The illusionist of German origin, Siegfried Fischbacher, has disappeared for good: the survivor of the famous duo of magicians "Siegfried & Roy" died Wednesday evening, in his domain of "Little Bavaria" in Las Vegas, has t - we learned in a press release sent to AFP on Thursday.
The 81-year-old magician will have survived only eight months to his accomplice Roy, who died last May of complications related to Covid-19 at the age of 75.
Siegfried Fischbacher's sister Dolore, a nun living in Munich, told US broadcaster NBC that she spoke with her brother on the phone on Wednesday evening.
Very weakened by a cancer of the pancreas in terminal phase, the magician would have had great difficulty in expressing himself, only releasing an unfortunate
"Ok"
.
Beasts and elephants
Born in the town of Rosenheim, Bavaria, in 1939, Siegfried would have discovered his vocation as a conjurer at the age of eight, after stumbling upon a book of magic tricks in a shop.
In the late 1950s, he had met Roy Horn on board a cruise ship.
Together, they had decided to team up to put on acts with exotic animals, first across Europe, then in Las Vegas.
It was in Paris that they were spotted and won their ticket to the gambling capital.
Siegfried and Roy began their careers in Las Vegas, in 1967, in magazines, before becoming, in the 1980s, international stars thanks to their extraordinary performances.
The two men were notably known for their acts featuring wild animals and elephants, which they made to disappear and reappear as they pleased, under the astonished eyes of the public.
The White Tigers were their hallmark and it was with them that they performed with them starting in 1990, sold out almost every night at the famous Mirage Hotel Casino, the largest establishment in Vegas at the time.
But in October 2003, on his 59th birthday, Roy Horn was attacked during a performance by a white Bengal tiger, named Mantecore.
Seriously injured, he had suffered serious consequences, including a loss of mobility and language, which put an end to the show for good, despite a final appearance in 2009. Siegfried & Roy officially retired in 2010.
