The real Siegfried and Roy: Wild facts, photos and footage

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The real Siegfried and Roy: Wild facts, photos and footage

Deep dive into the life and work of these larger-than-life characters.

03 Sep, 2024 Sydney Festival

Deep dive

Header image: Photographer Horst Ossinger visits the illusionist duo Siegfried (left) and Roy (right) from Germany in Las Vegas. Their animals live on the grounds of their house in a rocky landscape specially designed for them, 1986. Contributors: dpa picture alliance / Alamy. Photographer: Horst Ossinger.

"Where do you start with a story that involves counter-terrorism police doing background checks on a tiger, has its roots in the mental health problems of Nazi soldiers, and features an investigation into whether a beehive hairdo can be used as a weapon? What’s more, weaving in and out of all of this, there are two German magicians in mullets and shiny suits seemingly capable of floating around in the air, one of whom nearly dies on stage after a white tiger bites clean through his neck."

– The Guardian

The true story of Siegfried and Roy, which inspired this summer's epic opera, is a wild tale indeed. During the second half of the twentieth century these larger-than-life performers established themselves among the most eccentric and excessive celebrities in history.

From humble beginnings in Germany, where their families suffered from the traumas of a post-WW2 Germany, they became one of the highest paid magic acts Las Vegas had ever seen, playing to almost 800,000 seats a year at the Mirage during their remarkable reign over Sin City.

Theirs was an irresistible combination – captivating and increasingly elaborate illusions – and big cats. Lots of big cats. These beautiful wild animals were intertwined and ever-present in their work, their homes and their social lives. Many would say that the terrifying on-stage attack on Roy by his tiger Mantacore was inevitable.

On one thing, everyone agrees. They were unique characters, an inseparable team, and leading utterly surreal lives.

Let's dive in.

German American magicians Siegfried and Roy, 1990. Contributor: United Archives GmbH / Alamy. Photographer: TBM.

Siegfried and Roy give two white tiger cubs to Phantasialand in Brühl near Cologne for their 20th birthday. In the background: Gottlieb Töpferhardt (Phantasialand) Germany, 1987. Contributor: United Archives GmbH / Alamy. Photographer: ZIK Images.

DID YOU KNOW...

The early days

Siegfried Fischbacher took up magic at the age of eight, learning from books after being inspired by a street performer swallowing razor blades.
Roy Horn was enamored with animals as a young child, and spoke about the family's black half-wolf dog Hexe (Witch) as his only friend: "I was a prince and Hexe was my unicorn."
Siegfried and Roy’s fathers were both former Nazi soldiers and violent alcoholics.
Roy was working as a bellboy on a ship when he met Siegfried, who had a small magic act on the ship. In an attempt to improve the act, Roy smuggled a cheetah aboard the ship in a laundry bag, for Siegfried to incorporate into his routine. Both men were discovered and fired, but the partnership was born.
In the 60s Siegfried and Roy performed in Monte Carlo in front of Princess Grace Kelly, Sophia Loren, Frank Sinatra and more at the annual Red Cross Gala. The event was a big break for the pair.

Viva Las Vegas - Oops, here we come! Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase, m) suddenly finds himself the centre of attention in one of Siegfried and Roy's shows, 1997. Contributor: United Archives GmbH / Alamy. Photographer: IFA Film.

The Vegas reign

Siegfried and Roy's debut performance in Vegas was in 1967.
The pair signed a $50 million multi-year contract with Steve Wynn to headline his new hotel The Mirage in 1989.
They quickly became among the city's highest-paid act, selling out 500 shows a year in the their 1,504 capacity Siegfried & Roy Theatre.
Across 50 years, Siegfried and Roy performed 30,000 shows to 50 million people, contributing to ticket sales over $1 billion.
When moving their show to a different venue, it took 48 trucks to transport equipment and the exotic animals.

Illusionists Siegfried (left) & Roy (right) with one of their rare white tiger cubs on Hollywood Boulevard where they were honoured with the 2,144th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, 1999. Contributor: Featureflash Archive / Alamy. Photographer: Paul Smith.

The cats

Roy had a unbelievable rapport with the tigers and expressed that many were born in his lap. Until they reached one year old, he slept in beds with them and swam with them.
Siegfried and Roy owned 63 big cats — including a white Himalayan tiger named SiegRoy. They also owned an elephant, and peacocks and goats gifted to them by Van Halen's David Lee Roth.
The tiger that attacked Horn, Mantacore, was reportedly purchased from a litter of three cubs born in Guadalajara, Mexico, and obtained by the performers when the cubs were about 3 weeks old. Mantacore was brought up at The Mirage's Secret Garden.
On the way to the hospital after the attack by Mantacore in 2003, Horn said, "Mantacore is a great cat. Make sure no harm comes to Mantacore."

Siegfried & Roy: The Magic Box, Siegfried Fischbacher, Roy Horn, 1999. Contributors: IMAX Pictures / Everett Collection Inc / Alamy.

Vegas Vacation, Siegfried and Roy, 1997. Contributors: Warner Brothers / Everett Collection Inc. / Alamy.

The properties

They owned two mega-properties outside the Vegas strip, including the 100-acre Little Bavaria, an estate of mansions and fields with German marching music playing through concealed speakers.
They also owned the eight-acre Jungle Palace, which featured a replica of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling, among many lavish adornments.
The magic word for Siegfried and Roy was "SARMOTI", which they used to welcome visitors to their home. It stood for "Siegfried and Roy, Masters of the Impossible".

Friends and acquaintances

The pair was close with Arnold Schwarzenegger, who described their career in the US as “the greatest immigration story I know”.
Their acquaintances also Pope John Paul II, who gifted them a fragment of Saint Francis of Assisi’s shinbone. In 1998, the then US President Bill Clinton met them after a show. His secret service kept their weapons trained on the tigers.
Among their celebrity friends was Michael Jackson, who wrote them a song. It's a banger – listen here.

CHECK MY FLAIR - Michael Jackson confers before his concert with Vegas magicians Siegfried (Fishbacher) and Roy (Horn). Michael commissioned the famous magicians for millions to make a disappearing magic trick for his ongoing The Bad World tour (the largest grossing tour in history), Cologne, Germany, 1988. Contributors: Zuma Press Inc. / Alamy. Photographer: Scott McKeirnan / ZAMY.

Las Vegas, Nevada's headlining illusionists Siegfried & Roy (Siegried Fischbacher and Roy Horn) in their private apartment at the Mirage Hotel on the Vegas Strip, along with one of their performing white lions. Between 1980 and 2006. Contributors: Archive PL / Alamy. Photographer: Carol M. Highsmith.

Cameos and popular culture

Siegfried and Roy appeared in Ocean's Eleven, as boxing match audience members.
They were spoofed in The Simpsons, who in typically uncanny fashion predicted the attack of 2003.
In 2004 NBC aired the cartoon Father of the Pride, about the adventures of a family of white lions in a Siegfried and Roy act.
More recently, comedy act Siegfried and Joy are populating a delightful corner of the internet.

The end

Siegfried and Roy died of different illnesses in 2020/2021, within months of each other. Roy passed away at 75 after suffering complications from COVID-19; Siegfried lost his battle to pancreatic cancer at 81.

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Gigantic statue of magicians Siegfried and Roy located between Mirage and Treasure Island, 2018. Contributors: EUGENIO ROIG / Alamy.

Related events

Siegfried & Roy: The Unauthorised Opera

8 – 25 JAN