A great magician/comedian replies

Penn Jillette

Reference date: April 1st




I first took notice of Penn Jillette in the early 1980's when he and his magic partner, the silent Teller, appeared repeatedly on Saturday Night Live.

What I liked about them was the fact that they shattered the old magician's code of not spilling secrets or revealing how tricks were done. Using humor, they puled back the curtain on this side of show business.

Later, Jillette became one of the most recognizable voice-over artists in the field, and is currently the host of his own radio show and a debunker of urban legends and myths. I was happy to have gotten an email reply from him. This is what it said:

Chris,

I never really got one piece of advice, or even a collection, that have aided in the success of my career.

The one thing that has been constant is my unwavering commitment to my principles and beliefs.

Penn & Teller developed our unique act that pissed lots of magicians off and was viewed as out of the mainstream of popular comedy. We stuck with what we believed was right and original...and 30 years later, we're still going strong.

So...practice, write, be original and creative and take chances...

Best of luck.

Penn


I sent him a thank you email the next day