Siegfried Fischbacher, half of the flamboyant illusionist big cat Siegfried and Roy, died Wednesday at his home in Las Vegas. He was 81.
Fischbacher was terminally ill with pancreatic cancer and recently underwent surgery to remove a tumor, his representatives announced in a statement to The Post.
He was discharged from hospital earlier this month and was cared for at home by two hospital workers.
The legendary wizard’s death comes less than a year after the death of his longtime stage partner Roy Horn due to complications of COVID-19.
The German-American duo met in 1957 aboard the TS Bremen cruise ship, where they bonded over Horn’s cheetah, Chico, which he smuggled aboard.
Fischbacher works as a steward and entertainer and calls on Horn, the captain’s bell, to assist during his nightly show. After the performance, Horn asked the question that changed both of their lives: “Siegfried, rabbits that disappear are normal, but can you make a cheetah disappear?”
Their ultimate act – which mixed the tiger mood with David Copperfield magic and a dazzling dose of Liberace glamor – began in Sin City around 1967. But it was their $ 30 million, 14 years of management at the Mirage Theater, beginning in 1989, that propelled them to global stars amid the height of the era of excess.
“We did what we did out of love, not for success or money,” Siegfried once said according to his representatives. “We had deep respect for each other. We literally raised each other: I created Roy and Roy created Siegfried. ‘
In 2003, Horn suffered a bloody career injury when Mantacore, a 400-pound Siberian tiger, sank his teeth into his neck during a live performance – on his 59th birthday, no less – at the Mirage hotel casino.
In a 2019 interview on ABC’s “Good Morning America”, the artists said they made peace with the infamous incident that killed their careers.
“I really do not miss it,” Fischbacher said at the time. ‘We’ve been on stage alone in Vegas for 40 years, you know? And we had the most successful show in the history of Las Vegas anyway. ”
Born in Rosenheim, Germany, on June 13, 1939, Fischbacher credited the childhood of a magic book for instilling a lasting love for magic. Even after his performance days were over, Siegfried could be found daily in The Secret Garden of Siegfried & Roy at The Mirage, which amazed fans with a simple coin trick and always took time for a photo.
His lifelong mantra: “In magic, anything is possible.”