Wikipedia's first sentence called it “well-known mime and among the most popular representatives of this art form world-wide”. Today it says “french mime artist and actor most famous for his stage persona”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “French mime and actor”. It now reads “French mime artist (1923–2007)”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the 2005 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in 2005
Marcel Marceau (born March 22 , 1923 ) is a well-known mime and among the most popular representatives of this art form world-wide. He was born Marcel Mangel in Strasbourg , France . After having seen Charlie Chaplin he became interested in acting and from 1946 on he studied at the Sarah-Bernhardt-Theatre in Paris with teachers like Charles Dullin and Étienne Decroux (who was also the teacher of Jean-Louis Barrault ). At 15 his Jewish family was forced to flee their home as France entered the second World War. He later joined Charles De Gaulle 's Free French Army and, because of his excellent English, worked as a liaison officer with Patton's army. He was married three times and has four children. In 1947 he performed for the very first time as BIP, his tragicomic figure with silk dented hat and red flower. In his career he performed all over the world in order to spread the "art of silence" ( L'art du silence ). In 1978 he established his own school in Paris: "École Internationale de Mimodrame de Paris, Marcel Marceau". In 1996 he established the Marceau Foundation to promote mime in the United States. He appeared in several films including the 1968 film Barbarella and appeared as himself to speak the only word ("Non") in the 1976 comedy film, Silent Movie . He wrote and illustrated several books translated in up to 7 languages (eg. the history of BIP) and obtained many honours in France and USA (eg. His last world tour took place covered the United States in 2004 and returned to Europe in 2005.1
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 17842064.
The opening as it stood in 2010 13 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Marcel Marceau (22 March 1923 – 22 September 2007) was an internationally acclaimed French actor and mime most famous for his persona as Bip the Clown.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 371147582.
The opening as it stood in 2015
Marcel Marceau (22 March 1923 – 22 September 2007) was a French actor and mime most famous for his stage persona as "Bip the Clown." He referred to mime as the "art of silence," and he performed professionally worldwide for over 60 years.As a youth, he lived in hiding and worked with the French Resistance during most of World War II, giving his first major performance to 3000 troops after the liberation of Paris in August 1944.Following the war, he studied dramatic art and mime in Paris.In 1959 he established his own pantomime school in Paris, and subsequently set up the Marceau Foundation to promote the art in the U.S.Among his various awards and honours, he was made "Grand Officier de la Légion d'Honneur" (1998) and was awarded the National Order of Merit (1998) in France.He won the Emmy Award for his work on television, was elected member of the Academy of Fine Arts in Berlin, and was declared a "National treasure" in Japan.He was friends with Michael Jackson for nearly 20 years, and Jackson said he would use some of Marceau's techniques in his own dance steps.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 668413409.
The opening as it stood in 2020
French mime and actor Marcel Marceau ( ; born Marcel Mangel ; 22 March 1923 – 22 September 2007) was a French actor and mime artist most famous for his stage persona as "Bip the Clown". He referred to mime as the "art of silence" and he performed professionally worldwide for over 60 years. As a youth, he lived in hiding and worked with the French Resistance during most of World War II, giving his first major performance to 3,000 troops after the liberation of Paris in August 1944. Following the war, he studied dramatic art and mime in Paris. In 1959, he established his own pantomime school in Paris, and subsequently set up the Marceau Foundation to promote the art in the U.S. Among his various awards and honors he was made "Grand Officier de la Légion d'Honneur" (1998) and was awarded the National Order of Merit (1998) in France. He won the Emmy Award for his work on television, was elected member of the Academy of Fine Arts in Berlin and was declared a "National treasure" in Japan. He was friends with Michael Jackson for nearly 20 years and Jackson said he used some of Marceau's techniques in his own dance steps.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 965518511.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 4 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
French mime artist (1923–2007) Marcel Marceau ( ; born Marcel Mangel ; 22 March 1923 – 22 September 2007) was a French mime artist and actor most famous for his stage persona, " Bip the Clown ".He referred to mime as the "art of silence", performing professionally worldwide for more than 60 years. As a Jewish youth, he lived in hiding and worked with the French Resistance during most of World War II , giving his first major performance to 3,000 troops after the liberation of Paris in August. Following the war, he studied dramatic art and mime in Paris. Michael Jackson – La chute de l'ange , Archipel (2009) e-bk."Wallenberg lecture" on YouTube , Wallenberg lecture , 30 April 2001.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1174692174.
The opening as it stood in 2025 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
French mime artist (1923–2007) Marcel Marceau ( French: [maʁsɛl maʁso] ; born Marcel Mangel ; 22 March 1923 – 22 September 2007) was a French mime artist and actor most famous for his stage persona, " Bip the Clown ". He referred to mime as the "art of silence", performing professionally worldwide for more than 60 years. As a Jewish youth, he lived in hiding and worked with the French Resistance during most of World War II , giving his first major performance to 3,000 troops after the liberation of Paris in August 1944. Following the war, he studied dramatic art and mime in Paris. Michael Jackson – La chute de l'ange , Archipel (2009) e-bk.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1292965552. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “well-known mime and among the most popular representatives of this art form world-wide”. Today it says “french mime artist and actor most famous for his stage persona”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “French mime and actor”. It now reads “French mime artist (1923–2007)”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
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2020
Oct '23
2025
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What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2005, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
well-known mime and among the most popular representatives of this art form world-wide
Now
french mime artist and actor most famous for his stage persona
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.