Michael Jackson and Marcel Marceau

When France's renowned mime Marcel Marceau died, many fans remembered his close connection with Michael Jackson, a Marceau admirer, even erroneously attributing the King of Pop's signature Moonwalk dance step to the mime's influence.

Jackson shared how much in awe he was of the performer, how "he would defy the laws of gravity." The two developed a friendship over the last several decades.

However, while he "learned a lot" from Marceau, Jackson said that his Moonwalk step, popularized in 1983, was instead inspired by "watching the great rhythmic, wonderful Black children dance around the world."

Nevertheless, Marceau was one of his inspirations, Jackson said: "He was a great guy. I used to go see Marcel Marceau all of the time, before Off The Wall," he said, with a smile. "I used to sneak in and sit in the audience and watch how he would defy the laws of gravity, like he was stepping on air."

Jackson said that he would later use some of the mime's magical movements in his own dance routines. "I would take some of those things and include it into rhythm and dance when I moved," he said.
Marceau died in the southwestern France town of Cahors on Sept. 22. He had retired from the stage in 2005.

There was a mutual admiration between Michael Jackson and Marcel Marceau though. In his lifetime, Marceau said of Michael Jackson that he was a born mime artist, which was also what he'd said of Charlie Chaplin, because of his easy physical movement, his ability to decompose movements, his understanding. Marceau was definitely impressed by Michael Jackson.