"Maybe the time will come" to perform again, says Roy (on the grounds of the Jungle Palace with Siegfried). Until then, "I miss my audience." Photo by: ART STREIBER |
But showbiz, like life, goes on: Since the accident, four leopards that could one day prove natural stars were born at the Mirage's Secret Garden, home to the exotic menagerie of 63 – tigers, lions, an elephant and the leopards that were costars in the show at the hotel. Meanwhile, the animals that used to perform haven't forgotten. On a recent visit to the garden, says Roy, "my elephant, she was there – a good girl. I ask her, 'Salute.' And she raises that trunk and I give her her treat. Then I say, 'Say hello to me. Give me your foot.' So she lifted her foot, because she thought I was going to jump on top of her and ride with her around." He's not about to forget, either. When he was first reacquainted with Sitarra, a snow-white tiger, in April, he motored his wheelchair up to her glass enclosure. "He started to lean forward," says Siegfried. "I said, 'What you doing? You can't stand up!' And Roy said, 'I have to stand up. They stood up for me for all those years. Now I have to stand up for them.' And he did. That was the first time he stood up."
The pair have even begun to consider the Vegas stage once more. It will only be together as a team, of course – both Siegfried
and Roy. Otherwise, "I would feel I was cheating the audience," says Siegfried, "and I would cheat myself and I would cheat Roy."
Adds Roy: "I wouldn't allow you." For now, he says, "Thank God I'm a cat with nine lives. I'm on my ninth life now, so I still have a little bit more to do."
• By TOM GLIATTO. MICHAEL FLEEMAN in Las Vegas
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