28 CHOICES | 2015 AUTUMN ISSUE
to a fractured back. I’ve been levitated, sawed in half, and made to vanish. In fact, I think I hold the world record for being levitated and sawed in half more than any other person S&R constantly worked to develop and evolve the show, and their tremendous discipline made me more disciplined. They’re like a comet and a rainbow all in one—streaking across the sky in a radiant glow of non-stop competitiveness with themselves, and with one another. It’s part of what makes them great. They’re also genuinely nice, magnanimous, compassionate people, and amazingly humble men. I’d follow them through fire without hesitation, and frequently did—with no fire extinguisher in sight. never have imagined that I would still be in this town these many decades later. Nor could I have imagined that destiny would intervene again—this time it was two magicians called Siegfried and Roy. Tell us about that. How did you come to know Siegfried and Roy? I first saw these amazing performers in 1968 at a rehearsal for the Lido show. The entire cast was spellbound by their performance. I was in awe. They worked with a cheetah and a leopard from South Africa and I immediately knew that they were incredibly special. After the rehearsal, we connected through the leopard and became fast friends. A few years later, I was offered a position as a principle dancer at the MGM Grand’s Hallelujah Hollywood megareview. At that same time, Siegfried & Roy opened in the show as its star attraction. Never before had a magic act achieved such status. Little did I know that when they returned to the Lido, Siegfried would be cramming me
into a “Thin Sawing” illusion built for an assistant who was 5’2” tall. I’m 5’8”, but we somehow made it work. By 1978, I began to play an even greater role in S&R’s act. They had wanted to expand their performance from twelve minutes to thirty minutes, which meant adding more illusions and people. No matter who ended up performing any given magic illusion in the show or on a television special, I was the one who tested it and worked out all the bugs. More often than not, with my fair share of bruises, as well. During one of the rehearsals, S&R, who can be very intense and focused, were so busy discussing a new twist on the presentation of their Wheel illusion that they went to lunch—still deciding what to do—and left me locked in the prop. I couldn’t get out, so I was still there when they returned a couple of hours later. It was all part of working with them. And yet, in spite of everything, throughout my entire career, I only missed three shows, and that was due
You still work with Siegfried and Roy today in a far bigger capacity? As S&R’s show grew in size and scope, so did my role—both on and off the stage. From lead assistant to featured performer, I often played both beauty and beast—on and off stage. Part of my job was to keep the cast sharp, the props immaculately maintained, the show always looking fresh, and the animals passionately cared for. The Mirage show was our biggest achievement, and up until that time the most complex show ever staged in Las Vegas. The cast was enormous, and it was often technically a nightmare. All of the illusions, the complicated mechanics, the tremendous staging, and lighting pushed the limits of the technology of that day. You didn’t just come in, go into make-up for a half an hour, go onstage and do the show, and then go home. It was an investment, a lifestyle from the moment you woke up in the morning until you went to bed at night—or in the early morning