Lew Hoffman, American hat juggler toured Australia and New Zealand for eight months in the early years of World War 1.
Lew was Russian and born in 1888 to Israel and Hannah Hoffman. The family, including at least one sister, arrived in the United States via New York from England in 1893 when Lew was 5. He remained an ‘alien’ according to US authorities until he applied for naturalisation in 1937. It seems the family may have been one of many who fled Russia after the assassination of Tsar Alexander and the subsequent pogroms against the Jewish population, as Lew listed his 'race' as Hebrew when he returned to the United States from Australia in 1916.
In 1915, Australian theatre manager, Ben Fuller, visited the United States searching for talent for his Australasian vaudeville circuit, known as Fullers. He saw Lew perform during this visit and invited him to tour. Lew accepted, and when he arrived in New Zealand in August 1915, he was a 5 foot 10 inch, 28 year old professional hat juggler with brown hair and brown eyes.
Lew began his tour in New Zealand and stayed there between August and September 1915. The critics called him ‘an expert manipulator of the most awkward articles from a jugglers point of view’ and described his work as ‘neat and sure’.
In October Lew travelled to Sydney. In a brief interview after his arrival he stated that he had worked in a hat factory as a youth, which may have explained his affinity for the prop. He also complained about the difficulty in getting hats repaired. He explained that they needed stiff brims and that his ‘bouncing’ of the hats damaged them so they were no longer usable. Presumably a milliner in Sydney quickly resolved his problem.
Lew was primarily a hat juggler and advertised as ‘The American hat maniac’. He dressed as a tramp complete with ‘grotesque makeup’ and juggled bell top hats and rubber balls in a totally silent act. In Australia he juggled 5 hats and bounce juggled 4 balls. His hats were of different shapes and sizes and he built the tension by firstly manipulating 2 hats and reaching a climatic finish when he whirled 5 hats around his body. He relied on comedic pantomime to engage the audience.
Hoffman’s turn was very well liked in Australia. He received ovations in Western Australia and was compared to W C Fields in skill and comic ability. His costume certainly resembled that of Fields who had toured Australia in 1914. Hat juggling was not common in Australia at the time so Lew's tricks were original and new to many audiences. Unusually for a Fuller’s performer his pictures were featured in many major, non trade, publications during the tour. This indicated that he was a well liked professional.
He remained in Australia until May 1916 and appeared in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Melbourne. Upon leaving Sydney he returned to his sister’s house in Philadelphia where he continued a successful career as a juggler.
