Photo: Karl Withakay / CC BY-SA 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Teller fascinates me because he weaponized silence in an industry built on patter. Most magicians talk to misdirect; Teller strips that away and forces you to actually watch, which is far more demanding craft. What the database hints at — writer, director, teacher, biographer — confirms my read: this is a deeply verbal intellectual who chose muteness as an artistic constraint, not a gimmick. The Amherst-educated former teacher turned magician understands language so well he knows exactly when to withhold it. Half a century into the act, the silence still feels radical. That kind of discipline, sustained over decades, is what I call mastery.
Overview
Teller (born Raymond Joseph Derickson Teller, February 14, 1948) is an American magician. He is half of the comedy magic duo Penn & Teller, along with Penn Jillette, and usually does not speak during performances. Teller is an H.L. Mencken Fellow at the Cato Institute.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Teller
- Name (Japanese)
- ジョセフ・テラー
- Reading
- じょせふ・てらー
- Born
- February 14, 1948 (age 78)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Aquarius / Rat
- Origin
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- writer / film director / teacher / actor / biographer
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Amherst College
Awards & achievements
- 2003 Emperor Has No Clothes Award
- 2005 Richard Dawkins Award
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
- Xhttps://x.com/MrTeller
- Wikipedia (Japanese)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teller%20(magician)
Writer — see all → · Film director — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-10
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.