USA Today ran a nice profile of Teller from Penn and Teller last week. It includes photos by Steve Marcus of his beautiful geeky house.
“Like much of my life, this house is a reflection of everything I wanted back when I was 12,” says Teller, 59. “I love this house because it’s honest. If you see a floor that looks like concrete, that’s because it is concrete. But, ah, on the other hand, nothing is what it seems.” Did we mention the house has multiple mirrors, hidden doors, screaming tables and one talking bear sculpture who plays card tricks on visitors? Like the man said, it’s a 12-year-old’s dream. Zoom back. A decade ago, Teller spotted a 10-acre rocky outcropping with great views of the Vegas Strip and the mountains and decided this was his Xanadu. What rose on the spot is a squared-off fortress with an exterior of corrugated steel that’s interrupted by expanses of windows.
Inside, the structure is more maze than living space, 4,500 square feet of books, memorabilia, DVDs, as well as a coffin and the odd preserved human skull – macabre touches shared by Teller’s show-mate, Penn, who lives a mile away in his own eclectic mansion.
