Frederick Hoffman; Actor, Director and Producer

Frederick Hoffman, 57, actor, director and producer who co-created Charmed Life Productions, specializing in classic theater. A native New Yorker, Hoffman began his career in 1960 as a resident member of the San Francisco Actors Workshop. As an actor and director, he specialized in a dozen Shakespearean plays. He co-founded Charmed Life in San Francisco, assisting with a Shakespeare in the Park Festival in 1961. The company later moved to Altadena, where it presented classic theater for underprivileged youths in the San Gabriel Valley. In the early 1990s, Hoffman’s group won the endorsement of the Altadena Town Council and co-sponsorship from the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation. Hoffman’s film credits included “War of the Roses,” and he appeared in such television series as “MASH,” “Hill Street Blues” and “General Hospital.” Hoffman last acted in his group’s production of the Jean Anouilh drama “Antigone” in 1992. On Sunday in Los Angeles of lung cancer.