Las Vegas Weekly

February 4, 2009 · 12:01 AM

Exclusive: Siegfried & Roy to take final bow on ABC special from Las Vegas; duo tours Lou Ruvo Brain Institute

By Robin Leach

Siegfried & Roy with Larry Ruvo at the Lou Ruvo Brain Institute in downtown Las Vegas.

Photo: Courtesy

“Magicians of the Century” Siegfried & Roy have begun final rehearsals for their “reunion” -- and farewell performance, Vegas DeLuxe can now exclusively reveal. Later today, it’s expected to be officially announced that the incredible illusionists will appear on The Return of Siegfried & Roy, a one-hour prime-time ABC special to be filmed live at the Keep Memory Alive “Power of Love” gala in the Bellagio on Feb. 28.

“We never got to say a proper goodbye,” Roy told me exclusively on his first tour of the downtown Lou Ruvo Brain Institute. “This will be our final bow, and it will never be repeated.”

More than 900 well-heeled supporters and Hollywood stars will turn out for the glamorous gala, and a few tickets are still available to the public and Siegfried & Roy fans. In previous years, everybody from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to Angie Dickenson to Andre Agassi and the heads of every Strip casino hotel have turned up to support the cause.

The magicians who call Las Vegas home promised a year ago to come out of retirement and perform “A Moment of Magic” for the Brain Institute benefit. It will be the most special one-night-only magic show in entertainment history and their 40-year-plus career.

“I am thrilled ABC is going to share this unforgettable evening with the world,” said Larry Ruvo, founding chairman of the Lou Ruvo Brain Institute. “Having said that, only those in the audience that night will be able to say ‘I was there.’ ”

Photo: TVT

Siegfried & Roy and Larry Ruvo.

I’ve learned that ABC News anchor Elizabeth Vargas will be here over the next two weeks filming interviews with the German-born magicians, longtime manager Bernie Yuman and other VIPs such as Steve Wynn who were instrumental in the duo’s amazing and successful career on the Strip. Another segment of ABC’s 20/20 will showcase the Brain Institute and its breakthrough work with Alzheimer’s and other brain-related illnesses. It will be broadcast at 9 p.m. ET/PT on March 6.

It was back in 1990 that then Mirage operator Steve Wynn hired away Siegfried & Roy from the Frontier, and in 2001 they signed a lifetime contract with the resort casino. The two men had appeared in some 5,750 shows together before it closed on Roy’s birthday on Oct. 3, 2003, when 7-year-old male tiger Montecore seriously injured Roy.

At the time when Roy sustained critical injuries and severe blood loss, I wrote that doctors told me he had “died three times on the operating table” while fighting for his life during surgery at the trauma center at our University Medical Center. He found sufficient strength before collapsing in the ambulance en route to the hospital to plead that no harm come to the tiger. Candlelight prayer vigils were set up at the hospital as he fought to recover from partial paralysis and a stroke.

Photo: TVT

A memento to Siegfried & Roy from Larry Ruvo.

Doctors even insisted that one quarter of his skull be removed during surgery to relieve pressure from his swollen brain. It was inserted into a pouch inside his stomach until it was safe to return when he went for long-term rehabilitation in Los Angeles.

It is a modern-day medical miracle that Roy is alive and walking and talking today. “He has the strength of a thousand men,” his manager Bernie Yuman told me. “He would never give up. His strength and courage are beyond all other men.”

Siegfried & Roy appeared on both the premiere episodes of my original Entertainment Tonight and Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous TV shows. They even flew to New York to appear on the first episode of my late-night show NightCap. I am privileged to call them friends since the early 1980s.

In November 2007, I arranged a lunch with Siegfried and Bernie. I had become involved with the Alzheimer’s charity Keep Memory Alive and believed that I could persuade the magicians to return for one final show as a fundraiser. “It’s impossible,” said Siegfried at the time. I told them I believed that it would be a tremendous part of Roy’s rehabilitation if they could pull it off. I said it would be an incredible way of putting the Lou Ruvo Brain Institute on the map as a world-class medical facility right here at home.

Siegfried agreed to discuss the project with Roy but warned me not to get my hopes up. Seven weeks later, he called to say it might be possible -- and then at last year’s February gala, the two superstars publicly promised to make their one-time-only farewell appearance this February. Over the course of the year, I’ve gently kept encouraging the duo to ensure that the magic comes to life again.

“When we give our word, we keep our promise,” Siegfried said. Now 12 months later, all systems are go for the final show -- and the one-hour telecast!

Photo: Scott Doctor/www.greatscottstudios.com

Siegfried & Roy.

Vegas DeLuxe readers know from past reports that Siegfried & Roy went into their warehouse to personally select the illusions they will perform Feb. 28. “It has given Roy a whole new lease on life,” Siegfried told me. “We are both incredibly excited about doing this one last time.”

In advance of the unique production, Siegfried & Roy came to the downtown Lou Ruvo Brain Institute two weeks ago, and Larry Ruvo gave them a personal tour. What was going to be a 20-minute stay turned out to be a three-hour visit.

They were mesmerized by what they saw. They examined the model of esteemed architect Frank Gehry’s vision of the medical center complete with the extraordinary steel assemblage representing the jumbled human brain. Siegfried & Roy learned the steel had been built in their homeland and shipped here to Vegas.

“That’s a very special sign, “ Siegfried told me. “We are in awe of the facility that has been created to serve our great community. We are delighted that our final performance can bring attention to the Lou Ruvo Brain Institute and the work that is being done here, because it is worthy of worldwide recognition.”

The Brain Institute broke ground at Union Park in downtown Las Vegas on Feb. 9, 2007. Trendsetting in design and practice, the institute will lead the fight against debilitating neurodegenerative diseases. With projected completion by mid-year, the institute will transform downtown and be the premier research and treatment facility for chronic brain disorders.

Photo: Courtesy

Larry Ruvo and Siegfried at the Lou Ruvo Brain Institute.

Led by Dr. Zaven Khachaturian and supported by internationally acclaimed researchers, the institute will focus on the research and treatment of Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s, Parkinson’s, ALS and memory disorders. The 67,000-square-foot institute will include 13 examination rooms, offices for health care practitioners and researchers, a Museum of the Mind, a community auditorium and a Wolfgang Puck cafe.

Siegfried & Roy toured the rooms of the medical center and learned the story of how a small, dedicated group of local individuals affected by Alzheimer losses in their families had gotten together and in 11 years raised the multi-millions to construct the building.

Larry presented the duo with a memento of the original opening night marquee at their first ever Strip appearance at the Frontier! “This is now our commitment. This is our cause. This is what we will support,” Siegfried said. “Vegas is our home, and it is right that we now give back as much as we can for the rest of our time here. Vegas showed us love, and now we will show all our love back to Vegas.”

Said Larry: “It’s often said that all great change in America begins at the dinner table, and that’s precisely where the enterprise of my heart -- the Lou Ruvo Brain Institute -- began. Shortly after my father, who was my best friend, died of Alzheimer’s disease, a few dozen friends gathered at the Spago restaurant in Caesars Palace for a dinner to celebrate his love of life, good food and fine wine.

“Sometime during the dinner, amidst the storytelling and laughter, an unexpected turn of events began to unfold. Our friends began raising their hands to contribute money to Alzheimer’s research in my father’s memory. We didn’t know it at the time, but that night 12 years ago was the first step of an amazing journey that continues today. Today, the evolution of that night has become a professionally staffed, dynamic social enterprise with a commitment to combating a host of degenerative brain diseases under our guiding principle of ‘New Thinking About Thinking.’

Photo: TVT

Siegfried & Roy and Larry Ruvo.

“As the population ages, the mission of the Lou Ruvo Brain Institute becomes ever more urgent. In just the next five years, nearly 50 million baby boomers will reach retirement age. And the number of individuals who will be affected by brain disease is expected to see a dramatic jump. Those figures will bring enormous financial and social burdens upon our community and our country. The time to act is now.

“The Lou Ruvo Brain Institute is rapidly becoming a leader in cutting-edge research to develop new therapies and other instruments to detect and halt the progression of debilitating brain diseases. Will Rogers once said, “Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” That sentiment captures my approach to the role I have as chairman of Keep Memory Alive, which supports the Lou Ruvo Brain Institute.

Photo: Keep Memory Alive

Mayor Oscar Goodman with Keep Memory Alive Chairman Larry Ruvo and architect Frank Gehry at the groundbreaking of the Lou Ruvo Brain Institute.

“The construction of the Frank Gehry-designed Lou Ruvo Brain Institute building, the development of a statewide Nevada Health Research Registry and growing international academic research collaborations highlight our vision. It will only be through these ambitious, unique and collaborative approaches, through employing new thinking about thinking in everything we do, that we are confident these efforts will keep memories alive for all of us.

“The Lou Ruvo Brain Institute will be officially opened this spring on the 64-acre site downtown. Siegfried & Roy have promised to attend along with Sens. Harry Reid and John Ensign, Mayor Oscar Goodman and some of the world’s leading medical experts who believe the institute will change the way our city is perceived. There is little doubt that the institute will become one of the world’s leading research facilities where scientists and doctors hope to eventually find the cure for Alzheimer’s and other related brain diseases.”

A Moment of Magic and the ABC coverage will undoubtedly put the medical facility on the world map overnight. It’s one time, one night, and one cause.

Photo: TVT

Siegfried & Roy with Robin Leach.

A few tickets remain for the once-in-a-lifetime show and gala dinner with Wolfgang Puck and the culinary stars of the Bellagio, Todd English, Martin Heierling and Jean-Philippe Maury, on Feb. 28. I’ll humbly serve as the emcee for the night and work alongside action-auctioneer Christian Kolbert when we hope to raise millions from exotic trips, fantastic gifts and phenomenal prizes for the Brain Institute’s funding.

For more information, go to www.keepmemoryalive.org.

— From Vegas Deluxe

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