Magician Roy Horn Cremated, Remains Will Stay at Vegas Estate

Posted on: May 12, 2020, 11:32h. 

Last updated on: May 13, 2020, 09:17h.

Steve Bittenbender Read More
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Roy Horn will stay in Las Vegas. That’s according to Siegfried Fischbacher, the magician’s longtime partner, who told a German publication that the ashes of Horn will be kept at a chapel on the duo’s lavish estate.

Siegfried and Roy COVID-19
Even though it’s been nearly 20 years since they last worked as headliners on the Strip, the statue of Siegfried and Roy outside the Mirage remains a popular attraction for tourists. (Image: PxHere.com)

Horn, 75, died Friday from complications from COVID-19 in Las Vegas.

The 80-year-old Fischbacher revealed in comments made to Bild (German for “picture”) that Horn kept ashes of his mother and the animals they trained and kept. So, it was only appropriate to do the same for him.

Roy is still with me no matter where I turn,” Fischbacher told Bild in remarks that have been translated from German. “I will continue to have a setting for him at dinner, as it always was. I’m not alone. Roy always told me, ‘When I’m no longer here, you have to be strong. And live happily ever after. I have to try that for him now.”

Fischbacher was not with his longtime friend and partner when he passed. But Fischbacher’s sister told the publication that he was allowed to wear “an astronaut suit” and enter Horn’s intensive care room.

Fischbacher later told Bild that he was not ready to tell Horn goodbye in that final visit, but the feeling came upon him as he first saw him.

“We have understood each other without words for a lifetime,” Fischbacher said. “So I asked him in my mind, ‘Roy, are you okay?’ Then he nodded his head. Then I asked him, ‘Do you want to go?’ Then he gave me the sign with his fingers: Yes. And then I said thank you to him for the fairy tale life that we have built up together.”

Kings of the Strip

Siegfried and Roy came to Las Vegas in 1967, and over the course of a 36-year career became the most popular entertainment act on the Strip. They played the Stardust, the Tropicana, the Frontier, and the Mirage. In time, Siegfried and Roy became synonymous with the town they eventually called home.

Their magic act had a tragic ending in October 2003 when a tiger mauled Horn in the theater named after them. Horn nearly died as a result of his injuries and suffered several debilitating strokes.

And even though it’s been nearly 17 years since their epic Vegas career ended, they still maintain a major presence on the Strip thanks to the bronze statue that pays tribute to them in front of the Mirage.

Bild also reported that Horn was diagnosed with skin cancer four years ago.

COVID-19 Update in Nevada

According to the Johns Hopkins University of Medicine’s Coronavirus Resource Center, Horn is one of the 321 people who have died as a result of the novel coronavirus.

Nevada itself has 6,313 confirmed cases of the virus that has led to the closure of the venues Siegfried and Roy once headlined, as well as scores of other businesses across the city, state, and country.

Clark County, home to Las Vegas and Nevada’s most populous county by far, accounts for 4,869 confirmed COVID-19 cases through Monday, according to the Southern Nevada Health District. Of those, 267 people have died from the virus.

In the US, nearly 1.4 million Americans have been diagnosed with the virus, resulting in the deaths of 82,373.