Penn & Teller On Tour
Not exactly comedians but more than just magicians, Penn & Teller bring a quirky combination of laughs and illusions to every performance. You're ready to laugh before they even trot out their tricks, with the big, brash Penn Jillette towering over his staid, unspeaking partner Teller. And once they dip into the bag of tricks they've been perfecting since the 1970s, you're simultaneously dazzled and delighted. Whether they're working with things like magic bullets, nail guns, and straitjackets, or just employing a seemingly ordinary deck of cards to demonstrate some sleight of hand, the duo can make you doubt your own senses as they appear to make the impossible happen right before your eyes. Sometimes they toss a touch of danger into the mix, and sometimes they simply play the whole thing for laughs, but whatever illusion they're unveiling, Penn & Teller can always pull it off.
Penn & Teller Background
America's most famous magic/comedy duo actually started out as a trio in the '70s, but when third member Weir Chrisemer left in 1981, Penn Jillette and Raymond Teller (who has always gone by just his surname) continued on together, and it was then that their star began to rise. With TV appearances on such shows as Late Night With David Letterman and Saturday Night Live, a series of Broadway shows, and their own Emmy-winning special on PBS, Penn & Teller carved out a niche in show business and became household names in the process. In the years that followed, they became TV personalities in their own right, first with a Showtime series and then with Fool Us on the CW. They've earned their own star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame. They've appeared in music videos by Run-DMC and Katy Perry. They've established a record-breaking residency in Las Vegas. And throughout all of these accomplishments, Penn & Teller have shown that a big, loud guy and a small, silent guy can make people gasp and guffaw at the same time.