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Penn & Teller, the “Bad Boys of Magic,” defy labels, and at times, good taste. They’ve performed together for 30 years; skewering the genre of magic, their sold-out audiences, and themselves -- very often all at the same time, within one mind-boggling evening.
And after three decades together, there are no signs of slowing down. Their Showtime series is in its sixth season. The controversial show, which has received 11 Emmy nominations, including two in 2007, and the 2004 WGA award for Outstanding Comedy/Variety Series, tackles the frauds and fakes behind such topics as talking to the dead, alien abductions and feng shui. Last year, Penn served as host of the NBC game show “Identity” and just donned his ballroom shoes for a recent season of ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars.”
And along the way, Penn & Teller have made the hardest trick of all – a remarkable career that ranges from stage to television to three best-selling books – look easy. And they’ve done it all on their own, distinctively offbeat terms.
They call themselves “a couple of eccentric guys who have learned how to do a few cool things.” Since first teaming up in 1975, when they combined Teller’s silent, occasionally creepy, magic with Penn’s clown college education and juggling expertise, the two have created an entertainment success story that went from the streets to small clubs to national theater tours, and now to a current, multi-year engagement at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
Penn & Teller’s understanding of magic and their ability to relate to audiences garners serious academic attention. They serve as Visiting Scholars at MIT, the school’s highest honor, and have lectured at Oxford University and the Smithsonian Institution. In 2001, they received the Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award.
