Fischbacher and Horn

That's Siegfried and Roy of course, who climbed on the stage along with that rogue tiger Montecore for one final performance. The memorable event occurred at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, on the last night of February 2009.

There are still differing stories, but the tiger-lovers maintain that Roy was having a stroke whilst performing, and an alert and empathic Montecore responded by grabbing his beloved owner by the jugular, nearly breaking his neck as he dragged him off the stage. That was at the Mirage in 2003.

It happened a few months prior to the Mirage incident, but remember when we lost Johnny Cash? Every newspaper in the country had something to say about him. His talent and enduring presence in the music industry were awesome. Uncountable tributes reverently acknowledged his greatness. But when Roy Horn’s head was nearly severed, did we express our amazement about his talent and endurance and special abilities? The fact that he had lived with wild animals for over 30 years didn’t seem to impress us like Johnny’s busy life did, and so instead of genuine concern, he got quippy headlines and mockery, albeit masked.

Aside from going with trumpets in Ring of Fire, the scariest thing Johnny Cash ever did was crawl into a cave hoping to die, and then emerge a renewed man. Now look at Roy Horn, six nights a week, 44 weeks a year – more than 3,000 death-defying shows in over 13 years, interfacing with potentially deadly albino beasts. As he lies in the ICU, his plight is described by headlines like, "Siegfried and Roy’s Horn Gets Bitten".

We seem to be more puzzled about Siegfried and Roy than anything else. Maybe it’s the spiked hair, the make-up, the surgically restructured skin. It’s hard to take something seriously when it is presented in such a garish package. But still, they were doing something infinitely more dangerous than Johnny ever did. Where’s the respect and awe?

I guess sometimes no matter how daring your actions or extensive your talents, if you’re not in the right kind of business, all you get is laughed at. But our joy boy Roy, though he faced death thousands of times only to be scoffed at, is finally getting some recognition. People have become more gentle over the years since the accident and when he recovered enough to do one final show for charity, there seemed to be a bit of the awe and respect he deserves. My question is, was that huge white beast really Montecore the culprit tiger? They all look the same to me.