Hans Kazàn was appointed knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau on Sunday. The seventy-year-old illusionist celebrates his fiftieth birthday in the profession with the ribbon. But why has the jolly magician been so important to the profession?
Er waren grote woorden voor Kazàn, toen burgemeester Koos Janssen van Zeist hem zondagmiddag zijn koninklijke onderscheiding opspeldde.
De burgervader prees hem om zijn “belangrijke bijdrage aan de waardering van goochelen als volwaardige kunstvorm”. “Hij heeft het vak aanzien gegeven. En daarmee het voortbestaan van de goochelkunst in Nederland gewaarborgd”, voegde Janssen eraan toe.
Toen de illusionist eind 2021 de Fred Kaps Ring kreeg, werden ook al zulke grote woorden gebruikt. De International Brotherhood of Magicians reikt deze prijs op onregelmatige basis uit. De award gaat naar mensen die een belangrijke betekenis voor het goochelaarsvak hebben gehad.
Ren Je Rot was zijn grote doorbraak
Kazàn draagt al een halve eeuw op een enthousiaste, positieve manier de liefde voor het vak uit, vooral naar jongeren. Zelf werd hij op zijn negende bevangen door het goochelvirus. Dat gebeurde toen hij van Sinterklaas zijn eerste goocheldoos kreeg. Vanaf dat moment besteedde Kazàn al zijn vrije tijd aan de wondere wereld die hij had ontdekt.
Zijn grote doorbraak volgde in 1973, toen hij op het wereldkampioenschap in Parijs de derde prijs won in de categorie illusionisme. Deze winst leidde tot een vast item in het populaire jeugdprogramma Ren Je Rot. Door zijn aanstekelijke enthousiasme wist Kazàn zijn liefde voor het vak met honderdduizenden jongeren te delen.
Onder zijn fans bevonden zich onder anderen Hans Klok en Victor Mids. Ze namen zich allebei voor minstens net zo ver in het vak te komen als hun grote voorbeeld.
Many people know him from Pricing Battle
When Run Your Rot stopped, Kazàn got his own program at the TROS: the Blufshow. In addition, he made various theater shows and often performed at festivals such as Zwarte Cross and Lowlands. In addition, Kazàn helped many charities: over the years he was an ambassador for the Kind & Brandwond Foundation, the Magic Care Foundation and the Princess Beatrix Spierfonds.
Last year, the illusionist distributed a thousand magic boxes to Ukrainian refugee children to “distract them, help them relax and give them some positive energy”.
His three sons also found their way in the business
In 1990 he switched from TROS to RTL, where he made almost nine hundred episodes of the quiz Price battle presented. In the Dutch verse of the American viewing chart, people had to guess the prices of products.
The program further contributed to its popularity. The public came to Hilversum in full buses to participate. “It was fun and simple, it was always a joy to make,” Kazàn recently told the podcast That’s what you stayed home for!. “Now if someone would say ‘we’re going to play a few more episodes with you’, I’ll get right to it. Even if they never air.”
His love for magic also proved to be contagious within Kazàn’s own family: all three sons found their own way in the profession over the years. Oscar and Renzo Kazàn formed illusionist trio Magic Unlimited with their business partner Maartje van Olst for almost thirty years. They performed at home and abroad until they decided to stop at the beginning of 2023. Not only Magic Unlimited, but also Kazàn’s third son Steven performed several times in Las Vegas.
‘Doctors are more important than magicians’
In addition to his enthusiasm, father Kazàn also stands out for his modesty. Especially in recent years, after his operation on a damaged artery, he regularly emphasized that there are more important things in life than entertainment.
“The real wonders in the world are nature and medical science,” he told the program in October 2021 With an eye to tomorrow. “Magic and illusionism are entertainment. Also very important, but other things are much more important.”
Kazàn also noted in that conversation that the magic profession has barely changed in the past half century. “Times change, but the people remain the same and so do the tricks.” He takes it easy these days and focuses more on the presentation of events than on the big magic shows. “Although I always have to do at least two tricks. People feel cheated when they see Hans Kazàn and there is no magic.”
