Even a cursory examination of the career spans of the most successful stage magicians in America in the last 150 years (Herrmann, Kellar, Thurston, Houdini, Siegfried & Roy, Burton, Henning, etc.) will show that the cap for career length seems to be around 40 years. A select few have broken that barrier: Johnny Thompson, Blackstone Sr., John Calvert, David Copperfield, and the prominent pair, Penn & Teller, who are currently celebrating their 50-year anniversary.
Penn & Teller presenting their iconic routine, Casey at the Bat
But Penn & Teller’s longevity is even more remarkable, because unlike those mentioned above, they are a duo, and longevity for duos in showbiz is downright rare. For every Laurel & Hardy or Everly Brothers who lasted 30 years, there are dozens of Martin and Lewises or Sonny & Chers that burn bright and fizzle out after a decade or two. Notable duos who lasted at least 40 years are Burns and Allen, Bob and Ray, Steely Dan, and the Pet Shop Boys. In the 56-year partnership of Simon & Garfunkel, they only worked together for 22 of those years. But four musical duos (Hall & Oates, the Smothers Brothers, Sparks, and Flo & Eddie) did manage to surpass the half-century mark.
So while Penn & Teller are not unique with their 50-year partnership, the fact that, during that entire span, they have continued to evolve and have never stopped creating genre-busting magic is almost miraculous.
You surely know about their Vegas residency, their TV specials, their best-selling books, their acting in movies and TV shows, the documentaries they’ve produced, and their hit show, Penn & Teller: Fool Us, which is currently in its 11th season.
But do you know where it all began or how they got their start?