Q:
In a recent QoD you stated, 'If the current writer hadn't worked many years ago on a documentary series for TLC about magic and magicians (which, as an aside, included the first instance ever of Teller actually speaking on camera) [...]' and I'm curious: Was this earlier than Teller's speaking role in the HBO film
Long Gone, in 1987?
A:
It was not, and we stand corrected! Many thanks for the heads-up, which led, as is the way of QoD, to further investigation.
Having discovered, thanks to your query, that Teller is even more of a dark horse than we had previously realized and in fact has spoken for TV or film on more occasions than we were aware, although in several instances the audience would not have known so. Apparently, the whole non-speaking schtick is a device Teller hit upon early in his performing career when he discovered it reduced the chance of undesired audience participation (heckling, throwing things at him, etc.).
We're still pretty sure that TLC's Mysteries of Magic trilogy (you can find all three episodes on YouTube) was his first time speaking as himself, and in a serious capacity about his profession, but here's the lowdown on other instances we've since uncovered.
- The usually silent half of Penn & Teller provided the voice of "Mofo the Psychic Gorilla" in the duo's early Broadway show, courtesy of a radio mic cupped in his hand.
- In 1986, he was cast in the role of Hale Buchman, Jr. in baseball movie Long Gone, on account of his resemblance to Henry Gibson (they play father and son in the flick). We haven't seen it, but it was a speaking role.
- In 1987 he had another talking part in a episode of "Miami Vice" called "Like a Hurricane," in which he plays a character called Ralph Fisher.
- Teller contributed the voice for the character Octum in 1988's French sci-fi animation flick Gandahar (a.k.a. Light Years)
- Teller speaks in Penn & Teller Get Killed, the 1989 black comedy in which they star.
- Teller again speaks (but does not sing) in The Fantasticks, the 1995 musical in which he plays the role of Mortimer, although most of his speaking scenes hit the cutting room floor (you can catch his deleted "Dying isn't easy" scene among the outtakes included on the DVD release).
- It looks as if the little guy speaks the word "science" in a high-pitched voice in Penn and Teller's appearance on the television show "Bill Nye the Science Guy" in the episode titled "Light Optics", but in fact he only mouthed the word, which was spoken by Penn using a ventriloquism technique.
- He does speak on camera -- albeit obscured -- both passionately (he actually burst into tears a couple of times) and at length in episodes one and three ("Masters of Mystery" and "Death-Defying Feats") in the TLC series "Mysteries of Magic" that the current writer produced in 1997-8 (aired in '99, I believe).
- Once again, the veritably loquacious "silent" half of P&T can be caught being interviewed -- and again obscured by deep shadow -- on the Nova "ScienceNow" episode "How Does the Brain Work?"
- We know he appears, but are not sure if he speaks (can someone please confirm?) in the fifth-season episode of "Babylon 5," titled "The Day of the Dead", written by Neil Gaiman.
- Teller can be taught chatting once more in the Egyptian episode of the duo's 2003 documentary mini-series "Penn & Teller's Magic and Mystery Tour".
- A fan of charlatan-buster Harry Houdini, Teller has spoken about the famed escapologist more than once, including on camera for the 2010 History Channel documentary, "Houdini: Unlocking the Mystery," as well as on radio for NPR in 2010, when he spoke at length about the maestro.
- Recently, he has spoken in more than one episode of "Penn & Teller's Bullsh!t," not to mention in the 2012 movie Atlas Shrugged: Part II, in which he has a brief speaking role as Laughlin.
- In addition, Teller has given voice to an animated version of himself in two episodes of "The Simpsons" ("Hello Gutter, Hello Fadder" and "The Great Simpsina") and voiced a series of cloned store clerks in "Zoey's Zoo." He appeared as a cat in the "Dharma & Greg" Season 1 episode, "The Cat's out of the Bag" and as himself in an episode of "Tosh.O," in which he gave "advice" to a fellow magician. (This apparently involved standing and staring at the gentleman for some time before exclaiming, "Practice once in a f*ckin' while," before walking away. Sound advice.)
- Most recently, Teller's voice can be heard on Season 13 of "Celebrity Apprentice" when he speaks to Penn on his mobile device in Episode 10, "The Mayor of Stress Town."
We may well have missed an instance or two -- the little fella's evidently pretty sneaky about going off and talking when he thinks no one's looking -- so drop us a line if this list is lacking and we'll add any omissions as "Updates" to this answer.
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