History Creator / PennAndTeller

* ''The Unpleasant World of Penn and Teller'' (on-screen title: ''Penn and Teller''), a 1994 UK TV series where the pair perform many of their best-known tricks in front of a studio audience, with several British celebrities including Creator/JohnCleese and StephenFry appearing as guests.

* TheVoiceless: Teller's on-stage persona. He does actually speak, albeit very rarely, but it's usually hidden one way or another, to maintain the impression that he never does.

* TheVoiceless: Teller's on-stage persona.
** Subverted on a celebrity edition of ''FearFactor''; Penn and Teller maintained their stage personas over the course of the competition, but after Teller completed the final stunt and Joe Rogan told him that he had taken the lead, a happy Teller pumped his fist and whispered, "Yes!" rather audibly.
*** Oddly enough, no one present was shown to react to Teller's unexpected break of character.
*** That's because it's just a ''stage'' character. While he takes a lot of effort to maintain it, there have been a number of occasions (even specials and shows) where in a non-professional environment, he'll speak. Teller also speaks to guests at the meet-and-greet after their shows in UsefulNotes/LasVegas.

* TechnologyMarchesOn: [[https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/introguest-performance-penn-teller/2859790 A variation]] on the PickACard trick was performed on ''SaturdayNightLive'' in 1986. Penn is live via remote in Times Square where he accosts a random tourist to perform the trick. Teller is back in the studio with an impressive (at the time) computer setup, describing the specs on the computer, twin Acorn Electras with ''140 megabyte'' hard drives. One of the computers has the live remote feed, and the other is connected to the Jumbotron in Times Square, with the "online time paid in advance." It's called the "Most Expensive Card Trick," having been paid for with "$56,000 of NBC's money."[[note]]The card deck is brand new, purchased from a newsstand on camera, not shuffled. The mark picks the card out, Penn fans out the deck, and flashes it to the camera. Teller then uses the computer to analyze the card deck, see which card is missing, and display the result on the Times Square Jumbotron.[[/note]] The computer specs are impressive for 1986, but laughable today.

* FatAndSkinny: Penn and Teller, respectively, at least until 2015, when Penn lost over a hundred pounds to resolve health issues related to his weight and high blood pressure. He's had to assure people multiple times that the weight loss was intentional and he's not dying or anything.

* EverythingsWorseWithBees: They did a trick once where they produced 100,000 bees, without using gloves or masks. The producing was a trick, but they really did handle all those bees without protection; they just made sure they weren't allergic to bee stings so they wouldn't suffer any permanent ill effects and sucked it up. Penn still got stung in some [[GroinAttack nasty places]] (Teller escaped with only three stings, mostly because he poured all the bees on Penn).

* FatAndSkinny: Penn and Teller, respectively.

* TechnologyMarchesOn: A variation on the PickACard trick was performed on ''SaturdayNightLive'' in 1986. Penn is live via remote in Times Square where he accosts a random tourist to perform the trick. Teller is back in the studio with an impressive (at the time) computer setup, describing the specs on the computer, twin Acorn Electras with ''140 megabyte'' hard drives. One of the computers has the live remote feed, and the other is connected to the Jumbotron in Times Square, with the "online time paid in advance." It's called the "Most Expensive Card Trick," having been paid for with "$56,000 of NBC's money."[[note]]The card deck is brand new, purchased from a newsstand on camera, not shuffled. The mark picks the card out, Penn fans out the deck, and flashes it to the camera. Teller then uses the computer to analyze the card deck, see which card is missing, and display the result on the Times Square Jumbotron.[[/note]] The computer specs are impressive for 1986, but laughable today.

* TechnologyMarchesOn: A variation on the PickACard trick was performed on ''SaturdayNightLive'' in 1986. Penn is live via remote in Times Square where he accosts a random tourist to perform the trick. Teller is back in the studio with an impressive (at the time) computer setup, describing the specs on the computer, having a 286 processor and a ''10 megabyte'' hard drive. It's connected to the Jumbotron in Times Square, with the "online time paid in advance." It's called the "Most Expensive Card Trick."[[note]]The card deck is brand new, purchased from a newsstand on camera, not shuffled. The mark picks the card out, Penn fans out the deck, and flashes it to the camera. Teller then uses the computer to analyze the card deck, see which card is missing, and display the result on the Times Square Jumbotron.[[/note]] The computer specs are impressive for 1986, but laughable today.

* ''Penn & Teller: Fool Us'', a 2011 ITV series, hosted by Creator/JonathanRoss, where a variety of magicians attempt to fool Penn and Teller with tricks of their own. Those who succeed get to perform on their stage in Las Vegas. Though canceled by ITV in 212, the CW in the United States reran the ITV episodes in 2014 and, finding success, commissioned a second season that began airing in 2015.

*** That's because it's just a ''stage'' character. While he takes a lot of effort to maintain it, there have been a number of occasions (even specials and shows) where in a non-professional environment, he'll speak.

* EscapeArtist: Penn and Teller engage in this on occasion. For instance, their stage show in the eighties opened with Teller hanging upside-down in a straightjacket trying to escape while Penn read the poem ''Casey at the Bat''.

** There's also the Penn & Teller Cenotaph, a monument to them with the three of clubs and bearing the quote "Is this your card?" ''"Oh well, still need practice. Wanna go for a walk?"''

'''Penn & Teller''' are an American double-act, comedians and stage magicians, with a regular gig at the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

*** Played with at times; when Teller got "volunteered" for the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge by Penn, he let out a whole series of expletives when Penn dumped the ice water on him, every one of which was bleeped over.
*** In a live television card-knife trick, Teller audibly tells Penn, "shut up."

* ''Penn & Teller: Fool Us'', a 2011 ITV series, hosted by Creator/JonathanRoss, where a variety of magicians attempt to fool Penn and Teller with tricks of their own. Those who succeed get to perform on their stage in Las Vegas.

* SelfDeprecation: They're rather fond of it.

* BigGuyLittleGuy: Penn is, in his own words, "stupid tall"(6'6") and Teller is average height(5'9"). He explained this once by saying that "Teller and [[SimonAndGarfunkel Art Garfunkel]] are normal. Penn Jilette and PaulSimon are waving to each other from opposite ends of the Bell Curve."

* NoIndoorVoice: Penn's on-stage persona.

* OnlyOneName: Teller. His parents gave him the usual number (he was born Raymond Joseph Teller), but he did actually change it at some point -- all of his official documents, including his passport, identify him only as Teller.

** [[TheVoiceless Well, Its not like he can say No...]]
* BurningTheFlag: They burn an American flag wrapped in a copy of the Bill Of Rights as one of the tricks in their Las Vegas show as seen here. They do the trick to make a point about how American's have the freedom to burn their own flag if they wish. Additionally, the Bill Of Rights is unaffected by the conflagration symbolizing how it is unharmed. [[spoiler: No they don't actually burn the flag. Teller has removed the flag before they ignite the flash paper.]]

** Its not like he can say No

* ComedyCentral: Penn was the announcer for the comedy network during the early 90s, and hosted the documentary ''This is [[MysteryScienceTheatre3000 MST3k]]''.

* TheReveal: They're widely known as the magicians who actually show everyone how their tricks are ''really'' done, and for the most part they do[[note]]though in respect of intellectual property, they only reveal tricks they have developed themselves specifically to be revealed or very old, simple tricks or elements of tricks such as the card force, cups-and-balls trick, and methods of sleight-of-hand or diversionary tactics[[/note]]...

** Penn frequently describes himself thusly: "I'm not the best magician in the world. I'm not the best magician in Las Vegas. I'm not even the best magician in Penn & Teller."