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Penn Jillette
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Miami Vice Character
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Born
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March 5, 1955, Greenfield, Connecticut
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Active
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1981-present
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Spouse/Children
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Emily Zolten (2004-present), 2 children
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Penn Fraser Jillette (born March 5, 1955) is an American magician, comedian, and actor, who made his film acting debut in the show Miami Vice as Jimmy Borges, New York electronics and drug dealer, killed by Sacco's men in the episode "The Prodigal Son".
Career
Jillette was born in Greenfield, Massachusetts. He became interested in magic by watching The Amazing Randi and his use of deception as entertainment rather than of the supernatural (as The Amazing Kreskin did), and also graduated from the Ringling Bros./Barnum & Bailey Clown College. In 1974, he was introduced to Teller, and seven years later, the act Penn & Teller was born, had a successful off-Broadway show, Las Vegas shows, and also appeared in several PBS, NBC, and cable specials. They hosted the cable programs Penn & Teller: Bullshit! and Penn & Teller Tell A Lie.
After his Vice appearance (on which his partner Teller would guest star in "Like A Hurricane") Jillette appeared in the films My Chauffeur (with Teller), Off Beat (with Cleavant Derricks, John Turturro, and Julie Bovasso), Tough Guys Don't Dance (with John Snyder), Hackers, and Toy Story (with R. Lee Ermey). Jillette served as the voiceover in the early days of Comedy Central, he also had a recurring role as Drell, head of the Witches' Council in Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, later appearing in Friends as an encyclopedia salesman, The Drew Carey Show, Home Improvement, Just Shoot Me! (with Laura San Giacomo), then hosted a game show, Identity, based loosely on the classic What's My Line. from 2006-07, appeared in the 2008 edition of Dancing with the Stars, being the first male dancer eliminated, was a contestant on the 2012 edition of Celebrity Apprentice (with George Takei), then guest starred as a voice actor in The Cleveland Show.
Personal Life
Jillette married Emily Zolten in 2004, and they have two children, daughter Moxie Crimefighter (born 2005), and son Zolten Penn (born 2006).