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. The Westdeutsche Rundfunk (WDR) is a public broadcaster in the German Bundesland North Rhine-Westphalia with its main office is in Köln. ...

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 cunjure up miscellaneous objects or to do another 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. The bowler hat is a hard felt hat with a rounded crown created for Thomas Coke, 2nd Earl of Leicester of Holkham, in 1850. ... A baby grand piano, with the lid up. ...

He was also featured in Nena's music video for Du Bist Ueberall. Nena (born March 24, 1960 in Hagen, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a German singer who became famous with the German New Wave song 99 Luftballons (99 Red Balloons). With the re-release of her own hits, Nenas career experience saw a second wind in the year 2002. ...

Pan Tau