PHOTO PROMPT © Marie Gail Stratford
Click the Frog to add your voice.
I hope you’ll forgive me for taking places one and two on the Hollywood Squares. This story was begging to be told this week.
Genre: Historical Fiction Circa 1966
Word Count: 100
LANGUAGE OF THE HEART
Supper dishes put away; Marie sank down on the sofa next to ten-year-old Rachel. “What’s on television?”
“Hollywood Bowl. Marcel Marceau’s on tonight.”
“The mime? I met him.”
“Really, Mom?” Rachel gasped. “When?”
“Over twenty years ago.” As white-faced Marceau chased imaginary butterflies across the stage, memories flooded Marie. “After my parents were deported to Auschwitz my brother and I were put in an orphanage. Marcel was but a boy himself when he entertained us with his silent art and led us to safety over the Swiss border.”
“Wow. Did you get his autograph?”
“Oui. It’s engraved on my heart.”
I had the pleasure of seeing him perform live in 1992. He was amazing even from the highest seat in the theatre. Click the photo to learn more about this Jewish boy from Strasbourg, France.
Rochelle Wisoff-Fields-Addicted to Purple 
He’s always been a favourite with me too
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He was amazing. 😀
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Memories remain.
This language of the heart will stay till death plays its part.
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True, Anita. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Must have been an amazing performer. You describe him well.
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Dear Joy,
Marceau is the first name that comes to mind when someone says ‘mime.’ Here’s a little taste of him. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uy8rmj6Ktg Thank you for your kind words.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I never saw him. I suspect my loss.
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Dear Sandra,
As a child I found him boring. As an adult who’s done quite a bit of mime he’s become a hero. Even more so since I learned of his past.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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A unique talent, m’lady
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Indeed he was, sir.
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A fitting tribute. Has one man ever conquered an art form so completely as him? Almost everyone would name him if asked to name a mime.
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Dear Iain,
That’s so true. And there was quite a man behind the whiteface. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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“Oui. It’s engraved on my heart.” – what a fantastic line, better than pen and paper.
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Thank you so much, Tannille.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Wow, I did not know that about him. Interesting from the Wikipedia page that a person known for his silence worked with Patton’s army because of his fluency in languages…
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Dear Trent,
Marceau himself said, “Never get a mime talking. He won’t stop.” 😉 I only recently learned of his work in the war. I didn’t even know he was Jewish.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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What a fitting short story for such an amazing legacy. I’m so looking forward to the full tribute soon.
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Dear Amy,
Thank you for coming by for the read and for taking the time to comment. I’m looking forward to the tribute as well. 😉 ❤
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Dear Rochelle,
What a wonderful share! It goes to show how much we don’t know about certain artists until you shine the light on them. Love this.
Shalom and lotsa silent love,
Dale
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Dear Dale,
It’s fun to find those hidden nuggets. There are so many, aren’t there? Thank you.
Shalom and lotsa quietly given hugs,
Rochelle
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Yes. And I, for one, am ever so appreciative of your efforts!
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😘❤️😇
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I have no words… 🙂
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Nuff said. 😉
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Dear Rochelle,
Oh I loved this one! We think we know something about someone famous and then the camera shifts and you see them in an altogether new light. You did that for me here. He had heart, didn’t he? The kind that counts.
Shalom,
Dora
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Dear Dora,
He did have a huge heart. He really didn’t speak much about what he did or the lives he saved. Glad you enjoyed. Thank you for all your comments. 😉
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Never heard of him, but now, I want to see him perform. I love mime’s… Great story!
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Dear Bear,
He was amazing. Here’s a short snippet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEsfpRrfXf4 Enjoy. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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You are forgiven, and you are allowed to take as many spots as you like in the Hollywood Squares :). I love this story, and with both of your posts, later today I will follow the links to read more about both of them
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Dear Linda,
Thank you for your supportive and kind words. This story begged to be written.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Very nice. The best autograph is engraved on one’s heart.
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Many thanks, Frank.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Wow. You are definitely allowed a double whammy when they are both so good! I collected autographs as a child, then I realised there is a better kind.
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Dear Jen,
Autographs on paper have a tendency to yellow and fade, don’t they? Thank you for your affirming comments.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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… and take up a lot more space to store!
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Thanks, Rochelle, I think for encouraging us to read more about Marcel Marceau. I’ve just spent at least the last hour watching him perform and talk about his art and it’s now long, long after midnight.
Not sure whether you knew that my 14 year old daughter is pursuing dance as a career and is particularly looking at becoming a ballerina. I have done a few adult ballet, l;yrical and contemporary classes myself as well as watching many dance performances over the years. So, I took a particular interest in him and hope to rewatch a documentary with my daughter tomorrow. I won’t hold my breath though. You might be able to lead a horse to water but leading a teenager anywhere is a rarity.
I hope you and yours are keeping safe and well. We have very little virus around but still have restrictions after clusters over Christmas.
Best wishes,
Rowena
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Dear Rowena,
You have mentioned your daughter was a dancer. Frankly I found Marceau boring when I was growing up. Then I became a mime myself so my feelings about him did a complete pirouette. 😉 And now that I know even more about him he’s even more of a hero In researching to write my 100 words I did spend a lot of time watching and listening online.
Here when we think the virus is fading, a new strain develops. Thank you for your well wishes. Back at you and your family.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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As you said, he was amazing. I think he would have smiled to see your past performances. You did him amazing justice. Good story, and apparently a considerable inspiration to you.
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Dear Jan,
What a sweet thing to say. Thanks, m’luv. ❤
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He was such a brilliant mime – and I think I read about his rescue of Jewish children too.
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He was quite a person, wasn’t he, Liz?
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Rochelle, I just watched a movie on just this piece of history, with Jesse Eisenberg in the lead role. It’s called, “Resistance.”
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Dear Lisa,
It so happens I watched the movie a couple of days ago. Jesse Eisenberg did a great job as did the entire cast. I did know some of the history before seeing it. The most haunting and impacting part of the movie was when they started rolling the credits and you hear the children singing “Shalom Aleichem.” It’s a very old traditional song and their rendition sent shivers through me. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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You’re welcome. Rochelle, so glad you saw it and I agree the cast was fabulous. I’m sure you probably know that the US hired Klaus Barbie after the war and he walked a free man for many years. I have to wonder why!?!?
Shalom,
Lisa
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Marcel was twice divorced. “Will you talk to me, please? AHHHAAHAHAHHAHA!!!!!”
I, of course, browsed through the Wikipedia page. Interesting that he was a silent performer while being fluent in three languages. Inspired by Charlie Chaplin, one of my favorites, and inspired Michael Jackson. Impressive. Most impressive to me was his work saving lives as part of the French Jewish Resistance.
Very interesting, Rochelle. Happy Holocaust Remembrance Day if that’s a proper way to phrase that. Happy’s doesn’t seem like the right word.
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Dear Nobbin,
Guess he wasn’t very good at communicating his heart with his wives. 😉 He was, nonetheless, a talented and interesting person who touched many lives in a positive way. I love it when you go the extra mile to find out about characters in my story. Thank you for your comments. 😀
Shalom,
Rochelle
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This week, I went even further and watched the movie Lisa mentioned, Resistance. It was good, disturbing at times, but good.
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Lovely story!
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Thank you, Sascha. 😀
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Dear Shelley Kohlen W(T)F,
I’m sure Mr. Marceau would be thrilled to learn that you graduated from Walla Walla Bing Bang and followed in his white-faced footsteps. As they say, a mime is a terrible thing (to waste?) Lowry will be pleased to know you have a pedigree.
Good luck with the fishing routine,
Snidely Whiplash
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Dear Snidely Whiplash,
And Lowry will never find my invisible box or my growing collection of DNR tags. Buahahaha. Oooh eeee, oooh ah ah, ting tang…I haven’t caught any invisible fish yet, but I did catch an invisible boot. If I can catch the other, I’ll have an invisible pair. Thank you for swinging by.
Shalom,
Shelley Kohlen W(T)F
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Excellent time for a double dose of remembering. History matters. May we never forget, so we never repeat what must not be repeated. xxx
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Na’ama Y’karah,
No we must never repeat history. Although with fewer and fewer surviving victims I fear it’s being forgotten, despite irrefutable documentation. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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And then there are those who seek to cause pain, deliberately, by denying that the pain ever happened and blaming those who speak of it as being the ones who are ‘divisive’ … It infuriates me.
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Even Eisehower documented by having photos taken photos taken of what he saw so no one could deny those things happened. And yet, there are those who do. I think it’s amazing that all these people had numbers tattooed on their arms just to create a global hoax. How clever is that? Grrrr
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UGH. And that so many died just so there’d be a hoax of their dying … SMH Grrrr indeed.
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like they say, in his case, actions speak louder than words.
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Well said, Plaridel. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Echoing everyones comments, ask for a mime and I can only think of him. Brilliant and informative stuff Rochelle.
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Dear Shrawley,
So true. I loved learning the story behind the whiteface. Thank you so much.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Rochelle,
The perfect delivery system for this tale, thank you for going that extra step. I read along to the words, just like I do with my CC on Fire Stick! 😉
To the romance of the arts. How they leave us weak AND strong, both.
Marco
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Dear Marco,
One should never underestimate the power of art. Beautiful comment. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Not ever. I agree.
Gracias lovely.
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I have been fan of his. You have rekindled long interred memories. Again, you are the the undisputred queen of historical fiction, Rochelle. Simply love the way you bring the past a.so refreshingly alive.
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Dear Neel,
Thank you for such a lovely and affirming comment.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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What an incredible memory. An amazing mime.
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Thank you, Laurie.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Engraved on my heart. ❤ Love the last line.
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Thank you so much, Anne. 😀
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Wow, Rochelle.
I am impressed. Nicely told story, but I am impressed with your French-English accent. Good job. So you’re and actor too?
Peace,
Bill
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Dear Bill,
I’ve always been something of a ham and pretty decent with accents. Thank you for your kind and encouraging words.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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