Johannes Crewe, more widely known by his stage name Hans Moretti (24 July 1928 – 13 March 2013) was an

illusionist Magic, which encompasses the subgenres of illusion, stage magic, and close up magic, among others, is a performing art in which audiences are entertained by tricks, effects, or illusions of seemingly impossible feats, using natural means. It ...

and

escapologist Escapology is the practice of escaping from restraints or other traps. Escapologists (also classified as escape artists) escape from handcuffs, straitjackets, cages, coffins, steel boxes, barrels, bags, burning buildings, fish-tanks, and oth ...

Life and career

Born in Beckersdorf, in what was then the Eastern Galician part of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, his family moved to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

after the signing of the

Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact was a non-aggression pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union that enabled those powers to partition Poland between them. The pact was signed in Moscow on 23 August 1939 by German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ri ...

in 1939. He began performing at the age of sixteen, first as a

juggler Juggling is a physical skill, performed by a juggler, involving the manipulation of objects for recreation, entertainment, art or sport. The most recognizable form of juggling is toss juggling. Juggling can be the manipulation of one object ...

before becoming a magician and escapologist. During the course of his career he won many awards, including the Grand Illusions award of the FISM (

Fédération Internationale des Sociétés Magiques The International Federation of Magic Societies (FISM) (Fédération Internationale des Sociétés Magiques) was founded on September 5th,1948 and is one of the most respected organizations in the magic community. It is an international body coor ...

) in 1976 for a routine in which he escaped, unharmed and having changed into a clown costume, from a box through which swords had been thrust by members of the audience, and the Mentalism Award of the FISM in 1979, for a routine in which he played Russian roulette with two loaded revolvers. He was a Member of the Inner Magic Circle with Gold Star, and was appointed to the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

in recognition of his achievements. Often assisted by his wife Helga, he appeared as a guest on '' The Paul Daniels Magic Show'' on numerous occasions during the 1980s, more times than any other performer, and was billed as "Europe's Greatest Illusionist" when performing in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. Throughout his career he broke eighteen world records. He retired in 2006 after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. His wife Helga predeceased him. They had three children: Hans, Peter and Nicole Moretti, all of whom are also professional magicians.

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moretti, Hans 1928 births 2013 deaths German magicians Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Polish emigrants to Germany