Sunday, September 23, 2007

A Moment of Silence for...

Marcel Marceau

The famous mime

Who passed away

On Saturday, just yesterday

Marcel Marceau, in 2000

Mr. Marceau was quite the fascinating creature. He changed his given name to Marceau from Mangel – he was a French Jew, only a young man living in France when the Nazis marched in. His father was taken and murdered in Auschwitz.

Marcel worked in the Resistance, specifically altering children’s ID cards to convince the Nazis they were too young to be deported.

Later in life,
“…he also thought of all the others killed: "Among those kids was maybe an Einstein, a Mozart, somebody who (would have) found a cancer drug," he told reporters in 2000. "That is why we have a great responsibility. Let us love one another.""
After the war, he studied at a school of drama and took classes from a mime named Etienne Decroux. (Even the best mime in the world had to take lessons from a master and learn his art!) Marcel Marceau is single-handedly credited with reviving the art of mime and influenced many young performers, especially a certain Michael Jackson, who based his well-known ‘moonwalk’ on Marceau’s sketch ‘Walking Against the Wind.’

Mr. Marceau worked into his eighties, never losing his dexterity, flexibility or control of his art! He was 84, when he passed away on Sept. 22, 2007.

Alice Ghostley

Known for being ditzy

Never really glitzy

In truth, she was very smart

And knew just how to get her part

Alice Ghostley, in 1957

The name Alice Ghostley, who passed on Sept. 21, 2007, did not ring a bell, not even when I saw her picture from the the 1950’s. It’s Bernice – from Designing Women! Samantha’s very gone Aunt and incapable witch from Bewitched! Yeah, now we remember. She was like a member of the family. I’m sorry she’s gone because she would have been perfect in my movie to come out someday, playing my mother! No kidding.:)

One of the most interesting things I found about Ms. Ghostley is that she did something that I have found myself doing. It’s one of those things that usually turns out very well, when you apply yourself. She had a job working in a theater and decided that’s what she wanted to do. She realized she was not like the usual actresses, she was not blonde or beautiful – a starlet, or what they call an ingĂ©nue – so that was not the way in. It turned out she had a beautiful singing voice and producers said that combined with her plainness (something she was very aware of) made her utterly charming. And so a career was born. You rock, Ms. Ghostley, you gave plain girls everywhere hope & a good name.:)

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