Note No. 5662

                                                      26 April 2001

Note to Correspondents

MARCEL MARCEAU NAMED GOODWILL AMBASSADOR FOR 2002 UNITED NATIONS

SECOND WORLD ASSEMBLY ON AGEING

Marcel Marceau, internationally-renowned artist, often referred to as the world’s greatest mime, will serve as the first Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Second World Assembly on Ageing, to be convened in Madrid, Spain from 8 to 12 April 2002, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs announced today.

Mr. Marceau’s mission will be to promote awareness of the World Assembly, which aims to address the needs of older persons worldwide, as well as the dramatic impact of population ageing on societies, particularly in the developing world.

Mr. Marceau will accept his designation as Goodwill Ambassador at a press conference on 26 April 2001, at 11:15 a.m., at United Nations Headquarters in New York.  Nitin Desai, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, will announce Mr. Marceau’s designation.  Also participating in the press conference will be: Odile Frank, Chief, Social Integration Branch, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs; and Thérèse Gastaut, Director, Public Affairs Division, Department of Public Information, who will serve as moderator.

Born in Strasbourg, France, Mr. Marceau enrolled in Charles Dullin’s School of Dramatic Art in the Sarah Bernhardt Theatre in Paris in 1944, where he studied with his mime master Etienne Decroux.  In 1947, Mr. Marceau created “Bip” the clown who in his striped pullover and battered opera hat, has become his alter-ego.  His style exercises include such classic works as The Cage, The Mask Maker, The Public Garden, and the famous Youth, Maturity, Old Age and Death. 

In 1948, Mr. Marceau received the Deburau Prize, established in memory of the great 19^th Century master Peirrot.  The following year, he formed his Compagnie de mime Marcel Marceau –- the only company of pantomime in the world at the time.  The ensemble played the leading theatres in Paris, as well as other playhouses throughout the world.  Mr. Marceau has toured the world extensively over the past five decades and is currently performing in the United States.

In addition to his live performances, Mr. Marceau has demonstrated his versatility in motion pictures, such as Barbarella, directed by Roger Vadim;

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Shanks, directed by Bill Castle; and Mel Brook’s Silent Movie, in which he said the only word “No”.  Numerous honours have been bestowed upon Mr. Marceau, including the highest honours conferred by the French Government:  Officier de la Légion d’Honneur, Commandeur des Arts et Lettres, and Grand Officier de l’Ordre National du Mérite.

The Second World Assembly on Ageing will be convened twenty years after the first World Assembly was held in Vienna.  The upcoming Assembly will address one of the defining characteristics and challenges of the twenty-first century -– the ageing of the global population.  Soon every third living human being will be over the age of 60 and, for the first time in human history, the old and the young will represent an equal share of the population.

Traditionally, ageing has been seen as a phenomenon affecting primarily the Western world.  Today, however, 80 per cent of the one million people crossing the threshold of age 60 every month live in developing countries.  In less than three decades, three quarters of the world’s older population will live in developing countries.

In coming years, the capacity of many governments, especially in developing countries, to sustain development of their ageing societies and ensure the well being of their populations into old age will increasingly be tested. 

For further information, contact Laufey Love, (212) 963-3507, Department of Public Information, (DPI) or Odile Frank, (212) 963-6901, Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

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