Penn Jillette

American magician and raconteur, the larger, louder member of Penn and Teller, a popular Las Vegas illusion and comedy act. He is known for his sardonic humor and outspoken libertarian, rationalist views as much as his sleight of hand. In fact, he has made career of exposing both magical techniques and beliefs he considers hokum. Jillette has co-written several books, co-hosts a series on Showtime, and has appeared frequently on television and in films (often as himself). He also co-produced and co-directed the documentary “The Aristocrats.”

Jillette became fascinated with magic after seeing, at 18, a performance by the professional magician and hoax-exposer James Randi. After attending the Ringfield Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Clown College and learning juggling and sleight-of-hand techniques, he met Raymond Joseph Teller in 1975. They formed, with Teller’s friend Weir Chrisemer, an act called Asparagus Valley Cultural Society, which performed in San Francisco; Chrisemer eventually left the group. The remaining partners, who officially became Penn and Teller in 1981, got their first big break in 1985 when PBS broadcast their off-Broadway show “Penn and Teller Go Public.”

Jillette’s film debut was throwing a knife for the opening credits of the 1979 street gang movie “The Warriors,” though only the knife and not his face made it on screen. Teller has since become a well-known presence on television, appearing such shows as “Miami Vice,” “Friends,” “Fear Factor,” “Hollywood Squares,” “The West Wing,” and “The Drew Carey Show.” In the 1990s he was the main on-air voice for Comedy Central. In 1987, Penn and Teller opened their first of two Broadway shows, and in the 1990s they began touring nationally. In 1989, Penn and Teller made the first of their more than twenty appearances on “Late Night with David Letterman”; this was the same year as the publication of their first book and movie together, “Penn & Teller’s Cruel Tricks for Dear Friends.