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Siegfried & Roy Illusionist Roy Horn Dies of COVID-19 at 75
Roy Horn, one-half of the famous duo Siegfried & Roy, who enchanted the Las Vegas Strip for more than a quarter-century, has recently passed away at the age of 75.
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The flamboyant magician drew his last breath on Friday, at the Mountain View Hospital in Las Vegas. It has been reported that he died of complications from COVID-19.
Roy Horn of Siegfried and Roy arriving at the LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) on December 05, 2012 in Los Angeles, California | Photo: GVK/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images
HORN WAS ONE-OF-A-KIND
The news was shared by his partner Siegfried Fischbacher, who said that the world has lost one of the greats of magic and that he has lost his best friend.
Born Uwe Ludwig Horn in 1944, in Nordenham, Germany, the showman was famous for the way he carried himself on stage and how he created a sense of wonder in each show.
Roy Horn of Siegfried & Roy holding a tiger cub while being honored with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California | Photo: Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
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According to Fischbacher, as soon as they met, he knew that they would change the world together for "there could be no Siegried without Roy and no Roy without Siegfried." He added:
"Roy was always bigger than life. Roy had these dreams, and I had the ideas. His dreams were always so big, but we made the dreams become a reality."
Illusionists Siegfried Roy posing with one of their white lions at their private apartment at the Mirage Hotel on the Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada | Photo: Carol M. Highsmith/Buyenlarge/Getty Images
BIG CATS GALORE
Their shows were something out of a dream, with plenty of theatrics, pyrotechnics, fantastic sets and illusions, but the duo was most famous for their feline acts.
While at the Mirage Hotel, where they performed for years, Fischbacher and Horn made members of the audience clap to their hearts' content by making tigers and lions appear and disappear.
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Sadly, in 2003, one incident put an end to Horn's career. During a performance, Horn was leading a white tiger named Mantecore when he tripped and fell.
Mantecore passed away in 2014, at the age of 17
The tiger sunk his teeth into the magician's neck and dragged him off stage. It is believed that Horn fell because he had suffered a stroke, and due to the tiger's bite he lost most of the use of his left side.
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IT WASN'T MANTECORE'S FAULT
Despite the incident, Horn didn't blame Mantecore, and even claimed that the tiger saved his life because he "instinctively" saw that the magician needed help.
Fischbacher and Horn performed one last time in 2009 at a charity event to benefit the Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, bringing Mantecore back for a magic trick. The tiger passed away in 2014, at the age of 17.
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