Pan Tau
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pan Tau is a character created for a children's television series. 33 episodes were made in Czechoslovakia in cooperation with German TV network WDR from 1967 on. The project ended with a feature film in 1988. Pan Tau, who generally didn't speak, was played by Otto Šimánek (born 1925, died 1992 in Prague). The series was written by Ota Hofman and directed by Jindřich Polák.
Pan Tau was famous for his magic bowler hat. By tapping on his hat, Pan Tau was able to change his appearance into a puppet, to conjure up miscellaneous objects or to do other magic. His most characteristical behaviour is that he would help children who were experiencing some sort of difficulty, like finding a place for skiing, settling family problems on Christmas, and even give a boy a good time at a fair when he is supposed to have piano lessons.
He was also featured in Nena's music video for Du Bist Überall ("You Are Everywhere").
