I think the Theramin was first brought to widespread prominence in the West by Alfred Hitchcock in the soundtrack to Spellbound in the 1940s, when he wanted a sound to represent mental turmoil. It was then used in about every B science fiction movie of the 50s to represent the aliens... and even survived into the 60s on some pop records. The concept has been tried many times with varying technologies and success, the latest copy of the control idea maybe the D beam on Rolands.