Roy (as in "Siegfried and...") mauled

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Patrick M
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Roy (as in "Siegfried and...") mauled

Postby Patrick M » Sun Oct 05, 2003 10:02 pm

http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/10/05/r ... index.html

'Siegfried and Roy' show in doubt after mauling
Siegfried: A challenging time
Sunday, October 5, 2003 Posted: 1:54 PM EDT (1754 GMT)

LAS VEGAS, Nevada (CNN) -- Entertainers and crew members on the "Siegfried and Roy" show have been warned to consider their career options after Roy was critically injured by one of his tigers during the show.

Roy Horn was mauled and dragged off stage by a seven-year-old white tiger during a Friday night performance at The Mirage on the Las Vegas strip.

Since emergency surgery he has shown some "limited communication" but remains in a critical but stable condition.

Horn's showbiz partner, Siegfried Fischbacher, has been at Horn's bedside and thanked their fans for their support.

"For more than four decades, I've had the great privilege of standing at the side of this remarkable man, and I will continue to do so during this challenging time," he said.

Siegfried & Roy's manager, Bernie Yuman, said Fischbacher has "unconditional faith" that his partner will pull through.

The 210 crew members of the long running show were told Saturday evening it was closed indefinitely and Mirage managers suggested "they may very well need to consider other options in their careers."

The tiger, named Montecore, lunged at Horn's neck about half-way through the show, and dragged him off stage, audience members said. "He looked like a rag doll in his mouth," said Kirk Baser, from Pennsylvania.

To force the tiger to release Horn, backstage crew sprayed the animal with a fire extinguisher, Mirage spokesman Alan Feldman said.

"All of us are taking a measure of hope from the fact that he's had this ability to communicate even as limited as it may be," said Feldman.

He said it is not known what set off the tiger, which had performed in the show for several years without problems.

Feldman added that it would be "well down the road" before the Mirage can decide whether the Siegfried and Roy show could resume.

Emergency officials arrived at the Mirage Hotel-Casino around 8:20 p.m. Friday and treated Horn for massive blood loss before he was rushed to University Medical Center for emergency surgery.

Horn was talking at the time emergency workers arrived, but had trouble breathing, Clark County Fire spokesman Bob Leinbach said.

Roy attacked on his birthday
Horn, the darker-haired member of Siegfried & Roy, was born in Nordenham, Germany, was celebrating his 59th birthday the day of the attack.

The show, performed in Las Vegas for almost 30 years combines magic with tiger stunts, and has made the duo world famous.

The tiger that attacked Horn is currently in quarantine and no one else was injured in the attack, Feldman said Saturday (early Sunday GMT).

Comedian Penn Jillette of the duo Penn & Teller visited the hospital Saturday afternoon to show support for his long-time friends and find out more about Horn's condition, he said.

"It's really not good," Jillette told reporters. "I mean, when I talked to Siegfried last night, he said, you know, it was going to be OK. You have no idea what that means. It means a friend that he's loved dearly and worked with for 28 years -- his heart's still beating, and there's still hope."

Jillette said Horn had always worked well with the big cats on stage.

"Every living thing goes crazy. Every species," he said. "And there's nothing -- no fingers to point. There's nothing. It's just a really bad thing happening to a really important, wonderful, very, very strong guy. I mean his strength is breathtaking."

CNN's Miguel Marquez contributed to this report.