Penn Jillette's Former Home, The Slammer, Has Several Weird Features
If ever there was a home that was a visual representation of its owner, then it was "The Slammer," the playfully-named former home of entertainer Penn Jillette. As one half of the magical comedy duo Penn & Teller, Penn Jillette has been wowing audiences with his offbeat brand of magic since 1975. With professional accomplishments that include sold-out Las Vegas performances, stints on Broadway, television cameos, guest-starring on "Celebrity Apprentice," and "Dancing with the Stars," Jillette has built a pretty phenomenal career for himself (per the Penn & Teller website). It's no surprise that when it came time to build his first dream home, he really went for something truly spectacular.
Located in the dusty Mojave desert of Las Vegas, Nevada, The Slammer was once just a regular A-frame house before Jillette and his architectural pal Colin Summers got ahold of it for $184,000 in 1994, according to The Richest. From that moment, the pair turned the humble homestead into a sprawling visual landscape that expanded to over 7,900 square feet. After decades of ownership, Jillette sold his Nevada digs for $1.88 million to Las Vegas property builder, Larry Canarelli, in 2016, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Canarelli would go on to demolish the residence, making way for new builds on the 8.6 acres of land, but not before Jillette would attempt to have a tank driven through the house for his film "The Grounds." Let's take a look at what made The Slammer so wonderfully weird.
Plenty of things to look at on the outside of The Slammer
With an original idea to create a prison-inspired vibe, Penn Jillette's vision for the property quickly morphed into a hodgepodge of kitsch meets technicolored acid trip. The home looks pieced together with different wings and additions attached by twisting walkways and ramps. Moving through the property, guests are treated to complimenting and contrasting hues that run down the exterior walls of the home into the grass, with beautiful colors abound.
The Slammer served as an oasis, contrasting the harshness of the dry dessert with luxurious features such as a long lap pool and a goldfish cracker-shaped pond. The latter provided a home to many koi fish and turtles, according to an interview Jillette had with the United Church of Bacon. Shaded by plenty of trees and shrubs amongst the surrounding barren environment, you might have to look twice before actually believing that this colorful abode in the desert was even real. But the outside is only the tip of the iceberg compared to the wild magic that lies within.
All the quirks inside The Slammer
There seem to be no two rooms alike when you experience the journey that is a home tour of The Slammer. Among the seven-bedroom, eight-bathroom home is a collection of various styles and colors of furniture from uber-contemporary to classicly retro. Zebra and leopard print carpeting line the floor of some rooms, rather than more traditional materials like hardwood flooring. The interior also features a 14-seat home movie theatre that could be converted into a stage for playing live music, plus a full recording studio, per the LA Times. Every room had a unique color, and even Penn Jillette's former office was painted completely in shades of neon pink, providing the backdrop for several computer screens and a silver in the corner.
Pictures of the home showcased on The Richest also revealed more prison-themed touches. This included a suspect lineup painted on the wall for guests to have their mugshots taken before entering, and a chalk outline of Jillette's magical partner Teller decorating the floor. Other quirky features around the residence were a large Scrabble-tiled floor in the bathroom which spelled out humorous toilet-related terms and a huge mantis-like sculpture perched in the front foyer. According to Realtor.com, in 2015 Jilette purchased a new home for $3.3 million, located in the swanky Las Vegas neighborhood known as The Ridges. Although Jilette has since moved away, the magical memory of The Slammer is sure to live on.