Penn and Teller

Penn and Teller are a two-man magic and comedy team, specializing in gory tricks (in which the mechanisms of the illusions are fully revealed) and clever pranks, who have become associated with Las Vegas, skepticism and libertarianism. They call themselves ?a couple of eccentric guys who have learned how to do a few cool things.? http://www.pennandteller.com/03/coolstuff/bio.html

The duo

By 1985, Penn & Teller were receiving rave reviews for their Off Broadway show and Emmy award-winning PBS special, Penn & Teller Go Public. In 1987, they began the first of two successful Broadway runs. Through the late 1980s and early 1990s, the pair made numerous television appearances on Late Night with David Letterman and Saturday Night Live, as well as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The Today Show, and many others.

Related Topics:
1985 - Off Broadway - Emmy - PBS - 1987 - Broadway - 1980s - Late Night with David Letterman - Saturday Night Live - The Tonight Show with Jay Leno - Late Night with Conan O'Brien - The Today Show

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Penn and Teller had national tours throughout the 1990s, gaining critical praise.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Their tricks include Teller hanging upside-down over a bed of spikes in a straitjacket, Teller drowning in a huge container of water, Teller being run over by an 18-wheel tractor-trailer, Teller swinging over bear-traps on a trapeze, and knives going through Penn's hands. Many of their effects rely heavily on shock appeal and violence, although presented in a humorous manner. Often, the pair will reveal a secret of how a magic trick is done and then use that very effect to fool the audience. Penn and Teller perform their own adaptation of the famous bullet catch illusion. Both simultaneously fire a gun at the other and then catch the respective bullets in their mouths.

Related Topics:
Straitjacket - Tractor-trailer - Trapeze - Violence - Humorous - Bullet catch - Simultaneous

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In one of their more thoughtful and politically charged tricks, they make a U.S. flag seem to disappear by wrapping it in a copy of the United States Bill of Rights, and apparently setting the flag on fire, so that "the flag is gone but the Bill of Rights remains." They normally end the routine by restoring the unscathed flag to its starting place on the flagpole; however, on a TV guest appearance on The West Wing http://www.westwingepguide.com/S6/Episodes/120_ITR.html#quote120 , this final part was omitted for dramatic reasons.

Related Topics:
U.S. flag - United States Bill of Rights - The West Wing

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

They have also made television guest appearances on Babylon 5 http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/countries/us/guide/096.html (as a comedy team Rebo and Zooty), The Drew Carey Show, Hollywood Squares, and The Simpsons. They also appeared as scam artists in the music video for "It's Tricky" by Run-DMC in 1987.

Related Topics:
Babylon 5 - Rebo and Zooty - The Drew Carey Show - Hollywood Squares - The Simpsons - Music video - Run-DMC - 1987

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Their cable television show Bullshit! takes a skeptical look at psychics, religion, and pseudoscientific and paranormal frauds, and has featured segments on astrology, Feng Shui, environmental issues, weight loss and the war on drugs. Some have praised the show for being from a libertarian atheist perspective. Others have criticized it for the same reason, and alleged that it sometimes employs the same brand of fallacious reasoning which the show ostensibly opposes.

Related Topics:
Bullshit! - Psychic - Religion - Pseudoscientific - Paranormal - Fraud - Astrology - Feng Shui - Environmental issues - Weight loss - War on drugs - Libertarian - Atheist

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The pair has written several books about magic, including Cruel Tricks For Dear Friends, Penn and Teller's How to Play with Your Food, and Penn and Teller's How to Play in Traffic.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Since 2001, Penn & Teller perform 6 nights a week in Las Vegas at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino.

Related Topics:
2001 - Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~