Marcel Marceau, who put the art of mime on the world stage and brought poetry to silence, has died, his former assistant said yesterday. He was 84.
Marceau died on Saturday in Paris, French media reported. Former assistant Emmanuel Vacca announced the death on France-Info radio.
Wearing white face paint, soft shoes and a battered hat topped with a red flower, Marceau played the entire range of human emotions for more than 50 years.
Marceau's lithe gestures and pliant facial expressions gave life to characters from a peevish waiter to a lion tamer to an old woman knitting.
His biggest inspiration was Charlie Chaplin. Marceau, in turn, inspired countless young performers -- Michael Jackson borrowed his famous "moonwalk" from a Marceau sketch.
French Prime Minister Francois Fillon praised Marceau as "the master," saying he had the rare gift of "being able to communicate with each and everyone beyond the barriers of language."
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