05x08 - Here Lie Penn & Teller

[bunniefuu]

[jazz music]

♪ ♪

[cheers and applause]

- From the Penn & Teller Theater

at the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas,

here's our host,
Alyson Hannigan!

[cheers and applause]

♪ ♪

[cheers and applause]

- Welcome to "Fool Us."

Tonight we gaze out
into a magical realm

where the impossible
becomes possible.

If you can't believe
your eyes

then our contestants
have done their job.

Thankfully we have
a pair of experts

whose sight for sleight of hand
is well above 20/20.

Please welcome our
all-seeing masters of magic,

Penn and Teller!

♪ ♪

[cheers and applause]

♪ ♪

Mwah. Mwah.

I saved you seats.

[cheers and applause]

Penn and Teller
are gonna try

to bust
each magician they see.

If they can't, that magician
wins an all-expenses paid trip

to Vegas to perform
in their show

and international
bragging rights.

Let's see who's up first.

- My name is Damien James,

and I do ventriloquism,
special effects,

and magic.

I've always kind of been
a shy person,

so a puppet was a way of
kind of coming out of my shell

because they could get away
with anything.

"Who's Penn and Teller?"

[laughs]

I got into
special effects makeup

to change the way I looked,

like adding prosthetics and
playing different characters.

So I just kind of disappear,

acting as kind of the wizard
behind the curtain,

you know, the same techniques
that are done by Hollywood.

It actually ended up being
another career for me.

"Where's my check?"

[laughs]

Tonight, I'll be performing
as myself

not in prosthetics
or as a character.

It would actually be
really cool

to fool Penn and Teller
as a ventriloquist

because I know
that Penn Jillette

absolutely hates puppets
and ventriloquists.

"Well, the feeling
is mutual!"

[applause]

- It's time to enter

the bizarre world
of Damien James.

- Thank you very much.

Let me ask you question.

Time travel...

what would you do
if you were able

to alter the very fabric
of time and space itself?

I'll tell you what I would do.

I'd do a magic trick.

[laughter]

And tonight we're actually
going to travel

into the future
six whole months

to do a very special
magic trick

with the help
of my time machine.

Now this may not look like an
advanced science time machine,

but this is the
shabby-chic retro model.

I paid extra for it
to look like this.

I can assure you
it's relatively safe.

All I have to do is
adjust the flux capacitor

to six months from now.

[laughter]

And here we go.
[clears throat]

[bell dings]

[laughter and applause]

Whew.

Wow.

[applause]

[exhales]

Wow, ha, what a trip.
[chuckles]

Six months in the future.

I can't believe it.

But you know, a lot has changed
in the past six months.

For instance, we no longer use
language to communicate.

We only use emojis.

In fact, I actually have
some educational flash cards

that basically they're from
the communications program

of the President
Donald J. Trump School.

[laughter]

Although, that doesn't really
narrow it down.

In six months, that's what
all the schools are called.

[laughter]

But I need the assistance
of somebody.

Can I get Alyson
to join me for a moment?

Alyson Hannigan.
- Aw.

[cheers and applause]

Hi.
- Thank you so much.

- Sure.
- It's good to meet you.

- No problem.

- So I have here
all these different emojis.

So what--they're in
no particular order.

There's no distinguishable
marks on the back.

What I'd like you
to do is just

touch the back
of one of the emojis.

That one right there?

Okay, I'm going
to show you this one.

Now, please,
remember that emoji.

I'm gonna show everybody.

Everybody,
remember what that is.

Otherwise the end of the trick
is really gonna suck.

[laughter]

All right,
thank you very much, Alyson.

Thank you.
- Yeah.

- All right.

[applause]

Now I sense a little bit
of skepticism in the audience.

Perhaps some people
don't actually believe

we've traveled six months
into the future,

and I get that,
but I can prove it.

Who better to help me

try to fool present day
Penn and Teller

than from six months
in the future

the newly named
Teller and Penn?

[cheers and applause]

[lively music]

[laughter]

[laughter]

[cheers and applause]

♪ ♪

[chuckles]
Wow.

Teller, Penn,
what an honor it is

to be onstage with you.

"Who are you?"

Well, I'm Damien James.

"Who am I?"

Oh, you're Penn Jillette.

Although you don't really
sound like Penn.

"Well, you're a lousy
impersonator."

[laughs]

Well, maybe your voice
has actually changed.

I mean, we've just traveled
into the future six months.

"Really?"
Yeah.

"So is that younger me
sitting down there?"

That's right, that's you
from six whole months ago.

"Wow.
I look so, uh, hungry."

Okay.
[laughter]

Well,
Penn do you remember

anything from
the past six months?

"Not a lot.
Last thing I remember,

"we had a ventriloquist
on 'Fool Us'

"k*lled the ratings,
show got cancelled,

God, I hate puppets."

All right.

[laughter and applause]

Uh, well, I guess
we should say hi to Teller.

"Hi, Teller."

[laughing]
And...

"Life of the party
as usual."

[laughing]

[laughter]

"I see you've nailed down
his voice."

Okay, well--yeah, all right.

Well, anyway,
we--we actually

are gonna do a magic trick.

I had Alyson choose an emoji.

"Well, I'll take it
from here.

"Earlier today when Teller
was taking his nap,

"I surgically implanted
a stick of dynamite

into his chest."

[laughter]
Well, what's the trick?

"Well, I have to guess
Alyson's emoji

before the dynamite
goes off."

Before--well--if you don't?

"Well, Teller
goes interstellar."

Okay.
[laughter]

"Either way, it's good TV."

Okay, all right.
[laughter]

It sounds a little graphic.

I think the censors
might have a little bit

of an issue with that
if anything does go wrong.

"Ah, to hell with it.

Just cover him with
a hanky or something."

[laughs]
Cover him?

Well...

"I got one
in my back pocket."

You got one here?

Okay, all right.

"That's my diaper."

Okay--okay.

[laughter]

"Just cover him up."
Okay.

"Oh, my God.
I'm floating."

Okay.
[laughter]

All right.

Now--now Teller is covered.

Uh, so what do we do?

"Now I gotta try
and find the emoji."

Okay--all right.
"But first the detonator."

Okay--okay, that's--
back here, okay.

All right.

"On goes the timer."

[button clicks, ticking]
"And now to find the emoji."

All right.
"Check this out."

Okay.

"Look on the back
of my head.

It's a new reveal
we're working on."

A new reveal?
Okay, I'm looking at your head.

"What do you see?"
[laughs]

Um...
[chuckles]

Liver spots.

[laughter]

"No, not just
any liver spots.

"They're in the shape
of Alyson's emoji,

the three of clubs."

Okay, well--
[laughs]

"Do you see it?"
I do see something--

It's kind of like, actually,
like a raised growth.

I think you should probably
get that looked at, Penn.

But I got to say that the
three of clubs is not an emoji.

"It's not?"
No.

"Well, I can't turn off
the detonator."

What do you mean?
Well--just--try the--

[button clicking]
The Off button isn't working.

Do you know how
to turn it off?

"Yeah."
Well, can you turn it off?

"No."
Why not?

"I didn't find the emoji."

I know, but--the timer's
gonna go off pretty soon.

"Well, sorry, Teller."

Okay--
[laughs]

"I'm gonna miss you, buddy."

Okay, well, all right,
well, let's just--

[muffled bang]

[audience exclaiming]

"What a senseless tragedy.

That cloth cost 20 bucks."

[laughter]

"What was your emoji, Alyson?"

- The umbrella.

"He got it!"

[cheers and applause]

"That's it!
I'm Penn,

that was Teller,
and who are you?"

Damien James.

"Thank you.
Good night."

[laughing]

[cheers and applause]
- Damien James.

- Oh, thank you.

- Wow,
have you always done this

with Penn and Teller
or is it just--

- You know what,
this is a one-time thing.

It's the only time
I'm gonna do this.

So I actually build
the puppets myself, so...

- They're absolutely
incredible.

- Oh, thank you.
- Yeah.

So where did you come up
with this idea?

- Well, I thought, you know,
what would be a neat idea

to be able to mix puppetry
and magic and--

- Fake blood.
- Yeah, and fake blood.

Yeah, so I thought, you know,
what better place to do it

than here, right?
- Nice.

So you've given yourself
quite a challenge

to do ventri--
[chuckles]

Can you help me say that word?

- Yeah, I have a hard time
with it too sometimes.

- Ventriloquism
and magic together.

- That's--that's right,
I thought it'd be

kind of a neat challenge to,

you know, see what--
what I could come up with.

- Can you teach me how
to be a ventriloquist?

- [laughs]
- Or say "ventriloquist"?

'Cause I'm having
struggles with that.

- Well, I say that the secret
to being a ventriloquist

is basically practicing
in front of a mirror

trying to talk without
moving your lips.

And, you know--
and then from there,

you know, holding on
to a sock and...

- So you started with the sock

and now you have
Penn and Teller.

- That's right. Yeah.
- Wow. All right.

Well, let's see
if Penn and Teller

have a handle
on how you did it.

- All right.
- All right.

Penn, Teller.

- Which ones?

- Present day.
- Boy.

Could not be more flattering.

- [laughing]
- It's just...

No, no,
I mean that sincerely.

I'm saying that, boy,
to have someone

go to all that work,
it's stunning

and--and very humbling.
- Oh, thank you.

- You know, when they
rate variety acts,

ventriloquists are
always down there

near the bottom
with magicians.

- Yeah, yeah.

- But it's, you know,
it's usually

mimes, balloon animals,
ventriloquists,

hypnotists, you know.

- I think ventriloquist is
actually a little bit lower--

much lower than--
- Not hypnotist.

Hypnotists are
the absolute rock bottom.

- [laughs]

- But if we're forced
to put a ranking on them,

I think we've done that.

But, boy, we're just flattered
and just loved it.

And I actually love vent acts,

and I--I can't believe there's
actually a puppet of me

and a puppet of me that'll
be useful forever

because I'll grow into it.

[laughter]

But I think we may have
given you enough there

as we were talking, didn't we?

- From what you were saying
that you--you

assumed that I forced...
[laughs]

The umbrella--
- Yeah. Yeah.

- I--there's no force
involved.

- There's no force at all?

Now, did the--
- No.

It was a free choice

and it could have been
any one of the emojis

that was chosen and
any one of 'em could have

appeared on the cloth.

- So that means...

- I guess that means
you fooled us.

- Yay!
[cheers and applause]

[boom]
Thus we have a fooler!

- Nicely done.
- Whoo!

- Sorry,
I got fake blood on me.

[laughter]

[cheers and applause]

Oh, ooh.
[laughs]

Thank you very much.

- Aww.

Damien James!
- Hey!

- Whoo!
- [laughs]

[cheers and applause]

- Were you fooled
by that last one?

So were Penn and Teller.

We'll have more
magicians mess

with them when
we come back.

Stick around.

♪ ♪

[jazz music]

[cheers and applause]

- Welcome back to "Fool Us."

One fooler has
already been dealt.

Can we make it a pair?

Here's our next act.

- Hi, it's Kelvin Chow here.

I'm a magician
and a card mechanic.

I'm born and raised
from Hong Kong.

I was quite arrogant
back then when I was a kid.

I was pretty good
at math and physics.

I thought I know
how the world works.

And then I saw
a guy who did

a sponge ball routine
on the street,

and it fooled me so badly.

I just couldn't handle it.

When the ball multiplied
in my hand

it just blew me away.

I was fascinated
by how easy it is

to deceive another person.

And that's where
I start to learn

a lot more about magic.

[electronic music]

I create most
of the trick I do.

I hope I'm gonna fool
Penn and Teller.

If I can fool Penn and Teller,

I can convince my wife
that my card trick

is actually worth watching.

♪ ♪

[cheers and applause]

- From Hong Kong, give it up
for the card mastery

of Kelvin Chow!

[cheers and applause]

- Hi, everyone.
Hello, everyone.

This is Kelvin Chow here.

Most people have
this concept about magic

that they think magic
happens in our hand.

But actually it's
all up in your head.

All magicians are doing is
help you imagine the magic.

Let me demonstrate.

What I'm doing right now

is merely folding this
into a shape

of a deck of cards.

But once I tell you this
and once you start thinking...

it'll actually...

appears inside.

[applause]

Some of you may notice

all the cards
are still blank.

There's nothing on them
at the moment,

and I need someone
to help me out.

Mr. Penn, would you mind?

Now there are 52 cards
in a deck, yes?

- Yes.
- And there are number card

and picture cards.
- Yes, there are.

- Which one do you think would
be more difficult to imagine?

Numbers or pictures?

- Uh, for me, pictures.

- And there are jack, queen,
king in the picture cards.

Which one do you prefers?

- I would go with jack.

- The jack, and there are
four suit in jack, right.

Do you have a favorite?

- I'll say clubs.

- Jack--yeah.
- Of clubs.

This is a free choice, yes?
- Yeah, I think so.

- Make sense?
Perfect, thank you so much.

Now, everyone,
I want you guys to imagine

the card that I'm holding
right now

is actually the jack of clubs.

If you focus,
you can see slowly...

Changes...

into a jack...

of clubs.

[cheers and applause]

This is the first one.

[applause]

Thank you.

Since we're already
thinking of jacks,

let's imagine the other
black jacks, shall we?

The next black jack will be
the jack of spade,

and this time,
let's do it in slow motion.

All you need to do

is just stare
at the center of the card.

And can see some color
slowly...

appears.

Front and back.

And the color will grow...

into a body, the head,

and a complete jack of spades.

[applause]

Now just two down.

And 50 more to go.
[laughter]

For the next more two--
for the next jacks,

let's speed up a little bit.

The next two will be
the red jacks,

and let's do them both
together.

Just imagine those are
the two red jacks.

First...

the jack of hearts.

[blows]

And the diamonds.

[blows]

[fingers snap]

[applause]

Now, everyone, please,
I want you

to think of a card
that you like.

And imagine the card you're
thinking of is somewhere

in this pack.

If you focus on your card,

you can actually see...

the card you're thinking of

will slowly...

slowly...

[blows]

Appears.

Not just one,

not just two,

but every single one of them.

[cheers and applause]

Thank you.

Now,

we have a deck of card

made with our imagination.

There's actually quite a few

special thing
you can do with this.

And let's try this with
the ace of diamonds here.

And also brought here with me
some special stickers

that can help us
with the imagination game.

To use those stickers,
it's really simple.

All you need to do
is just tape it...

on ace of diamonds like this.

Because of the design
of the stickers,

it actually creates

a very special
optical illusion.

Because it looks like
the back of the card,

right, the stickers.

Once it's placed on top
of the deck,

it looks like there's a hole

on the ace of diamonds, right.

But because this is
a imaginary deck,

once you think
it's a reality...

[fingers snap]

It becomes...

the reality.

[applause]

And now let's try this
one more time.

If you have a good imagination,

you don't even need
to use the stickers.

And let's try this with
the six of clubs here.

Just imagine the six of clubs
has a hole

like the ace of diamonds.

Just by merely
thinking about it

will be enough...

to change...

the reality.

[applause]

And if we all think
about it together,

we can even extend this

to the entire...

pack.

[cheers and applause]

But remember all of those
are just your imagination.

A moment ago, those were not
even playing cards.

Those were just some blank
pieces of paper, right.

And once you stop thinking,

they'll actually change back...

To blank.

Not just one,
not just two,

but every single one of them

will go back to blank.

[cheers and applause]

Except for one and only one.

The ace of diamonds
on the table.

But just like the other,

this is nothing

but your imagination.

So if you stop
thinking about it...

You can actually see
the ace of diamonds

slowly...

Disappear.

Because from
the very beginning,

there were only two things:

your imagination

and a piece of paper.

[cheers and applause]

- Kelvin Chow!

Whoo.
- Thank you.

- That was incredible.

- Thank you.
Thank you, Alyson.

- I'm so impressed.
- Thank you.

- How long have you
been doing magic?

- Me too.
- Ah, good.

You should be.
- Yes.

A really long time, about,
like, ten plus year.

I lost count.
- Wow.

Do you perform in Hong Kong?
- A little bit.

I'm not a professional,
but sometimes

I get to do shows in Hong Kong.

- Oh, really?
I feel like this'll

help you, right?
- Yes, certainly.

Certainly it would.
- Yeah.

- Thank you, everyone.
[applause]

- And so what else do you do?

- Uh, that's the problem
with most magician.

We don't do much else
beside magic.

[laughter]

- Well, they're writing a lot.

They're not talking
to each other.

They're just writing.
- Hmm.

- What do you think?

- I don't know.

I did a bunch of tricks,

and that's my strategy.

There's like
whole bunch of them.

I don't know how many of them
they could see through.

- So, how many
tricks were there?

Can you tell me that?
- Oh, wow.

I lost count myself.
- All right.

Let's see if Penn and Teller
can figure out

how you did all those tricks.

- Absolutely.
- All right, Penn, Teller.

- Yeah, there's
so many tricks in there

that you couldn't count 'em,
right?

- [laughs] Yes. Yes.
- That what you said?

There's a lot of tricks,

and there's a lot of skill

and just crazy amounts
of practice.

I mean, just acrobatic,

just amazing, amazing
stuff going on.

And also I loved
the fact that there's a--

there's a plot
other than find a card.

You know?
- Oh.

- There's nothing more powerful

than just telling someone
to name a card

and then being able
to do miracles with that.

'Cause if you really had
magical powers,

you wouldn't say,
"Pick a card," to get one,

you'd say, "Name one."

And you did that,

and then all the stuff
is so visual

and pretty
and really, really nice.

I like the fact
that it's a visceral act

and you get the audience
gasping and doing stuff.

And there are so many things
on our notes

and there were
so many puns and names

we'd have to reference.
- Oh.

- That I can't do it.
There's a zillion things.

So Teller has written down
a few things

that might--
- Sure.

- Might enlighten you
as to what we thought.

- [laughs]

Oh, wow.

The secret notebook.

- That's just Teller
writing out

that he's offering him money
if he backs down.

[laughter]

- Pretty much.

Pretty much it.

[laughter]

- So did Teller give you
enough information?

Do they know how it was done?

- Yes. Yes. They did.
Definitely.

- Aw. Okay, well, thank you.
Kelvin Chow!

- Thank you. Thank you.
- Thank you.

[applause]

I don't want to take a break,

but we have to,

so don't go anywhere.

♪ ♪

[jazz music]

[applause]

- Welcome back to "Fool Us."

This next performer
is a funny mentalist,

but I bet he already knew that.

Let's meet him.

- I started off in
show business very young.

I was a child actor,

and it just kind of
went from there.

I had a nice role
in the original

"Teenage Mutant
Ninja Turtles."

I'd get beaten up
by the turtles

and slammed on the ground.

And I got the part of
Gino Tortelli on "Cheers,"

and that lasted
for the next few seasons.

[train whistle blows]

So I was in La Paz, Bolivia,

and I'm walking on the street
without any sense

of looking for my next career
at all.

I saw a magician perform,

and it just really
inspired me.

Here's somebody standing
on the street corner

who's giving a gift to people.

I started thinking about magic
in that way.

To me, magic
is this opportunity

to bring some joy and wonder
into people's lives.

[cheers and applause]

- Please welcome the sharp mind
of Joshua Lozoff.

[cheers and applause]

- Thank you so much.

Good evening.
Wow.

My name is Joshua,
and I'm here right now

because of something
Albert Einstein said.

"The most beautiful thing
we can experience

is the mysterious."

So I brought something
mysterious with me.

This little wooden box,

and it is for Alyson.

Would you join me over here?

Alyson Hannigan,
ladies and gentlemen.

[applause]

Thank you so much.
It is a pleasure.

- Thank you.

- Alyson, you and I get
to play a game together.

- How exciting. Thanks
- I know.

But first,

would you like to know what
is in your mysterious box?

- Yes.
- No.

- No. No.
- No.

- 'Cause it would spoil
the mystery.

- Oh, true.
- Exactly.

- I'll give you a hint.
- Okay.

- In this box

is an animal.
- Ooh.

- Here you go.
[light laughter]

In 3 1/2 minutes,

you are gonna
tell everybody here

which animal is inside
of your box.

[laughter]

How?

I'm gonna communicate
it to you,

but it'll be subtle.

If it works,

you won't even be consciously
aware it's happening.

But subconsciously,
folks,

Alyson will find herself
being "moo-ved"

to name one animal.
- Hmm.

- I'll--no.

Won't be that obvious.
I'm horsing around.

No.
- [laughs]

Forget I said anything.
Let's play our little game.

- Okay.

- I'm gonna give you
a famous phrase

and then you will complete it.

So if I said the itsy-bitsy,

audience, Alyson would say...

audience: Spider.

- No.
- [laughs]

- In this game, Alyson,
you get to say anything

you want other than
what is expected of you.

- Ooh. Okay.
- Anything.

- So you might say
the itsy-bitsy...

- Elephant.

- Perfect.
Exactly, you get the game.

Okay.
- Okay.

- So looking right at me.

Nice and relaxed.
I should also mention

that the answers you give
will tell us all

a lot about you at a very
deep, personal level.

- [laughs] No pressure.
- And go.

Old MacDonald had a...
[snaps]

- Geh--chair!

[laughter]
Thanks.

- The boy who cried...
[snaps]

- Dog! Oh.

[laughter]

- You can get better.
- It's fine. Yeah.

- You have more chances.

Mary had a little...
[snaps]

- Friend.
No.

- Last one.
- I'm trying to rhyme.

- This is your chance.
That's right, it's okay.

No. No. No. It's--
this is your last one. Ready?

- Yeah, okay, so it
has to be an animal?

- No, it doesn't have
to be an animal.

It gets to be whatever
you want it to be.

- Oh, good. Great.
- Final one.

- Okay.
- He wouldn't hurt a...

- Squirrel!

[laughter]

- [laughs]
- Wouldn't hurt a squirrel.

Very nice.

[cheers and applause]

[Penn laughing]
So, first off,

you're a very interesting
person.

- [laughs]

- So that was harder
than you thought

it was gonna be, right?
- Yes!

- 'Cause you had to let go
of years of expectations

and then trust
your own instincts.

- Totally.

- Also, something else
happened,

which I think
some of the audience

probably picked up on.

I communicated
some information to you

with the words that I'm using,

some of my gestures,

and other very
subtle techniques.

Can we get the easel
out here please?

[laughter]

And also the board.

- Thanks, buddy.

Oh, hi. All right.
- All right.

[laughter]

Excellent.
Thank you, fellas.

- Did he just have
that lion around?

- Ahh!
- Ah!

- See, you can do this.
You can do this.

- Sure.

[applause]

- Alyson, one of these animals

is in that box.
- Ah.

- If I ask you to pick one
right now, you could.

You'd likely be wrong.
- Okay.

- Why?
Because you'd be guessing.

- Yes.
- You don't have to guess.

If everything
we've done

in the last few minutes
has worked,

you know

which animal is
written down in there,

even if you don't know
that you know.

- Oh.

- So I'm gonna help you
trust your instincts

one more time.

You can forget
all the jokes.

Let go of all
expectations.

Look over your options.
- Okay.

- And when I say, "Now,"

call out the one that feels
right to you at this moment.

You know it.
- [grunts]

- In five--
trust yourself--

four...

Now!
- Duck!

[laughter]

- Again, the one
in the box is...

- Duck.

- Open it up there.

There's a little clasp
in the front.

Does it say "duck" inside
of the box?

- It says, "For Alyson."
- It says, "For Alyson,"

because this was always
meant to be for you.

Inside there is an envelope.

Yes, just one.
- Yeah.

- Sealed envelope.
- Yeah.

- Inside of there--
you can open it up--

there's one slip of paper.

Is there only one in there?

Yep, hold it up, make sure.
- Yeah. [gasps]

- And show everybody
how amazing you did.

You got it!
[cheers and applause]

You're so good.
Alyson, ladies and gentlemen.

- Ah.

Joshua Lozoff!

[sighs]
That was so much fun.

- It is.
- That was awesome.

- Thank you.
You did great.

- Yay, so did you.
- Oh, thank you.

- Yay.
I didn't realize how hard

the itsy-bitsy part
would be.

- I know, it's like
everybody thinks--

but your mind has
so many preconceptions.

You just--you're in a habit,
it's a habit pattern

that you break and then,

apparently,
you get it right.

both: Yay.

- I'm a quick learner.
- [laughs] Very nice.

- So how did you
get into magic?

- Well,
I had started doing

some volunteer work
around the world.

And then one night
in La Paz, Bolivia,

I saw a bunch
of people gathered

around something happening.

And so it was
a bunch of people

gathered around
a street magician,

and I couldn't really see
what he was doing.

So what I had to do instead
is watch the people

watching him because
I couldn't see him.

And that's what inspired me.

Because they were laughing
and they smiling,

and people who didn't
know each other

were talking to--
"Did you see what that just"--

And I just--it just--
I couldn't shake it.

I got home and I still was
thinking about it,

and it just stayed with me.

And then I...

evolved into being here
with you and them.

And that's why I do mentalism,

is because I get to connect
with people

and have these moments
that are about us

rather than about, necessarily,
just about stuff.

- Yeah. All right, well, let's
check in with Penn and Teller.

Penn, Teller.

- Well, Joshua, I want
to compliment you...

but I can't get to you
before I talk about how good

the guys in the lion
and chicken suit were.

Those were some good
walking animal costumes.

And I felt like the chicken
had a chicken quality

and the lion had
a lion quality.

It was--it was
really, really nice.

I love people

in animal suits.

And I love animals
in people clothes.

Both of those things
amuse me tremendously.

I also like--you know,
mentalism, um,

not our favorite,

and it's usually dry and dull

and pick a number
out of the phone book

and multiply it by 20

and who's thinking of a house.

And all that stuff about
the itsy-bitsy and all of that,

putting all that stuff
in her head,

giving us--giving us
other stuff to think about,

to worry about, you gave us
a lot to worry about.

And you're also
an experienced performer

which is very nice to see.

You know about all
the ins and outs

of show business,
and Teller and I, I'm afraid,

after 43 years, perhaps we know
more about the outs.

But we've been
on both sides of it,

and it's good to see
someone doing a--

doing a great show like that.
- Thank you so much.

- And I want to say
that I was gonna with turkey

and not duck, and I wish--
I don't think

I would have screwed you up
on that.

I think you had me covered.

So, you have an idea
what we're talking about?

- Yes.
- So you didn't fool them?

- That's right.
That's correct.

- Aw, but you certainly
entertained us.

- It was a treat
to be with you

and a treat to be
with you all

and everybody here.
- Thank you, Joshua Lozoff!

- Thank you so much.
Thank you so much.

- Thank you.

[applause]

We've barely scratched
the surface.

We'll reveal more fantastic
magic after the break,

including a performance
by Penn and Teller.

So stick around.

[cheers and applause]

♪ ♪

[jazz music]

[applause]

- Welcome back to "Fool Us."

We hide all our magicians
from Penn and Teller

until showtime,

and then we roll a little video
like this.

- There are two
Murray the Magicians.

One's this mischievous
Dennis the Menace of magic.

My other side is a curator
of magic history.

When somebody finds
a random magic box,

I'm the guy they call.

I love old Hollywood.

I love old show business.

In my collection,
I have Jack Kodell,

the first magician
to ever play Las Vegas.

I have his actual tuxedo.

I have a booth from
the original Dunes Hotel.

The chandelier above that
is from

the Frank Sinatra suite
at the Riviera Hotel.

The history of magic's
really important to me

because the magicians
that came before us

lit the path for us to follow.

My mentor was Marvin Roy,
aka Mr. Electric.

Tonight I'm gonna pay homage
by doing

one of his signature effects
he passed down to me.

It's my way of letting
the light shine on

for Mr. Electric.

[cheers and applause]

- Please welcome
Murray Sawchuck!

[cheers and applause]

- Penn, Teller,
aptly honored to be here.

Thank you for having me
on your show.

And as you had in your life,
your teacher and mentor,

the legendary
Mr. Johnny Thompson,

I had a mentor as well,
Marvin Roy.

Mr. Electric
he went by onstage,

and the reason why is
because he lit light bulbs

in the palm of his hand.

For 50 years,
he toured the world

lighting light bulbs.

It was a phenomenal act
with him and his wife.

He played the Lido in Paris;

he opened the Stardust Casino
here in Las Vegas;

he toured with Liberace
for over five years,

played Radio City Music Hall
in New York City.

An absolute legend.
He's still alive.

He is 92 living in
Palm Springs, California.

And he was nice enough
to donate

and give me one of his effects

from his acts to perform.

And that's what I'm going
to do this evening.

It involves
a 500-watt light bulb

and a pitcher of milk.

Let's do it!

[lively jazz music]

[applause]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[applause]

♪ ♪

[cheers and applause]

- Murray Sawchuck!

[cheers and applause]

This is really cool.
So how old is that trick?

- That trick is over


that version,
and that's the version

he came up with
many years ago.

There was an older version
before that,

the lampshade and a lamp.

And he wanted to make it

where it was just a bulb
and a cord.

- So you're sort of
a historian as well, I take it.

- I love old magic.
I love the history of magic.

I'm a fan of all the greats
that we grew up to

from Valentine, to Thurston,
to Houdini.

I'm a huge fan,
because without them,

we wouldn't be here today
in magic in my opinion, so...

- Yeah.
That's so cool that you--

you're keeping
the traditional magic alive.

- I try to, you know.
I think that's how you learn.

You learn from the past,

and that's how you
reinvent things

or better things
or at least learn from

the legends from behind.

- All right, well, let's
check in with the boys.

- Sure.
- Penn, Teller.

- You know, we know--

we know an awful lot
about the act,

So we would have used
that as a code

to sneak in Roy and--

we know a lot about that.

Great to see that act.
It's just really great to see--

- It's an amazing piece,
isn't it?

- And that's--those are
the actual props?

- Those are the actual props.
[Penn sighs]

And I have old footage
of him teaching me

in Palm Springs.

'Cause I wanted him
to actually touch them

and wanted to see him
actually just do it

and it was great.

You know, he's 92,
but it was just great

'cause he did everything

just the way
you would normally--

he'd do it when he toured,
you know.

- Also, you know,
and you forget

how many provers there are
on the milk picture.

- Oh, my goodness.

- I mean, there's
all those provers

that really do sell it
completely

and that you did beautifully.
- Yes.

- It's beautiful.
- Oh, well, thank you.

- And it's just gorgeous props,

but, you know,
we know the illusion.

- Of course you do.

- We're so glad you came out
and did it, Murray.

- Thank you for having me on.
I really appreciate it guys.

Thank you so much.
Congratulations to you.

Thank you again.
- All right, thank you.

Murray Sawchuck!

[cheers and applause]

Coming up,
our headliners let loose.

Penn and Teller appear next.

[cheers and applause]

♪ ♪

[jazz music]

[cheers and applause]

- The show is almost over,

and we've saved
the best for last.

Here are the longest running
headliners

in the history of Las Vegas,
Penn and Teller!

[cheers and applause]

- We love what we do.

We'd like to go on
fooling people forever,

even after we're dead...

especially after we're dead,

and for that,
we need your help.

Here's all you have to do.

Get yourself somewhere
that has internet access.

Get yourself a deck of cards.

Have a pen
and an envelope handy.

Invite your friend over.

Hey, friend,
wanna see a card trick?

No, no, no, no, no, no,
this is gonna be great.

Look at that deck of cards.

Look at 'em.

They're all different.

Now, good, shuffle 'em up.
Any way you want.

Shuffle 'em up
really good.

When you're done
shuffling 'em,

put 'em face down right here.

Now, do you know
what time it is?

Okay, take this envelope,

take the card you shuffled to,

put it in the envelope.

Drop it right in there.

And then seal it up.

[light orchestral music]

And write your name.

Now put it in your pocket.

Beautiful.

You know, I sure do love magic,

and my favorite magician
were those old guys.

You know, the ones
with the TV show called

"I'm Making
a Fool Out Of Myself."

[laughter]
Too bad about 'em, huh?

Oh, didn't you hear?

They were doing this trick
where they catch b*ll*ts

in their teeth
underwater with sharks

and they had a bad night.

[laughter]
They're gone.

I'm sure it's true.
I saw it on TMZ.

See for yourself.

Here, let's open
a search engine right here.

[laughter]
And I'll just type in...

"Penn & Teller grave."

Now check this out.

There it is right there.
Take a look at that.

Right there.

Yeah, there's
your grave right now.

Now, what does it say there?

Take out that envelope.

That card you cut to.

After you shuffled the deck,

you put the card
in the envelope, right?

And you put your name on it

and you sealed it.

What card is that there?

It's the same card
that's on the grave.

The three of clubs.

[applause]

Even from the grave,

Penn and Teller
have fooled you again.

Now there you go,
what could be better?

The punch line to a card trick

delivered from
beyond the grave.

And you don't even have
to wait until we're dead.

Although,
that'll make it even better.

So how does it work?

You use a card force,
a really great one.

Before your friend comes over,

take the three of clubs

and place it just
underneath the envelope.

Have your friend
examine the cards.

Have your friend
shuffle the cards.

When you ask them,
"What time is it?"

that's called misdirection.

It gives them something
to think about

while you pick up the envelope
with the card

and lay it right on top.

They think it's the card
they shuffled to,

but it's really the top card,
the three of clubs

that I put down
with the envelope.

Have 'em take that card,

put it in the envelope,

write down their name on it,

and then seal it up.

Then all you've got to do
is go to the internet

and type in
"Penn & Teller grave."

All those photos,
you know where those are from?

We didn't Photoshop
a lot of fake pictures.

Nope.

That's a real grave marker

at one of the coolest
and most beautiful cemeteries

in the world.

Forest Lawn-Hollywood Hills
in Los Angeles.

Yeah, we got a grave

before we're dead!

[laughter and applause]

And it'll be there long after.

Kind of forever.

That means if you live
in Southern California

or if you're vacationing there

with family or friends,
you can do the trick

in an even more
spectacular way.

You can take your friend
to our real, no-kidding grave,

at real, no-kidding
Forest Lawn,

visit a couple
of movie star graves,

then you discover our monument.

And just to show you the
kind of reaction you might get,

take a look at this video
that was sent to us

by a family who tried it
on their children.

- Did you two bring
an envelope with you?

- Do I open it?
- Yeah, go ahead.

- What is that?

- The magic trick
that they did.

- What?

[laughter]

- [laughing]

- Screaming and running!

That's what you want
in a great magic trick.

[laughter]

We call this
our Eternal Card Trick.

If you use it
to fool your children,

then teach it to them,

they can pass it along
to their children

as a family tradition.

And as long as that continues,
Teller and I will live on.

If only in this trick.

Buried like a time capsule,

burning like the flame
on JFK's grave,

helping your
great-great-great-great-

great-great grandchildren
make fools of their friends.

And that thought, well,
it warms our hearts.

Good night.

[cheers and applause]

- [sighs]

The legend of Penn and Teller
will live on forever,

but we're done for now.

From all of us at "Fool Us,"
good night!

[cheers and applause]