Marcel Marceau to be buried in imaginary coffin

By Pierre N Depants
French Bureau Chief

PARIS -- Marcel Marceau, the world's only famous mime, is to be buried in an imaginary coffin so he can perform his best-known illusion -- the man trapped in an invisible box -- for all eternity, sources close to the Marceau family revealed after the entertainer's death at age 84 today .

"Marcel was a born showman, and now he will be a dead showman," said his publicist. "What I mean is, obviously he will be a dead showman, but now he will continue to do his show after his death. This will be the greatest feat in the history of miming. It will be the greatest encore in the history of show business. And it will finally make miming popular again! OK, so probably not that last part. But it will unquestionably be the coolest thing ever done by a mime."

Marceau wanted to make sure his most popular routine could be seen by legions of fans yet unborn, even if all recordings of his performances are lost, said a close family friend. "Young mimes today, both of them, they don't appreciate the classics. No one does the man stuck in an invisible box anymore. If we have a nuclear holocaust and all recordings of Marcel's act are destroyed, who will transfer that act to the next generation? Marcel knew that pretending to be a man stuck in an invisible box was the most important contribution he could make to mankind, and he wanted to be absolutely sure it survived. So, he is being buried in an invisible box with his hands sticking up as if he's pressing on it, trying to get out. It will be his final masterpiece."

Marceau's decision ensures that his trademark brand of century-old entertainment can be viewed for millennia to come -- unless someone throws dirt on top of his body.

Comments

[BelchSpeak]

Awesome story! I'm just happy Marcel Marceau finally made me smile.

[lilarthur]

This is just wrong. They could have at least put imaginary dirt on the guy.