Siegfried takes his last bow
Pancreatic cancer claims tiger tamer, 81
Siegfried Fischbacher, half of the flamboyant, big-cat illusionist act Siegfried & Roy, died Wednesday at his home in Las Vegas. He was 81.
Siegfried was terminally ill with pancreatic cancer and recently underwent an operation to remove a tumor, his reps told The Post. He was released from the hospital earlier this month and had been under hospice care at home.
The perpetually tanned magic man’s death comes less than a year after the passing of his longtime stage partner, Roy Horn, due to complications from COVID-19.
Born in Rosenheim, Germany, on June 13, 1939, Siegfried credited the childhood purchase of a magic book for setting in motion an enduring love for the art of illusion.
The budding magician met his partner aboard the TS Bremen cruise ship in 1957, where they bonded over Horn’s pet cheetah, Chico, which he had smuggled on board.
Working as a steward and entertainer, Siegfried recruited Roy, the captain’s bellboy, to assist during his nightly magic act.
After the show, Roy popped the question that changed both of their lives: “Siegfried, disappearing rabbits is ordinary — but can you make a cheetah disappear?”
Their eventual act — a hybrid of tiger-taming, David Copperfieldesque magic and Liberace glitz — launched in Sin City circa 1967.
But it was their $30million, 14-year run at the Mirage Hotel & Casino, beginning in 1989, that propelled them into global stardom amid the height of the era of excess.
The pair performed their lavish spectacle for some 700,000 people a year at the 1,500seat Sigfried & Roy Theater.
Their stellar run ended, however, in 2003, when Roy suffered a gory, careerending injury after Mantacore, a 400pound Siberian tiger, sunk its teeth into his neck during a live performance at the Mirage.
In an interview on ABC’s “Good Morning America” after the incident, the two said they had made peace with the tragedy that killed their careers.
“I really don’t miss it,” Siegfried said.
“We have been on stage in Vegas just by themselves for 40 years on stage, you know? And we had the most successful show in the history of Las Vegas anyway.”
Even after his performing days were finished, Siegfried could be found daily at the Mirage casino’s Secret Garden of Siegfried & Roy, where some of their big cats still reside, entertaining fans with simple coin tricks and always taking time for photos.
His lifelong mantra: “In magic, anything is possible.”