Legendary Las Vegas illusionist Siegfried Fischbacher, the surviving member of duo Siegfried & Roy has died in Las Vegas last night at age 81 due to pancreatic cancer.
The death was first reported by the German publication Bild and confirmed later by The Associated Press. Earlier this week the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Fischbacher has been fighting pancreatic cancer in Las Vegas. Fischbacher had a malignant tumor removed in a 12-hour surgery.
Fischbacher had told his sister Dolore that he is in the care of two hospice nurses and has asked to be cared for at his Las Vegas home. Bild reported Monday morning that Siegfried’s sister Dolore,78, who lives as a nun in Munich, said: “He fell asleep gently and peacefully,” saying “the death of Siegfried was a redemption.”
Earlier this year the other half of the entertainment duo Roy Horn died in May due to complications of the coronavirus. The duo made their mark performing at the Mirage on the Las Vegas strip becoming one of the first family friendly shows.
Their careers in Vegas spanned decades dating all the way back to the 1960’s at the Monte Carlo. After thousands of performances together, Fischbacher and Horn’s show at The Mirage came to an unexpected close in 2003 following an onstage incident involving Horn and his white Bengal tiger, Mantecore.
I agree with her tweet as one of the first memories I can recall came when watching Vegas Vacation starring Chevy Chase that featured cameos from Siegfried and Roy where they brought up his character, Clark Griswold, to join the show, not to mention the film also featured a cameo from the ‘King of Las Vegas’ Wayne Newton.
