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For decades, the performers known as Siegfried & Roy dazzled the world with their iconic stage shows involving illusions and large cats. Now comes news that the last surviving member of the iconic duo, Siegfried Fischbacher, passed away on Wednesday evening in his home. He was 81 years old.
The terminally-ill Fischbacher had been struggling with pancreatic cancer, and his representatives told the New York Post that he recently had to have a tumor removed. He was recovering in hospice care before he passed away.
Fischbacher’s death comes after his stage partner Roy Horn died in May 2020 due to complications related to COVID-19.
The iconic duo first met on a cruise ship, the TS Bremen, back in 1957. Horn had smuggled his pet cheetah Chico onto the ship, and the two bonded over their love of the large cat.
The two were actually workers on the cruse ship, with Horn serving as the captain’s bellboy and Fischbacher serving as the ship’s entertainer. Soon, Fischbacher had Horn assist him with a magic show each night, and Horn asked whether Fischbacher could make a large cat disappear as part of his magic act.
It would be 10 years before they first launched their act in 1967. They slowly gained fame, and when they launched the show in 1989 at the Mirage Hotel & Casino, they became worldwide sensations. This famous act lasted for 14 years.
Unfortunately, their career came to an end in 2003 when a Siberian tiger named Manticore bit into Horn’s neck during a performance. But they didn’t regret the end of their legendary act.
“I really don’t miss it,” Fischbacher told Good Morning America in 2019. “We have been on stage in Vegas… for 40 years on stage, you know? And we had the most successful show in the history of Las Vegas anyway.”
Now, both Fischbacher and Horn have passed away. But their legacy lived on long after their show ended, and will likely endure long after their deaths. Ultimately, this iconic duo transformed the magic and entertainment industry forever.