Hans Kazàn — born Hans Mulders in The Hague on 25 March 1953 — is the television magician who made generations of Dutch people dream. From prize-winner at the world championship to a familiar face on Dutch television: few magicians have been so beloved by the general public.
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A name built from tribute
Kazàn became interested in magic as a child when a maternity nurse in Nijmegen taught him a trick with matches; at the age of nine he received a magic box from Sinterklaas. When he joined a magic club, he had to provide a stage name.
He composed that name with care: the 'Ka' comes from Fred Kaps, the 'zan' from the Italian magician Remo Inzani, and he added the accent on the second a so it would not resemble a dog's name. He eventually changed his surname officially to Kazàn.
Breakthrough and television fame
At the world championship of magic in Paris in 1973, Kazàn took third prize in the illusionism category. From 1978 he became a familiar face on Dutch television, first as a magician on Ren je Rot and later as host of De Blufshow.
His segment 'Goochel mee met Hans Kazàn' was so popular in the mid-1980s that it even caused resentment among fellow magicians. In the early 1990s he was quizmaster on Prijzenslag and hosted his own magic shows; after the turn of the century he continued with Magic Unlimited, made up of his sons Oscar and Renzo and daughter-in-law Mara.
A family of artists
Magic runs deep in the Kazàn family: his son Steven is also active in the field, though as a comedian. Hans Kazàn still performs in theatres and at festivals — from the Zwarte Cross to Lowlands in 2019 — and is also much in demand as a chairman and speaker.
Not every venture succeeded: in 2006 he opened the Magic Palace in Torremolinos, Spain, but it closed again in early 2007 when the main investor withdrew. He has lived with his wife in Marbella since 1999.
Recognition for a life's work
In 2021 Kazàn was awarded the Fred Kaps Ring, a tribute named after the very magician whose name he once wove into his own. To mark his fiftieth anniversary as a performer, he was appointed Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau on 26 March 2023.
That same year his biography, written by Michel van Zeist, was published. All of this confirms Hans Kazàn as one of the most influential ambassadors Dutch magic has ever had on television.
Hans Kazàn brought magic into Dutch living rooms and made the craft beloved by millions. That warm connection with the audience is also central to the work of Sudesh Roman.