When I was 15 years old I went to Royce Hall at UCLA to see Marcel
Marceau. I really hate admitting that because people razz me about it
all the time, but honestly, I was dazzled by what I saw. The idea that
you could make people laugh without uttering one word fascinated me.
Seeing him play the strong man in the circus and give the illusion of
holding an enormous barbell as he bends all the way back to the ground,
or “walkeeng against zee weend”, or being trapped in ‘zee box’, just
blew me away man.
I don’t know what gave me the balls to do this, but I went backstage. After gushing for 5 minutes I asked him if he could recommend someone in Los Angeles who could teach me the technique. Let me first say, that when he opened his mouth and spoke, out came a high-pitched, reedy voice. He chose the right trade. But the guy was so kind and gracious. He told me that Richmond Shepard was a former student of his and a good teacher.