Henri Kassagi

Henri Kassagi , actually Abdelmaǧīd al-Qaṣʿaǧī (born September 28, 1932 in Tunis , Tunisia , † June 23, 1997 in Paris , France ) was a Tunisian-French illusionist (magician), author, actor and painter.

Life

Career

Henri Kassagi was born in the Halfaouine district of the Tunisian capital. His exact date of birth is unknown; the official date of birth is the entry in the birth register or notification of the birth to the authorities. His parents' marriage also resulted in a daughter. According to Islamic law, the father expelled his wife, which amounted to a divorce. The son remained in the father's care and the daughter remained with the mother. She remarried and gave birth to more daughters. As a child, Henri was drawn under the spell of magic when he was at a performance by a magician. However, he learned his skills as a pickpocket in the streets of Tunis .

In the early 1950s, he decided to leave Tunisia and go to France to begin a career as a magician. In Robert Bresson's 1959 film Pickpocket , he was hired as a technical consultant and appeared as a pickpocket who trains the protagonist. In the following years he made a name for himself as a magician in France. This was followed by appearances on television, in series, in photo novels by Télépoche, at galas by charity organizers. He also went on a world tour. He was naturalized in the late 1970s and took his stage name - Kassagi - as the official name.

In 1981 the family moved to Tunisia with plans to build an entertainment palace in Hammamet . The name was to be Kassagi-Palace and, in addition to the first casino in Tunisia, was also to house a restaurant, an exhibition gallery, a disco and a theater. The construction was never completed due to disputes between the investors, the bank and the shareholders. From 1981–1991 he worked for renowned hotels in Tunisia. To get his career going again, he decided to return to France, but success never returned and Kassagi had to be content with engagements in cabarets and restaurants.

Private

The son Dominique (* 1956) emerged from the marriage with the French woman Hélène. That marriage ended in divorce a few years later. However, she was not only his wife, but also his assistant on stage. During an engagement in Berlin he met the German Marion König in the late 1960s. In addition to her work as an assistant on stage, she was responsible for public relations , accounting and organization. The marriage was only concluded on February 29, 1980. In the same year the daughter Vanina was born in Thiais . The marriage ended in divorce in the early 1990s. Kassagi died in 1997 of a stroke in his Paris apartment. Henri Kassagi was officially declared dead on June 23, 1997. According to forensic medicine, he died about three weeks before he was found on June 23, 1997. According to the will and arrangements made by his daughter and his second ex-wife, he should be buried in Paris on the Cimetière du Père Lachaise . This did not happen, however, as the Tunisian family turned to the son from their first marriage and to the Tunisian embassy in Paris. The body was then transferred to Tunisia and found its final resting place in the al-jallaz cemetery.

Filmography

1959: Pickpocket
1995: Commissioner Navarro , French series: (7th season: 3rd episode - Coup bas).

Works

1965: Devenez magicien
1965: "Un pickpocket à l'école" in Les Temps Modernes , no. 233
1973: La magie pour tous

Play box

unknown: Magic 2000

Web links

personal data
SURNAME	Kassagi, Henri
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Abdelmaǧīd al-Qaṣʿaǧī (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Tunisian-French illusionist (magician), book author, actor and painter
DATE OF BIRTH	September 28, 1932
PLACE OF BIRTH	Tunis , Tunisia
DATE OF DEATH	June 23, 1997
Place of death	Paris , France