SUCCESS FACTORS
The Power Of Dedication
( And A Little Magic )
Leverage Yourself , Your Partners , And Your Practice With Penn Jillette ’ s Secrets To Success
W hen Penn Jillette was kicked off the stage after showering late-night television show host David Letterman and his desk in cockroaches on national television in the 1980s , Penn ’ s first thought was of his mother .
Leading up to the now-legendary performance , Penn called his mom to clue her in on the trick he and his partner , Teller , planned to perform for Letterman ’ s audience . It was a trick that was months in the making — a trick Letterman had practically asked for . After their first “ Late Night ” performance months earlier , Letterman encouraged the then-rising illusionist duo , known as Penn & Teller , to give him all they had next time . He wanted the audience to sympathize with him and really feel his astonishment in the misdirection .
So , Teller proposed a now-famous idea to Penn : “ We could dump half a million cockroaches on him .”
The duo spent weeks practicing their moves and finding materials that cockroaches wouldn ’ t cling to . They worked with researchers , familiarized themselves with the bugs , covered their arms and legs in cockroaches , and found the best species for their bit . They rehearsed tirelessly and secretly for weeks before pitching it to “ Late Night ” producer Robert Morton . The producer was hesitant because of Letterman ’ s phobia of bugs , but Letterman , who had no idea what the scheme was , persuaded Morton to let Penn & Teller do whatever they wanted . Penn ’ s mom warned her son otherwise . “ She said , ‘ You ’ ll never work in show business again ,’” Penn remembers of their conversation . “‘ You can ’ t drop bugs on a person at their own show !’”
But they did , and the result was a maddening reaction from Letterman and a legendary trick that fans and viewers still remember . Letterman had no clue what was going to happen and was every bit as angry as he appeared to be on television , even when the cameras stopped rolling .
“ We broke for a commercial break , and I went to shake Dave ’ s hand , as is customary ,” Penn recalls , “ and he said , ‘ Get the f--- away from me !’ I thought , ‘ Oh , geez , Mom was right .'”
Penn & Teller left the studio without knowing their fate . At the time , they had been performing together for less than a decade after partnering in the late ‘ 70s and were still climbing the ranks as household names . They hadn ’ t yet secured the prime spot on late-night TV , and the Letterman slot had been their stepping stone , albeit a stone they had just dumped an entire top hat of bugs onto . The next day , they got their answer . “ Dave called up and said , ‘ Penn , I watched the cockroach segment last night . It ’ s the best bit we ’ ve ever had on the
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