Otto Šimánek

Otto Šimánek April 28 1925 Třešť May 8 1992 Prague was a Czech mime film and theater actor He has starred in a number of comedies and several fairy tales Probably his most famous role was the title role in the series Pan Tau He trained as an electrician at Tesla in Prague and has so far played the theater only amateuristically He later got to the Theater on May 5 and also traveled for a few months at the Theater under the Placht of Jindřich Plachta He gained acting experience in various theaters He worked in theaters in Zlín Ostrava and finally in 1958 he was engaged in the Municipal Theaters of Prague where he lasted until 1990 He played a number of large roles on the stage The character of the clown Jean Debureau remains unforgettable for the audience in the dramatization of Kožíks novel The Greatest of the Pierots where he could fully use his love for pantomime Acting in the Prague theater also meant an opportunity to win film and television roles He mainly played smaller roles in about forty films The most famous is probably the role from the movie Ill Get Up Tomorrow and Bake My Tea His character Mr Tau entered the European and to some extent world film consciousness in the coproduction series of the same name by director Jindřich Polák and screenwriter Ota Hofman He also taught pantomime at the Prague Conservatory and DAMU Among his students was among others the actor Petr Čepek On the site of the pharmacy where Otto Šimánek was born an ash statue was installed in 2011 depicting an actor in the role of Mr Tau with a typical hand movement near his hat The author is Daniel Stejskal