Teller (magician)
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Teller (born Raymond Joseph Teller on February 14 1948) is a Jewish-American magician, best known as the smaller, silent half of the comedy magic duo known as Penn & Teller. He has legally changed his name to Teller.
Teller was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended Central High School and Amherst College and taught Latin at Lawrence High School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. Teller does not speak while performing although there are occasional exceptions, mostly when the audience is not aware that it is his voice that is being heard. His trademark of not speaking began as a way of dealing with audience hecklers.
Teller began performing with a friend, Weir Chrisemer, as the Ottmar Scheckt Society for the Preservation of Weird and Disgusting Music. They later joined up with Penn Jillette and renamed themselves the Asparagus Valley Cultural Society.
Teller is an accomplished sleight of hand artist and is considered an expert on the history of magic. He is also a talented painter, as well as an atheist, and a skeptic.
Teller is the author of When I'm Dead All This Will Be Yours!, a biography/memoir of his father. He has also collaborated with Penn Jillette on three books on tricks and magic.
Teller's trademark silence originated during his youth, when he earned a living performing magic at frat parties. He found that if he maintained silence throughout his act, people got bored with heckling him and stopped. He carried this through to his professional act and into his eventual partnership with Penn Jillette.
Teller speaks
Despite his trademark of never speaking, Teller has spoken in a number of films and television shows. Teller played an anthropomorphic cat, Mr. Boots, on an episode of Dharma & Greg. [1] He also played the character of Mortimer in the 2000 film adaptation of the musical The Fantasticks. With partner Jillette, he voiced himself in the 1999 The Simpsons episode "Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder". He spoke several lines at the end of Penn & Teller Get Killed, having played his usual silent role for nearly the entire movie. He also appeared (and spoke) in Mysteries of Magic, Volume 3. He also speaks occasionally in the travelogue series Penn & Teller's Magic and Mystery Tour, though even in this series he mostly lets Penn speak on his behalf. He spoke extensively in the History Channel special Houdini: Unlocking the Mystery, though he is shot with a back light to hide his face in silhouette. Teller also speaks off camera in the Showtime television series Bullshit!. On a celebrity episode of Fear Factor, Teller briefly broke his silence by excitedly but very quietly exclaiming "Yes!" after learning he and Penn where through to the next round due to one of his competitors failing to successfully complete a stunt (incidentally this Fear Factor episode's cash prize was in aid of charity). When Penn & Teller were interviewed on The Daily Show one of Craig Kilborn's 5 Questions was "Teller! Say Something!" In response, Teller covered his mouth and said "Fuck you, Craig." His words are also frequently read in various print interviews. After their performances at Las Vegas Rio Hotel, during autograph signings, Teller usually talks with all comers.
Books by Teller
- "When I'm Dead All This Will Be Yours!": Joe Teller -- A Portrait by His Kid (2000) ISBN 0922233225
- House of Mystery (2005) ISBN 0971040540