born March 22, 1923, Strasbourg, France
French mime.
After serving in World War II, he studied with the pantomimist Étienne Decroux and had his first success in the role of Arlequin in Baptiste . He formed a mime troupe (194864) and earned worldwide acclaim in the 1950s with his production of the "mimodrama" of Nikolay Gogol 's Overcoat . In 1978 he founded a school of mimodrama in Paris. He is noted for his eloquent, deceptively simple portrayals, including his celebrated white-faced character Bip, reminiscent of Pierrot and of Charlie Chaplin 's tramp. See also mime and pantomime .