Wayne Hoffman
Wayne Hoffman is an American mentalist and illusionist. He has appeared on many international television shows and tours the world with his live show entitled "Mind Candy" and his motivational keynote entitled "The Power and Potential of The Human Mind." He also performs a virtual magic and mind reading show entitled "Distant Deceptions." He appeared on America's Got Talent, season 10 and also appeared in their TV commercial. He appeared on NBC's television show Phenomenon on October 31, 2007. He was a co-host of The A-List on Discovery's Animal Planet. He was also a guest on CNN's television talk show Glenn Beck on March 25, 2008. He appeared as a guest on The Ellen Degeneres Show on April 13, 2009. On May 4, 2012, he appeared in a short movie entitled "Epic School Battle" with Steven Tyler and Kiss He also appeared on CBS's Excused on October 30, 2012. He also appeared on Beverly Hills Pawn on June 12, 2013. Wayne Hoffman was also an expert guest on The Numbers Game on The National geographic Channel on March 31, 2014 Wayne successfully fooled Penn & Teller on their show Fool Us on the CW network on August 31, 2016. He subsequently performed onstage with Penn & Teller at the Rio Hotel and casino on September 25, 2016. Wayne also appeared on the show HARRY, hosted by Harry Connick Jr., on October 13, 2017. He also appeared on Takeshi Kitano's "Unbelieveable" on Japan's TV Asahi in December 2013. He was also a guest on Fuji TV's "Anbiribabo" on March 20, 2014
Early life
Wayne Nicholas Hoffman was born in Reading, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Holy Name High SchoolHis father is Frederick Hoffman, and his mother is Rose Schober. In 1991 Hoffman discovered the Mingus Magic Shop in Reading, Pa and it was there he discovered his passion for the mystery arts. Wayne Hoffman spent his early life visiting the Mingus Magic shop where he studied magic and mentalism. He performed his first paid show at the age of 15 in Reading, Pennsylvania. After graduating from high school he attended Alvernia College. Hoffman's childhood interest in magic and mind reading led him to study psychology. He eventually became a professional magician and began performing regionally and then internationally. He is a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians and a member of the Academy of Magical Arts which opersates The Magic Castle in Hollywood, California.
Career
Hoffman initially focused on traditional magic and illusion before turning his focus to mentalism and psychological entertainment. He performed for various events in the eastern half of the United States before his international success. In the beginning of his career, he performed table-to-table at restaurants in his home town. but he soon began experimenting with mentalism. Throughout high school he would perform for classmates and workers at the school. Later Hoffman began performing for corporations who would pay him to incorporate their sales message into his magic.Hoffman quickly began performing throughout the United States. In 2003 he began touring the United States as part of a college & university tour. In 2006 he furthered his career by performing for Princess Cruise lines where he was nominated as Entertainer of The Year.
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. The producers were impressed with his apparent ability to change traffic lights with his mind. After his exposure on Phenomenon, he began to get phone calls for appearances on other television shows such as, The Glenn Beck Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and more. Shortly after, Hoffman performed his first international show in England. Hoffman later became known as "The Master of Mayhem."
From 2007 onward, he performed with great success in the United States and beyond. He would appear to read minds, influence audience members' thoughts, and perform feats of psychokinesis. He focused much of his attention on death-defying stunts, which added the possibility of death.
For the majority of his career, he performed his act as a headliner. 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 February 2024.
In the news
On November 23, 2011, 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.On November 1, 2011, he was quoted in YFS Magazine.
On October 5, 2012, Hoffman was featured in a story posted on the CNN Money website. The story was about the Top Ten surprising six-figure jobs. The Story was written by Blake Ellis.
On October 5, 2012, Hoffman was featured in Yahoo! Finance in a story originally posted by CNN Money about the Top 10 surprising six-figure jobs.
On October 8, 2012, Hoffman was featured on the AOL homepage in a story originally posted by CNN Money on the Top 10 surprising six-figure jobs.