mime as a theatrical medium or as a performance art, involving miming, or the acting out a story through body motions, without use of speech. In earlier times, in English, such a performer would typically be referred to as a mummer. Miming is to be distinguished from silent comedy, in which the artist is a seamless character in a film or sketch.
The performance of pantomime originates at its earliest in Ancient Greece; the name is taken from a single masked dancer called Pantomimus, although performances were not necessarily silent. In Medieval Europe, early forms of mime such as mummer plays and later dumbshows evolved. In early nineteenth century Paris, Jean-Gaspard Deburau solidified the many attributes that we have come to know in modern times
Yes, people do do miming for a living e.g in Circular Key and near waters edge or anywhere...
Words are used. They're just printed on cards and edited into the film between scenes. Music was also used to convey mood. Most silents were accompanied by live music. The quality of the live music varied by how large a theater market was.