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| Wayne Hoffman | |
|---|---|
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| Born | Reading, Pennsylvania |
| Occupation | Mentalist, Magician, Illusionist |
Wayne Hoffman (born November 20, 1981) is an American mentalist, illusionist, and motivational speaker. He appeared on NBC's television show Phenomenon on October 31, 2007.[1] He also appeared on The Howard Stern Show on April 30, 2008. He was a host of The A List on Discovery's Animal Planet. He was also a guest on CNN's television talk show Glenn Beck[2] on March 25, 2008. He appeared as a guest on The Ellen Degeneres Show[3] on April 13, 2009.
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[edit] Early life
Wayne Nicholas Hoffman was born in Reading, Pennsylvania. He attended Cabrini Academy from grades two through eight. He later attended Holy Name High School[1] where he graduated with honors.
His father is Fred Hoffman (born 1936), and his mother is Rose Schober (born 1948). Friends called him "Magic Man". He performed his first show at the age of 15 in Reading, Pennsylvania. Hoffman moved around a lot as a child, as he was raised by his single mother. In 1989, he and his mother moved to Shillington, Pennsylvania. It is there that he found the Mingus Magic Shop, where he discovered his passion for "the mystery arts".[1] After graduating from high school he attended Alvernia College (now Alvernia University).[1] As a child, Hoffman's interest in magic and mind-reading led him to study psychology. He became a professional magician and began calling himself "Waydini" because he was heavily influenced by the magic shop owner Wayne Shifflet who also called himself "Waydini".[citation needed] In later life, Hoffman chose to use his birth name as a "down-to-earth" approach to his life as an entertainer.
[edit] Career
Initially, Hoffman's career resulted in average success. Initially focused on traditional card tricks, he performed for churches and museums, and even private birthday parties. At one point, he performed table-to-table at restaurants in his home town. But he soon began experimenting with mentalism. In 2001, while attending Alverina College[1] He met John Gallagher, who ran the student activities board for the school. Gallagher connected Hoffman to a talent booker. This was a catalyst for Hoffman's career.
Hoffman quickly began performing throughout Pennsylvania, and eventually the east coast. In 2003 he began performing nationally after a start in the collegiate market. In 2006 he furthered his career by performing for Princess Cruise lines.[citation needed]
Hoffman's "big break" came in 2007 when he was contacted by NBC. Impressed by his mentalism act, NBC asked him to participate in their television show Phenomenon.[1] Within months, he was performing at the top theaters in the US. After his exposure on Phenomenon, he began to get phone calls for appearances on other television shows such as, The Howard Stern Show, The Glenn Beck Show, The Ellen Degeneres Show, and more. Shortly after, Hoffman performed his first international show in England.
Hoffman was a sensation in Europe, where he became widely known as "The Master of Mayhem".[citation needed] He toured England, Scotland, the Netherlands, Germany, France, and Russia. In each city, he would challenge local newspaper reporters to allow him to read their minds. In many of these challenges, he would be able to identify their thoughts over the phone and read their minds in their native languages. In Moscow, he claimed to read the mind of a local politician and was nearly arrested. With his new-found wealth and success, he purchased a Ferrari which he later sold because it was "too pretentious".[citation needed] In August 2009 he purchased a home for his mother. Hoffman said it was the happiest day of his life.[citation needed]
From 2007 onward, he performed with great success in the United States. He would appear to read minds, influence audience members' thoughts, and perform feats of psychokinesis. Because of controversy started from his appearance on The Howard Stern Show[4] he began performing demonstrations that have no apparent explanation. He focused much of his attention on death-defying stunts which added the possibility of failure and death. Hoffman also expanded his act into the mainstream media—in 2009 he challenged Donald Trump to allow him to wager $1 million on one hand of blackjack in one of Trump's casinos.
Hoffman explained one of his tricks in a DVD named "Getting Numbers" in which he describes a method for reading someone's mind to obtain their phone number. For the majority of his career, he performed his act as a headliner. For many years, he was the highest-paid mentalist working in the cruise ship industry.[citation needed] One of his most notable mentalism feats was performed on Phenomenon (TV series), where he influenced former Miss USA Shandi Finnessey to draw a yin-yang symbol which he had tattooed on his arm one month prior. In 2006 he established Hoffman Entertainment which provides talent management. The business is still in operation as of January 2010. He also served as Sergeant at Arms of the Society of American Magicians (aka S.A.M.) ring number 57 from 2001 until 2008. As of August 2010 Wayne tours with his two shows "Mind Candy" and "Phenomenon".
[edit] Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | APCA Awards | Novelty Artist of the Year | Won | n/a |
| 2008 | Campus Activities Magazine Awards | Best Live Novelty Artist | Nominated | n/a |
| 2009 | Campus Activities Magazine Awards | Entertainer of the Year | Nominated | n/a |
| 2009 | Campus Activities Magazine Awards | Best Male Performer | Nominated | n/a |
| 2009 | Campus Activities Magazine Awards | Best Live Novelty Artist | Nominated | Second Nomination |
| 2010 | Campus Activities Magazine Awards | Entertainer of the Year | Nominated | Second Nomination |
| 2011 | CNN Money Top Ten | CNN Top Ten Cool Companies | Won | CNNmoney.com |
[edit] In The News
On November 23rd, 2011 Wayne Hoffman was featured in a story for CNN Money where he was featured in their story "Cool Companies". The story highlighted 12 "cool and profitable companies." The story was written by Kitt Walsh. Here is a link to the story: http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2011/smallbusiness/1111/gallery.cool_companies/5.html
[edit] Near death experience
On January 30, 2008 Hoffman and his father were on a flight returning from Wayne's tour of the Caribbean. On the flight from San Juan, Puerto Rico the plane's cockpit caught on fire.[9] Wayne recounted his ordeal in his blog, stating that it was the scariest moment of his life. It was later discovered that a fuse in the window's heater blew causing an electrical fire. The plane made an emergency landing at Palm Beach International Airport 90 minutes after the plane's cabin filled with smoke. 7 people were sent to the hospital including the captain and the co-pilot. The co-pilot was treated for cuts he sustained to his face when the plane's windshield shattered.[10]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=65133
- ^ http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0803/25/gb.01.html
- ^ http://ellen.warnerbros.com/
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2797105/
- ^ http://issuu.com/cameo_publishing/docs/cam_jan_09
- ^ http://www.apca.com/national_photos.php
- ^ http://colemanproductions.com/
- ^ http://ilovehoffman.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5&Itemid=9
- ^ http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=78538
- ^ http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/01/31/national/main3774266.shtml
