover it in Drama school, and I'd drive my parents crazy practicing my "trapped inside an invisible box" and "invisible barrier". I always wished I'd been able to take it to the lofty heights of "walking invisible dog" or the exalted mastery of "walking against the wind". Alas I'd end up going down the Methody root instead.

He was a master at what he did and very passionate about it. These days our idea of tallent is a limited bandwidth of model/actor/soap-star/singer. The world needs people of divergent tallent and passion, and so it's always sad when we seem to lose such a person, no matter there age - and 84 was a good age.

I think back to what I said when George Melly died earlier in the year, that the world seems to have had a bit of the colour and fun taken from it. This seems true even though the Mimed Master was mainly monochrome.