When France’s renowned mime Marcel Marceau died last month at age 84, many fans remembered his close connection with Michael Jackson, a Marceau admirer, even erroneously attributing The King of Pop’s signature Moonwalk dance to the mime’s influence.

In a Jet exclusive interview, 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 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 inspirators, Jackson said in his first magazine interview in nearly a decade “He was a great guy. I used to go and see Marcel Marceau all the time, before Off The Wall,” Jackson 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 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.

Source: Jet Magazine