Giant of magic
Big cat illusionist Siegfried is dead after cancer fight
AS one half of magic duo Siegfried & Roy, Siegfried Fischbacher astonished millions of people during sell-out shows featuring big cats.
Siegfried, who along with his showbiz partner entertained tourists in Vegas for decades, has died aged 81 at his home in the US city after a battle with cancer.
It comes eight months after the other star in the double act, Roy Horn, died aged 75 in Vegas because of complications from Covid.
US magician David Copperfield paid tribute to Siegfried yesterday, calling him a “legend in magic”.
Siegfried’s sister, who is a nun, has told how she talked to her brother shortly before he died.
Sister Dolore, 78, who lives in their native Germany, said: “He was only able to say ‘OK’. It was kind of like an Amen.
“He is not dead, he will live on in my heart.” It was reported days ago Siegfried had undergone a 12-hour op to remove a malignant tumour and was being cared for at home by hospice workers.
His last public appearance was in Vegas in August at the dedication of a road – Siegfried & Roy Drive at the Mirage hotel where the pair had performed for more than a decade.
Siegfried was born in Rosenheim in Bavaria in June 1939, 10 weeks before the outbreak of the Second World War. His mum was a housewife and his dad was a painter who became a prisoner of war in the Soviet Union.
Siegfried, whose interest in magic began when he was a young lad, was working as a magician on a cruise ship in 1957 when he met compatriot Roy, who was a steward on the liner.
Roy joined Siegfried in the act and they quickly increased the risk factor by going from making a rabbit disappear to performing the same feat with a cheetah.
Their showmanship and thrills soon got them noticed. They first appeared on the Vegas strip in 1967 and in 1989 began a 14-year run at the Mirage that turned them into huge stars.
They appeared alongside white tigers, white lions and an elephant. The act came to an abrupt end in 2003 when a 27st tiger bit Roy’s neck and dragged him off stage during a show at the hotel.
The attack crushed his windpipe and left him partially paralysed, though he underwent lengthy rehabilitation and was later able to walk again.
After Roy’s death, Siegfried said: “From the moment we met, I knew Roy and I, together, would change the world.
“There could be no Siegfried without Roy, and no Roy without Siegfried.”