World War II was a pivotal moment in millions of people’s lives. Marcel Marceau, a Jewish Frenchman, joined the French Resistance ~OJC (Organization Juive de Combat), and helped children escape from Nazi capture. Halsman and his family, also Jewish, had been living in Paris for ten years. They fled the Nazis, and thanks to the assistance of Einstein and Eleanor Roosevelt, Halsman arrived in NYC in 1941 as a refugee. In 1951, 10 years after The Halsman’s escaped, Philippe and Yvonne returned to Paris for the first time. This is where they met Marcel Marceau for a shoot. Marceau had been inspired by a Charlie Chaplin film at 5 years old and decided he wanted to become a mime. After WWII ended Marcel began to perform for troops. In 1945 he enrolled in the School for Dramatic Arts, and in 1947 he invented “Bip.” Bip was an alter ego, a character who interacted with invisible characters, acting out comedies and tragedies. In 1949 Marceau won a prestigious prize, and established the only mime company in the world. In 1951 the 28 year old acted out several performances for Halsman; “The Flea,” “Sea Sick,” “Rope Pull,” as well as a series of portraits exploring expressions. Four years later Marceau did his first world tour and his reputation as the preeminent mime grew. Eventually he starred on TV and in Film, even gaining Michael Jackson as a fan and friend for 20 years. Jackson said he would sneak into Marceau’s performances and take inspiration for the moonwalk from how he defied gravity. A mime perfects the art of silence, and uses his hands as symbols to make the invisible visible. Marceau’s challenging and dramatic youth provided the raw material from which he could draw. Bip was his everyman that the audience could identify with and connect to their own Universal emotions with compassion and sympathy skillfully evoked by Marcel’s humanity.
