Samuel Hoffman

Samuel J. Hoffman (July 23, 1903 in New York City – December 6, 1967 in Los Angeles) was a notable thereminist.

At age 14, began playing the violin professionally in New York City. Under the stage name Hal Hope, he led nightclub and society bands. By 1936, he had taken up the theremin and begun featuring it in publicity for his engagements.

In 1941, Hoffman moved to Los Angeles, where he established a medical practice and had little time for musical activity. But as the only theremin player in Local 47 of the Musicians Union, he got the call in 1945 when composer Miklos Rozsa decided he wanted to use a theremin in the score to Spellbound. Hoffman began performing under his real name; he was customarily referred to as "Doctor" because he was also a podiatrist. In the wake of the film's success, he was asked to play on many more soundtracks; for instance, The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). He was in demand for horror movie and sci fi soundtracks through the end of the 1950s.

In the late 1940s, he recorded three 10” studio albums with bandleaders Les Baxter and Billy May. These were forerunners to exotica; they also influenced Sun Ra, who recorded a composition from Perfume Set to Music on his first LP, Jazz by Sun Ra. One of Hoffman's last recordings, made in 1967, was Safe as Milk by Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band, where he appeared on two tracks.

Post mortem, Samuel Hoffman's original RCA Theremin was bought from Hoffman's family by Peter Pringle, as he stated in many of his videos in which he plays the instrument.