Penn and Teller: Fool Us is the show where top magicians come to prove themselves. So you can expect that the bar is pretty high in terms of skill. Which is why some of the greatest magicians from around the world come to showcase their talents.
Fool Us has featured all sorts of magicians and audiences have had the chance to see a wide variety of tricks. While each magician had something interesting to bring on stage – only a few have managed to outwit masters Penn and Teller.
Running for 6 seasons, Penn and Teller’s wildly popular magic show, Fool Us, has been incredible right from the beginning.
During its long run of episodes, it has featured some of the most amazing magicians we have ever seen. That is why we thought to revisit some of them.
In the following article, we will feature 9 of the best magicians who performed and managed to fool Penn & Teller. They have had a real impact on the show, and both the audience and the judges appreciated their performance.
If you’re a longtime fan of the show, wanting to rediscover some of the greats or if you’re just getting acquainted with Fool Us, then this article is for you!
1. John Archer
John Archer is a comedy magician who aims to make his audience have a great time. His goal is to deliver a great show and have the audience go, “Wow, what a great show.”
He participated on Penn and Teller, back during the show’s 1st season, where he put on an incredible performance. Since the beginning, once he stepped up on stage, he made the audiences laugh in droves with his great sense of humor.
Besides that, he also managed to fool Penn and Teller with a simple, yet effective trick which involved 4 envelopes. We’re not giving you any more hints, but if you want to watch the whole performance, you can do so by clicking the following video:
2. Graham Jolley
Graham Jolley is hailed as one of the best magicians to ever come on Penn and Teller. His trick is known on the internet as “The Card Trick that Fooled Penn and Teller.”
He performed it way back in 2011 and had everyone both amazed and puzzled – as nobody could figure it out.
Not even the attentive Penn and Teller, was dazzled by the trick. They tried their best to guess, yet in the end, they had to concede that Graham’s method was indeed a mystery to them.
Watch his entire performance here:
3. Suzanne
Suzanne is a professional magician who performs close-up magic tricks. She doesn’t perform magic to trick people, but instead, she uses it as a way to establish connections and create memorable moments.
In 2015, she participated on Penn and Teller where she performed a trick with band-aids. It was simple, and she even mentioned it wasn’t particularly complicated, but the audience loved it.
Especially Penn and Teller, who at first thought they knew how to prove it, but in the end, they couldn’t figure it out.
4. Jeff McBride
Jeff McBride is a sleight of hand expert who had Penn and Teller and, quite frankly one of the best magicians, the entire audience scratching their heads over the trick he performed in front of them.
First off, he had Penn and Teller hold two empty bowls he filled with water. Then, he took the dishes from them and proceeded to drink from them and shake them until they were empty.
Afterward, as he shook the empty bowls, they started to spill water as if it came out of nowhere. An odd trick which had Penn and Teller admit they weren’t able to figure it out.
5. Lee Hathaway
Lee Hathaway is one of the original foolers from the show’s 1st season. He is a close-up magician from the U.K. who specializes in performing card tricks at corporate events and parties.
On the show, he is remembered for his outrageous card trick, which involved him regurgitating a card that was randomly chosen by a selected member of the audience.
Penn and Teller were baffled by the audacity of this trick, noting that “it’s a tough one.” Eventually, they relented and admitted that Lee had fooled them.
6. Leon and Romy
Leon Etienne and Romy Low are an illusionist duo who have been performing together for well over a decade now. These two amazing magicians aren’t quite like the others, as they bring a punk attitude and element of danger into the tricks they pull off.
For example, during their moment on Fool Us, they performed a card trick, which had the host choose a card. Then, Romy and Leon invited a friend who would skateboard over them in an attempt to catch the card picked by the audience.
The skateboarder was unable to catch the card. Leon revealed this was the plan all along – the card was stuck to the bottom of the skateboard without anyone ever realizing.
7. Ivan Amodei
Ivan Amodei is an illusionist who combines music and close-up magic in order to convey an atmosphere of mystery and awe.
His entire performance is centered on sonic elements. During the 3rd season of Fool Us, he showcased a very elaborate trick, which involved a large number of people from the audience shouting the name of a U.S. state at once.
Then, he guessed all the names which were shouted. Penn and Teller had their suspicions, but in the end, they had to admit they didn’t know how he managed to pull it off.
8. Jorge Blass
Jorge Blass is a Spanish magician who has been performing from a very young age, being only 12 years old when he won his first award for magic.
With a career spanning over 27 years now, Jorge has developed his act to be one of the most diverse in the industry, combining close-up magic and stand-up comedy seamlessly.
On Fool Us, he got the best of Penn and Teller when he showcased a legendary card trick known as the frog routine – in which he shuffled a paper frog into a deck of cards, only to have a real living frog come out from the deck.
9. Nestor Hato
Nestor Hato is a French magician whose style of close-up magic is based on fast shuffles and sleight of hands, which always catch the audience by surprise.
During his moment on the show, he asked Penn and Teller to come up on stage – to which Penn admitted he was terrified.
His magic trick was nothing to be afraid of, but they were impressed by his incredible shuffling abilities. So much, that Penn admitted they were fooled.
10. Vitaly Beckman
Vitaly Beckam is a master illusionist and showman. His dazzling talent has allowed him to create some of the most intricate mentalism and illusion acts from the industry.
Through his shows, Vitaly puts much emphasis on atmosphere and ambiance, aiming to create a one-of-a-kind experience for his audience.
He participated on Penn & Teller during the show’s 3rd season, where he had the chance to showcase a marvelous and very theatrical illusion. Penn & Teller couldn’t explain it, but they enjoyed every bit of it.
If you’re curious to see it, you can do so by clicking the following video:
11. Simon Coronel
Sometimes, the best magicians out there are those who can do amazing tricks with very few resources. This kind of situation allows a magician to be frugal and come up with creative ways to entertain the audience.
Such is the case with Simon Coronel; he’s a close-up magician who specializes in sleight of hand tricks, and besides magic, he is also a well-spoken spoken motivator.
On Penn & Teller, he didn’t fail to impress, and with only 3 chips from his pocket, he was able to perform a neat disappearing trick, which had the audience give him a roaring round of applause.
Penn and Teller weren’t so convinced at first, but in a later episode of the season, they did a follow-up on Simon’s case and admitted they misjudged his performance and ultimately conceded that he did fool them!
Be sure to watch the following video to get the complete coverage of the story:
12. Siegfried Tieber
Siegfried Tieber is a sleight of hand magician coming from Los Angeles. Originally from Ecuador, Siegfried started by performing local shows and, due to his heightened popularity, ended up becoming one of the best magicians in his country.
Siegfried is not afraid to go up close and personal with his audience, preferring to perform tricks right in front of them. Not that it makes any difference, Siegfried’s sleight of hand technique is so clean that nobody will notice a thing.
During his appearance on Penn and Teller, he managed to put on an incredibly mystifying and funny performance, which involved him trying to guess which cards Penn and Teller chose.
And yes, both of the master magicians weren’t able to figure it out. Be sure to check the entire performance in full, in the following video:
13. Harry Keaton
Harry Keaton is a mentalist and master hypnotist from Germany. He uses a slew of techniques to trick viewers and make things appear different than they are.
With Harry, appearances can be deceiving, and you can never be too sure of your surroundings. All the pre-established notions you have about objects can be thrown out the window as he will make viewers think twice about what they know.
For example, during his appearance on Penn and Teller, he had Allison come up on stage and used hypnosis to influence her thoughts. Then, he had her touch a rock while she was believing the whole time that it was a sponge.
We don’t want to spoil more of it, but we can quote Penn saying, “this is the greatest act we have ever seen.” You can watch it for yourself by clicking the following video:
Have the Best Magicians Perform at Your Event
If there’s one lesson to be learned from this article is that magic is highly appreciated. Having a set of amazing magicians on stage makes your event much more impactful.
It’s hard to impress Penn & Teller – they know their magic. When even they are left in awe by a magic trick, then you know you’re dealing with something different.
Time and time again, magicians prove themselves to be some of the best entertainers you can have on a stage. Whether you’re hosting a conference or a corporate luncheon, a magician will almost always be well-received by the audience.
If you’d like to have these incredible magicians showcase their skills at your live event, then why not book their services?
In this case, why not hire a magician for a special event? We, at the Grable group, can provide you with the industry’s top standard in terms of entertainment. Be sure to give us a call at (615) 283-0039.
