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Siegfried Fischbacher, half of the flamboyant big cat illusionist Siegfried and Roy, died at his home in Las Vegas on Wednesday. He was 81 years old.
Fischbacher was terminally ill with pancreatic cancer and recently underwent surgery to remove a tumor, his representatives said in a statement to The Post.
He was released from hospital earlier this month and was being treated at home by two hospice workers.
The death of the legendary magician comes less than a year after the death of his longtime partner, Roy Horn, due to complications from COVID-19.
The German-American duo met aboard the TS Bremen cruise ship in 1957, where they bonded with Horn’s cheetah, Chico, which he had smuggled aboard.
Working as a steward and entertainer, Fischbacher enlisted Horn, the captain’s bellboy, to help him with his nighttime magic show. After the performance, Horn posed the life-changing question: “Siegfried, the disappearance of rabbits is ordinary, but can you make a cheetah disappear?”
Their eventual act – which mingled tiger taming with David Copperfield’s magic and a garish dose of Liberace glitter – kicked off in Sin City around 1967. But it was their $ 30 million, run for 14 years in the theater. Mirage, from 1989, which propelled them to global stardom at the height of the era of excess.
“We did what we did for love, not for success or for money,” Siegfried said, according to his representatives. “We had deep respect for each other. We literally rose up: I created Roy and Roy created Siegfried.
In 2003, Horn suffered a bloody career-ending injury when Mantacore, a 400-pound Siberian tiger, smashed 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 performers said they made peace with the infamous career-killing incident of dismemberment.
“I really don’t miss it,” Fischbacher said at the time. “We’ve been alone on stage in Vegas for 40 years, you know? And we had the most successful show in Las Vegas history anyway.
Born in Rosenheim, Germany on June 13, 1939, Fischbacher attributed the purchase of a magical book to his childhood for setting in motion an enduring love for the art of magic. Even after his show days were over, Siegfried could be found every day at Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden at the Mirage, creating awe for fans with a simple round of change and still taking the time to snap a photo.
His mantra of a lifetime: “In magic, anything is possible.”
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