Marcel Marceau breaks silence

Marceau will be goodwill ambassador to the U.N. conference on aging

NEW YORK -- Celebrated French mime Marcel Marceau has broken his 50-year public silence to become a spokesman for the older generation.

The 78-year-old Marceau, known around the world for his silent portrayal of a sad white-faced clown with a tall, battered hat, has officially been named a United Nations goodwill ambassador for next year's World Assembly on Aging.

"I am not a man of talk," Marceau observed at the start of a ceremony honouring his appointment at U.N. headquarters on Thursday.

Ironically, once he got started he found it hard to stop and delivered a 45-minute monologue on silence versus talk and art versus action in the face of the world's many problems.

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Marcel Marceau speaks AIFF or WAV sound

"Does art make people better? This is a very important problem. And unfortunately I will say no," he said.

"What is important is action. And this is why I hope that the second World Assembly on Aging in 2002 will be action and not only words."

His task will be to promote awareness of the needs of older people ahead of the U.N.'s second assembly on aging which is to take place on April 8, 2002 in Madrid, Spain.

Marceau's appointment follows a tradition of turning to prominent figures for help.

Among its "messengers of peace" have been three-time world heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali and actor Michael Douglas.

Actress Mia Farrow is a goodwill ambassador to UNICEF, the U.N. Children's Fund, and South African author and Nobel laureate Nadine Gordimer helps the U.N. Development Program.

Marceau is still touring at an exhausting pace, performing 200 times a year.

Born in Strasbourg, France, in 1923, he studied under mime master Etienne Decroux in Paris. Bip, the white-faced clown in striped pullover and hat, made his first appearance in 1947.

Marceau founded the Ecole de Mimodrame de Paris in 1978 and has appeared in several films including Mel Brooks' "Silent Movie," in which he utters the script's only word, "No."

Marceau Foundation
United Nations

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