Google Doodle, today, celebrates the late French mime artist Marcel Maceau on what would have been his 100th birthday.
Marceau was popular as an artist, using his talents to help liberate Jewish children from Nazi-occupied France during the Second World War.
“Happy birthday, Marcel Marceau, you specialised in silence but continue to leave audiences roaring with laughter,” Google says.
A Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google’s homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and notable historical figures.
The French actor was born on this day in 1923.
He was born with the surname Mangel, but changed it to Marceau during the German occupation of France, so that he wouldn’t be identified as being Jewish.
Marceau was inspired by silent films as a child and would impersonate famous actors and mimes. He later used his silent acting skills to smuggle Jewish children out of Nazi-occupied France by keeping them quiet at dangerous moments.
He died in a retirement home in Cahors, France, on 22 September 2007 at the age of 84.
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