Dave Elman was born David Kopelman in Park River, North Dakota on May 6th, 1900.

Growing up in Fargo, North Dakota, Dave became interested in hypnosis at a young age after witnessing its powerful effects on his ailing father. Stricken ill with cancer, Dave’s father Jake was able to play with his children again after a hypnosis pain reduction session by a hypnotist. That experience left Dave with a lifelong fascination with the art of hypnosis and it’s use for medical and health issues. He spent his teens learning as much about hypnotism as he possibly could, and he quickly became able to induce trances in his friends and neighbors.

In 1922, Dave began to perform in the Vaudeville circuit as a comedian, musician and Stage Hypnotist, and was known as “The World’s Youngest and Fastest Hypnotist”. Dave specialized in rapid hypnosis, and the speed of his inductions astounded audiences around the country, as he was often able to achieve a full trance in less than a minute. About this time he began to use Dave Elman as his stage name in order to fit his name on marquees and advertising when he performed. His name was legally changed many years later.