45 Facts About Penn Jillette

Penn Jillette is known for his advocacy of atheism, scientific skepticism, the First Amendment, as well as previously identifying as a libertarian, and supporting free-market capitalism.

Penn Jillette's mother, Valda Rudolph Jillette, was a secretary, and his father, Samuel Herbert Jillette, worked at Greenfield's Franklin County Jail.

Penn Jillette became an atheist in his early teens after reading the Bible.

Penn Jillette was asked to leave the church, after asking questions in a youth group that purportedly made skeptics of his peers.

Penn Jillette became disenchanted with traditional illusionist acts that presented the craft as authentic magic, such as The Amazing Kreskin on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.

Penn Jillette regularly acknowledges Randi as the one person on the planet he loved the most besides members of his family.

Penn Jillette worked with high school classmate Michael Moschen in developing and performing a juggling act during the years immediately following their 1973 graduation.

Penn Jillette served as host and presenter of the first touring performance by avant-garde band the Residents in 1983.

The performance featured Penn Jillette coming out between songs telling long and intentionally pointless stories.

In later years, Penn Jillette would contribute to two documentary films about the Residents.

Penn Jillette was the primary voice announcer for the US-based cable network Comedy Central in the 1990s.

In 1994, Penn Jillette purchased a house in the Las Vegas Valley and dubbed it "The Slammer".

Penn Jillette formerly recorded music there, and conducted his radio show at the studio inside "The Slammer".

In 2005 with actor Paul Provenza, Penn Jillette co-produced and co-directed The Aristocrats, a documentary film tracing the life of an obscene joke known as "The Aristocrats".

From January 3,2006, to March 2,2007, Penn Jillette hosted, along with fellow atheist, skeptic, and juggler Michael Goudeau, a live, hour-long radio talk show broadcast on Free FM.

On March 2,2007, Penn Jillette announced that he would no longer be doing his radio show.

Penn Jillette stated that he is a "show biz wimp" and decided to stop doing the show so he could spend more time with his children.

In 2008, Penn Jillette was a contestant on Dancing with the Stars, paired with professional dancer Kym Johnson.

An avid upright bassist, Penn Jillette frequently accompanies jazz pianist Mike Jones, who opens for the magician's Las Vegas show.

On March 16,2018, Jones released a live jazz album with Penn Jillette entitled The Show Before the Show which consisted of ten tracks played by the duo at the Rio Las Vegas.

Penn Jillette additionally performed at the famed Green Mill Cocktail Lounge to coincide with the album's debut.

Penn Jillette was one of the contestants on The Celebrity Apprentice season 5, beginning on February 19,2012.

Penn Jillette was fired from the show by Donald Trump during the Week 11 episode.

From 1987 to 1989, Penn Jillette provided financial support to David and Jad Fair of the art rock band Half Japanese for their record label 50 Skidillion Watts.

In July 1999, Penn Jillette was granted for the "Jill-Jet", a hot-tub jet specially angled for allowing a woman to masturbate against the water stream.

Penn Jillette has credited Debbie Harry of Blondie for suggesting the idea, as the two of them were once in a hot tub and Harry made a remark about changing the jets for a woman's pleasure.

Penn Jillette created a private recording studio in his Las Vegas home.

The addition, designed by Outside The Lines Studio and built by Crisci Custom Builders between October 2003 and June 2004 as part of his Las Vegas home, was named Vintage Nudes Studios by Penn Jillette for playing cards that he had collected.

The studio was home to Free FM's Penn Jillette Radio show, and was the home of the Penn Jillette's Sunday School stream and podcast until it was demolished in 2016, along with his former home, "The Slammer".

Penn Jillette is married to Emily Penn Jillette, and they have two children, Zolten and Moxie CrimeFighter.

Penn Jillette has told multiple stories regarding the red fingernail on his left hand.

In one, Penn Jillette's mother told him to get a manicure because people would be looking at his hands.

Penn Jillette has claimed that red fingernail provides excellent misdirection and is just plain cool.

Penn Jillette says that he has an addictive personality and claims to have never had "so much as a puff of marijuana or a drop of alcohol" because he does not trust himself to do it in moderation.

Penn Jillette follows Joel Fuhrman's nutritarian diet, which means that he eats little or no animal products, no processed grains, and no added sugar or salt.

Penn Jillette is featured in Eating You Alive, a 2016 American documentary about food and health.

Penn Jillette encourages open discussion, debate, and proselytizing on the issue of God's existence, believing that the issue is too important for opinions about it to remain private.

Jillette does not dismiss all who do believe in God: in a 2008 edition of his Penn Says podcast, he expresses his appreciation for a fan who brought him the gift of a pocket Gideon Bible after a performance because he realized that this individual sincerely cared enough about him to try to help him.

In January 2007, Penn Jillette took the "Blasphemy Challenge" offered by the Rational Response Squad and publicly denied the existence of a holy spirit.

Penn Jillette appeared in the 2019 Church of the SubGenius film JR 'Bob' Dobbs and the Church of the SubGenius, where he spoke positively of the parody religion.

Penn Jillette has previously identified as a libertarian, and stated in 2003 that he may consider himself an anarcho-capitalist.

Penn Jillette was a fellow at the libertarian think tank the Cato Institute.

In 2008, Penn Jillette stated that there is not enough information to make an informed decision on global warming, that his gut told him it was not real, but his mind said that he cannot prove it.

Penn Jillette stated in 2008 that he "always" votes Libertarian, and endorsed Libertarian Party nominee Gary Johnson for President in 2012 and 2016.

In 2020, Penn Jillette distanced himself from aspects of libertarianism, particularly surrounding COVID-19.