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Apr. 30, 2008
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

NORM: Book tells tales of Siegfried, Roy

NORM CLARKE
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Siegfried and Roy know where plenty of bodies are buried, according to a new unauthorized book about the entertainment icons.

The bodies of their show animals, that is.

Many were interred near Little Bavaria, their 100-acre oasis on the outskirts of Las Vegas, a la Steve Wynn's burial of dolphins from The Mirage on the 17th hole at Shadow Creek, say the authors of "The Secret Life of Siegfried & Roy: How the Tiger Kings Tamed Las Vegas."

Roy Horn not only kept the cremated ashes of his favorite dogs and big cats on shelves of his bedroom, the book claims, but often used a Louis Vuitton handbag to carry the urn with his mother's ashes on weekly retreats to Little Bavaria.

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    • "Before setting out in his Rolls-Royce, ever-faithful son Roy would carefully fasten Miss Horn's remains tightly with the seatbelt," according to the book, which was written by former Siegfried and Roy employees Jimmy Lavery, Jim Mydlach, and Louis Mydlach, along with best-selling author Henrietta Tiefenthaler.

    A Siegfried and Roy spokesman said, "We're not going to comment."

    The books alleges that two trainers were attacked by big cats a half-hour apart years ago, but were taken to separate hospitals to avoid "bad press."

    Staffers of the illusionists heard rumors that Siegfried Fischbacher might have fathered at least one child, the authors said.

    The book, published by Phoenix Books, hits the book stands June 1.

    THIS WAS NO LOCK BET

    The perils of live TV has its humbling moments.

    Ask KVVU-TV, Channel 5, reporter Bob DeNinnis, who suffered a thousand deaths while delivering the lead story Monday night.

    His agonizing experience won't beat out Geraldo Rivera's live TV special in 1986 that was to reveal the contents of gangster Al Capone's secret vault. All a red-faced Rivera found was debris.

    DeNinnis came up empty, too. The idea was to show the public how easy it is to break any home door lock with a "bump key" that's easily available on the Internet.

    But, "as sometimes happens in the show capital of the world," said news director Adam Bradshaw in an e-mail, "it worked great in rehearsal but when Bob tried to pop the lock on live television, the stubborn door wouldn't budge."

    After hammering away to no avail, DeNinnis gave up and faced the camera with an apologetic expression before the station moved to the next story.

    THE SEEN AND HEARD

    AllAccess.com, a radio industry Web site, reported on Monday that a format change probably will be announced this week by a Las Vegas radio station. The report said the station will switch to Top 40-dance format. The report hinted that the development involved KMOA -FM 94.5. ...

    More rumblings out of KLAS-TV, Channel 8, which could be sold any day now. The accidental airing of profanity during the Henderson police inquest earlier this month reportedly has resulted in the firing of a staffer. And word has it that management notified prospective buyers there may be some trouble down the road in the form of fines meted out by the Federal Communications Commission. ...

    Former heavyweight champs Mike Tyson and John Ruiz are joining a support-the-troops walk from City Hall to Nellis Air Force Base today, starting at 10 a.m. The event was organized by Seat Williams, host of "Afternoon Gridlock" on KWWN-AM 1100, weekdays from 3-6 p.m. There will be two stops along the eight-mile route: Woodlawn Cemetery, to pay homage to the fallen soldiers, and at Rancho High School, which lost 25 soldiers during the Vietnam War.

    THE PUNCH LINE

    "(Star Jones) was married to a guy named Al Reynolds. ... How can I describe his departure? Are you familiar with the phrase bat out of hell?" -- David Letterman

    Norm Clarke can be reached at(702) 383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find additional sightings and more online at www.normclarke.com.



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    i no the truth wrote on June 14, 2008 01:09 AM: norm all these people that think they no the truth and bad mouth you are very shallow and dont want to know the truth they just want to keep living in a fairy tale land the rest of there lives but the truth is only a hard dose of reality so great article and keep doing what you do as for the rest of you read the book you might just feel what roy went through day in and day out and is prabably still going through it


    Just Weird wrote on May 01, 2008 07:39 AM: "Staffers of the illusionists heard rumors that Siegfried Fischbacher might have fathered at least one child, the authors said."
    Yeah, but you didn't bother to find out whether Roy was the Mom!
    "Staffers at the RJ maybe heard rumors that Norm might keep a small envelope of coke under his eyepatch, according to KVVU."


    One eyed Jack *** wrote on April 30, 2008 04:54 PM: Norm you better start writing better stuff before Roys tiger bites your other eye out!
    Your column really sucks maybe you could write about LA celebrities instead of trashing our Las Vegas talent.


    not happy wrote on April 30, 2008 04:10 PM: Criss should have kept his work and socked you in the other one.


    Red Foreman wrote on April 30, 2008 04:08 PM: This article has really come a long way. It was reasonable and entertaning and has now become something a homeless person would pick up. How can you live with yourself when you write such garbage? You would think that you would have morals but I guess you lost those a long time ago.


    Oscar wrote on April 30, 2008 04:03 PM: Pure garbage. Were you high when you wrote this???


    bill wrote on April 30, 2008 03:49 PM: norm,did you do any research on these 3 yahoos, and so called ghostwriter,I wont be reading your column anymore. thanks for nothing.


    Sebastian wrote on April 30, 2008 03:47 PM: Take it from someone who knows.....Jim Lavery has been in a drunken stupor for the past decade - and you are reporting on something he supposedly "wrote" or told to a writer? Where is your integrity, and your loyalty to two Men who changed the face of Entertainment in Las Vegas as well as have shared their generosity with the Community over and over. I normally enjoy your column, but you have sunken into the ranks of the sensational media - too bad.


    never again wrote on April 30, 2008 03:07 PM: I really don't know what the problem is with cremating someone or something you loved very deeply. Something you never want to let go of. People just love getting into the lives of more successful people that actually work hard for their money instead of whoring themselves out like you have just shown us you do. I guess we all know who you are now. You will never be taken seriously again.


    Lila wrote on April 30, 2008 03:04 PM: Your lead story today just proves that without any research or verification at all you will write about anything without a passing thought about the truth. Shame on you for even trying to give the words of 3 ex-employees and a "ghost writer" credibility when you have known these wonderful Gentlemen for years. Hopefully everyone will see this for what it is, a very lame attempt by three unhappy people to defame two Men who have spent their lives doing great things that they could never achieve in their sorry lives. If they think that Siegfried & Roy will miss a beat, SORRY GUYS.


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