Primarily known for his stage work, some out there might remember him from a brief educational TV show called "What's New." Aimed at kids, and loaded up with fairly dry informational segments, the program was livened by mime moments from..."The Quiet Man."
Yes, he appeared as you see him above, in the traditional mime variation of "clown white," a mask that helped him create so many vivid characters and portray so many emotions.
"The Quiet Man."
That's how Bernie Bragg was billed. He had appeared in some of the hipper coffee houses doing some mime at the time. Some had no idea HOW quiet he was. He was born deaf.
Bernard Bragg died yesterday (September 27, 1928 – October 29, 2018). I wish I could've let him know how much I enjoyed his book, "Lessons in Laughter," which I only caught up with a few months ago. Let a few other people tell you what a great book it is:
"Astonishing! An unexpected insight into one of the most talented performers - deaf or hearing." MARLEE MATLIN.
"Bernard Bragg is my talented wonderful friend and colelague. I am thrilled that his storytelling now lives in print."
"Lessons in Laughter is tres interessant. I encourage everyone to read it." MARCEL MARCEAU.
Like my friend Marcel Marceau, Bernard Bragg was Jewish. His struggles with both his deafness and his Jewish identity, as portrayed in the book, are "tres interessant" indeed. The book moves on to explore his vast career, which really kicked off when Marceau invited the young actor to come to Paris and study with him. Bragg and Marceau may have worn "whiteface" but were comfortable working without it. While, rather justly, mimes have gotten a bad reputation for being very annoying, it's only because they lack the art of the masters. They rely almost completely on "whiteface," and on the cliche of face-making and very basic and stupid actions that kids can follow but don't really want to.
The "art" of mime looks easy, but it isn't. Only the great masters could do it...Keaton and Chaplin, and later Red Skelton and Jerry Lewis, and the most artistic and acclaimed stage performers Bragg and Marceau. I once sat in on a class taught by Marceau. There were about 20 or 25 students standing in front of the master, and he lectured them on...how to hold an imaginary tea cup! You would think this would take a minute. No, it was a very intense ten minutes, at least, as the master showed what to do, how to do it, the wrong ways to do it...and then he repeated as he watched the class try to imitate what he'd done. Holding the tea cup even included the right stance for the legs! He was VERY serious about all of it.
Bernie Bragg, who settled on the West Coast, can be seen on several YouTube videos amusing his friends at parties. He always had a smile on his face, and he seemed quite able to communicate via lip-reading as well as sign language. With his masterful and expressive talent, he, like Marceau, found receptive audiences all over the world. Language was no barrier. He appeared in solo shows, as well as in plays that could be adapted for his talents. It is unfortunate that stage stars are not as well known as the ones who appear more often on film or TV, but anyone who saw him on stage, or has gotten a glimpse of him via the surviving video footage, is fortunate indeed. We sometimes find a performer who can incorporate great flexibility of form (Dick Van Dyke) or face (Jim Carrey), but these are getting harder and harder to find.
Like Bach and Beethoven, Marceau and Bernard Bragg set a high standard, created limitless work in a limited form, and have left a legacy that makes them so CLASSIC, there is no competition.
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