March 5: Happy Birthday, Penn Jillette

Penn Jillette is best known as the vocal half of the magic and comedy team Penn & Teller. In celebration of his birthday, enjoy these quotes.

Penn Jillette, magician and television personality (March 5, 1955–present)

“I think that if you worry about staying on the cutting edge, you’re less likely to stumble onto it.” —Penn Jillette
Beard, Alison. “Life’s Work: An Interview with Penn Jillette.” Harvard Business Review, October 2016, https://hbr.org/2016/10/penn-jillette.

“When we hit the scene, in the 1980s, magic shows were a place where divorced fathers would drop their children for a matinee. A magician was a greasy guy in a tux with a lot of birds, torturing women. We wanted a different audience, so we avoided that word.” —Penn Jillette
Beard, Alison. “Life’s Work: An Interview with Penn Jillette.” Harvard Business Review, October 2016, https://hbr.org/2016/10/penn-jillette.

“Teller and I have never had any affection for one another. No desire to hug. We only shake hands when it’s part of a script. We don’t seek out each other’s company, but there’s no one that I respect more and I believe at a core level that I do better stuff with Teller than I do alone.” —Penn Jillette
Brown, Victoria and Johnson, Stephen. “3 highlights from Penn Jillette’s Big Think interview on 2020, cancel culture, and friendship.” Big Think, July 16, 2020, https://bigthink.com/the-present/penn-jillette/.

“Libertarianism has been so distorted. I mean I don’t know if I have to pull my name out of that ring. It’s been adopted by people who don’t seem to hold the responsibility side of it and don’t seem to hold the compassion side of it. I can see arguments for not wearing seatbelts and I can see arguments for not wearing motorcycle helmets but I cannot see any argument for driving drunk. And that is what not wearing a mask is. It’s not risking yourself. It’s risking the people around you which I don’t see a way that that’s your right.” —Penn Jillette
Brown, Victoria and Johnson, Stephen. “3 highlights from Penn Jillette’s Big Think interview on 2020, cancel culture, and friendship.” Big Think, July 16, 2020, https://bigthink.com/the-present/penn-jillette/.

To learn more, read these Penn Jillette quotes.

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