|  Las
Vegas headliners Penn & Teller are often described as the "bad
boys of magic." You could also call them the "bad boys of
liberty" -- since both the bigger, louder half (Penn Jillette)
and the smaller, silent half (Raymond Joseph Teller) of the award-winning
magic team are self-proclaimed libertarians.
As befitting his "loud" status, Jillette talks about his political
beliefs at the drop of a rabbit-filled hat. In an interview with the
Boston Phoenix (July 2-8, 2004), he said, "Well, I'm a
real total-freedom nut, a libertarian, and I'm one of those crazy optimists.
Let people do what they want and everything will be okay."
On the
FilmForce.IGN.com Web site, Jillette said, "I'm a hardcore libertarian.
I want everything legal." (October 13, 2003.) And in the Cato Institute's
Regulation magazine, he described himself as "a Libertarian,
pro-freedom, governs-least-governs-best, free market advocate."
(Summer 2001.) Jillette also took the World's
Smallest Political Quiz, scoring 100/100 and saying, "That
was easy."
Teller, on the other hand, has been quieter about his politics, but
did come clean during an online chat on WashingtonPost.com. When asked
who he supported in the 2000 election, Teller said, "I am Libertarian.
Democrats and Republicans, well, it's kind of like a 'magician's choice'
-- two identical incumbent organizations pretending to be different
so that we will vote the same old mob back into power. I think our only
hope is to support intelligent third-party candidates." (December
29, 2000.)
Put the two libertarians together on stage, and it's no surprise that
a "deep commitment to rational thought and freedom" runs through
their comedy/magic act, as Jillette told the Las Vegas Sun
(August 3, 2001). However, it's a safe bet that most of the audience
is just appreciating the jokes and tricks. Penn & Teller's act includes
shadow puppets, goldfish, a wood chipper, a gorilla, broken glass bottles
(which they juggle), and their famous Magic Bullet Trick. Violating
all the traditions of magic, the two even show the audience how some
of their tricks are performed. The CheapVegas.com Web site called the
act "more entertaining than just about any other magic show in
town."
More entertaining and more successful; Penn & Teller are
arguably the most famous magic team in the world. They first joined
forces in 1975, when Teller was a high school Latin teacher who dabbled
in magic and Penn was a street performer. The team clicked, and within
a decade they had their own off-Broadway show. In the years that followed,
they toured the country, starred in several television specials, and
appeared on TV shows ranging from Saturday Night Live to the
Tonight Show to The Simpsons to Inside Dish
on Food TV. Since 2002, they have been headlining six nights a week
at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, where they have
twice been named "Las Vegas Magicians of the Year."
Penn & Teller are also the authors of the books Cruel Tricks
for Dear Friends (1989), How to Play With Your Food (1992),
and How to Play in Traffic (1997). In addition, Jillette wrote
the novel Sock (2004), while Teller penned a memoir to his
father, When I'm Dead All This Will Be Yours (2000). They starred
in two TV series, Penn & Teller's Sin City on the FX Network,
and Bullsh*t! (which debunks "frauds and fakes")
on Showtime. In 2005, they appeared in the documentary, The Aristocrats,
where they discuss a very dirty joke.
The duo won two Emmy Awards and an International Golden Rose Award for
their 1985 PBS special, Penn & Teller Go Public. In 1997,
they were named two of the funniest people alive in Entertainment
Weekly's "50 Greatest Comedians Today."
Their talents don't stop with entertainment. Jillette wrote a monthly
column for PC Computing magazine and is active with the Committee
for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, while
Teller was a Mencken Research Fellow at the Cato Institute.
In their spare time, Penn & Teller are free-speech activists. Teller
has spoken out against government mandated V-chips in televisions,
while Jillette has been a vocal critic of the Federal Communications
Commission's crackdown on "offensive speech." (In a April
1994 interview with Reason magazine, Jillette said he takes "the
First Amendment defense" about freedom of expression: "Congress
shall make no law. As Justice Douglas said, those are the only words
you need in that amendment.") In 2001, the pair was awarded the
Hefner First Amendment Award from the Playboy Foundation for their work
to defend free speech. |
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