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Penn & Teller facts for kids
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Penn & Teller
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Penn Jillette (left) and Teller (right) in 2012
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| Born |
Penn Fraser Jillette
March 5, 1955 Raymond Joseph Teller February 14, 1948 |
| Occupation | Magicians, entertainers |
| Years active | 1975–present |
| Known for | Magic, comedy, skepticism |
Penn & Teller are an American magic duo, made up of Penn Jillette and Teller. They have been performing together since the late 1970s. They are famous for mixing comedy with their amazing magic tricks.
This duo has been on many stage and TV shows, like Penn & Teller: Fool Us. They currently perform in Las Vegas at The Rio. They are the longest-running headliners (main performers) to stay at the same hotel in Las Vegas history! Penn Jillette is the one who talks and tells stories during their shows. Teller usually doesn't speak when performing. Instead, he uses mime (acting without words) and body language. However, you might hear his voice sometimes during their live shows and TV appearances.
Contents
How Did Penn & Teller Start?
Penn and Teller met through a friend named Wier Chrisemer. Their very first show together was at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival on August 19, 1975.
From the late 1970s to 1981, Penn, Teller, and Chrisemer performed as a group called "The Asparagus Valley Cultural Society." They played in Philadelphia and San Francisco. Chrisemer helped create some tricks that they still use today, like Teller's "Shadows" trick with a single red rose. The group stopped performing in 1981 when Chrisemer left show business. After that, Penn Jillette and Teller continued as a duo.
By 1985, Penn & Teller were getting great reviews for their show Penn & Teller Go Public. This show also won an Emmy Award! In 1987, they started their first of three runs on Broadway. That same year, they appeared in the music video for "It's Tricky" by Run-DMC. They played three-card Monte scam artists.
Throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, the duo appeared on many TV shows. These included Late Night with David Letterman, Saturday Night Live, and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
What TV Shows Have They Been On?
Penn & Teller went on national tours in the 1990s and were highly praised. They also made guest appearances on many TV shows. Some of these include Babylon 5, The Drew Carey Show, and Hollywood Squares. They were also on Muppets Tonight, The Bernie Mac Show, and Fear Factor.
They appeared in two episodes of The Simpsons and the Futurama film Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder. In 2009, they were in Katy Perry's music video for "Waking Up in Vegas". In the video, Katy Perry throws them out of a hotel room!
Since 2010, Penn & Teller have hosted Penn & Teller: Fool Us. This show started on ITV in the UK and moved to The CW in the US in 2015. On this show, other magicians perform tricks, and Penn & Teller try to figure out how they did them. If they can't, the magician wins a trip to Las Vegas to perform with them.
In early 2022, Penn and Teller competed on The Masked Singer as "Hydra." Their costume was very large and had three legs, so it had to be wheeled onto the stage. Penn operated the left side of "Hydra" and Teller operated the right side. They were eliminated on April 6. It was revealed that Teller used a puppet of a rabbit in a hat to make the central head of "Hydra" move! Teller did most of the singing because people rarely hear his voice.
Their Famous Magic Tricks
Penn & Teller perform their own version of the famous bullet catch illusion. In this trick, each of them fires a gun at the other through small pieces of glass. Then, they "catch" the other person's bullet in their mouth!
They also have many card tricks. They often use the Three of Clubs because it's easy for TV cameras to show.
In one of their tricks, they make an American flag seem to disappear. They wrap it in a copy of the United States Bill of Rights and appear to set the flag on fire. The idea is that "the flag is gone but the Bill of Rights remains." They usually end the trick by bringing the flag back unharmed. They even showed how this trick is done on an episode of Fool Us.
Another trick involves a nail gun. Penn fires several real nails into a board. Then, he fires the nail gun into his own hand several times without getting hurt! Near the end of the trick, he explains that it's a trick and that they believe it's wrong to do truly dangerous things on stage.
A trick they introduced in 2010 is a modern version of the bag escape. Teller is placed in a black trash bag that is filled with helium and sealed by an audience member. The audience is then blinded by a bright light for a second. When they can see again, Teller has escaped from the bag, and Penn is holding the still-full helium bag above his head!
They even did a trick on The Tonight Show that involved everyone in the audience. Each person received four cards, tore them, and mixed them up. Even though everyone made their own choices, everyone ended up with two halves of the same card!
Their Friendship Off Stage
Penn & Teller at a ceremony to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in April 2013.
Penn Jillette has said that he and Teller don't have many shared hobbies outside of magic. However, he says Teller is his best friend, and his children treat Teller like a close family member. Penn explained that while many famous partnerships are based on strong affection, their friendship and business relationship are built on mutual respect. Teller has said similar things. He mentioned that their disagreements often lead to better ideas because they bring out new thoughts.
Awards and Recognition
On April 5, 2013, Penn & Teller received the 2,494th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. This was for their achievements in Live Performance. Their star is close to the star of Harry Houdini, a very famous magician.
However, they were not allowed to join The Magic Circle, a famous magic organization. This is because they sometimes reveal how magic tricks are done during their shows.
They were also nominated for a BAFTA Award in 2014 for their documentary Tim's Vermeer. In 2020, they were nominated for an Olivier Award for their work on the play Magic Goes Wrong.
Books and Other Projects
Penn & Teller have written several books about magic. These include Penn & Teller's Cruel Tricks For Dear Friends, Penn & Teller's How to Play with Your Food, and Penn & Teller's How to Play in Traffic.
Penn Jillette also hosted a radio talk show and a game show called Identity on NBC.
Their TV series Penn & Teller Tell a Lie started on the Discovery Channel in 2011.
Penn & Teller give credit to magician and skeptical activist James Randi for helping their careers. Penn said that Randi's book Flim-Flam! was a big influence on him. He stated, "If not for Randi there would not be Penn & Teller as we are today."
Video Games
The 1995 video game Penn & Teller's Smoke and Mirrors included a mini-game called Desert Bus. In this game, players drive a bus route between Tucson and Las Vegas. Once they reach the destination, they get one point and can drive back. The game was known for being very long and boring, but it gained a cult following.
Penn and Teller created these games as a collection of tricks and pranks. Penn stated that Desert Bus was a joke about the arguments over violent video games at the time. It was meant to be a simulator "stupefyingly like reality."
The game has since been used in a yearly charity event called "Desert Bus for Hope." This event is run by the Canadian internet comedy group LoadingReadyRun. They play the game live online, interview celebrities, and take challenges from the audience. All the money raised goes to Child's Play, a charity that provides toys and games to children in hospitals. An iOS version of Desert Bus was released in 2011, and all profits from it also go to charity.
Images for kids
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Penn Jillette (left) and Teller (right) in 2012
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Penn & Teller in 1988, at the 40th Emmy Awards
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Penn & Teller at a ceremony to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in April 2013.
See also
In Spanish: Penn y Teller para niños