Manager denies Roy had ailment

Siegfried & Roy's manager on Sunday rebutted a local news report that claimed Roy Horn is battling a condition that causes bleeding in his lungs.

"That's crazy crap," said Bernie Yuman. "Roy has nothing wrong with him. He is in perfect health considering he's gone through this very debilitating experience."

Horn's alleged health issue appeared as an unattributed sentence in a LasVegasWeekly.com blog about the party scene during Saturday's Keep Memory Alive "Power of Love" benefit for the Lou Ruvo Brain Institute.

The event culminated with Siegfried & Roy's farewell to show business, an eight-minute multiple-illusion performance that featured Montecore, the white tiger that left Horn near death from bites 5 1/2 years ago onstage at The Mirage.

The report suggests Horn, who has been involved in months of rehearsals, including three on Saturday, was putting his health at risk by performing the finale.

Nonsense, said Yuman, who noted that Horn attended an after-party and didn't leave until 3:30 a.m.

Horn was so energized after the farewell appearance before more than 1,000 in a Bellagio ballroom that he couldn't hide his joy. During an emotional meeting with 25 to 30 former castmates, many of whom had performed two shows a night for years with the duo, Horn asked, "Who's ready for the second show?"

During their goodbye performance, Siegfried & Roy wore white-and-gold Venetian masquerade masks until the end, after illusions that saw Montecore materialize in a large empty glass box and Siegfried from a smaller one.

So why was Montecore involved after being kept under the radar for 5 1/2 years?

"Roy said, 'That's who's working with me.' This (night) was also about Montecore, wanting him to be part of the farewell. He saved Roy's life," Yuman said.

Siegfried & Roy's camp has long contended that Montecore didn't attack Horn, but sensed Horn was in danger and was dragging the illusionist to safety.

Montecore's presence "was closure," Yuman said. "This was the dot at the end of the sentence."

Cynics will ask for proof that it was Montecore and, for that matter, whether it was really Siegfried & Roy under the masks, until the revealment at the end.

Adding to the cynicism: someone who saw the last five rehearsals told Vegas Confidential that masks were worn onstage during the rehearsal.

The weirdest thing that happened Saturday, said my spy, "was the faux pas, when the curtain came up on the small box and a masked person was inside while the Siegfried & Roy figures were across the stage. That other person was never seen in rehearsals. It was a mistake," he said, a moment that made some in the audience suspicious that the switcheroo was on.

Because ABC had an exclusivity agreement with the benefit's organizers, media restrictions involving coverage were some of the tightest seen by local reporters in years. ABC is airing a one-hour Siegfried & Roy special at 9 p.m. on Friday.

Photo coverage was limited to the red carpet only and event emcee Robin Leach repeatedly announced during the evening that no photography was allowed of Siegfried & Roy's last hurrah.

Reporters were surprised, however, to find those rules didn't apply to Leach, who has been the event's media liaison for years. He had extensive photos of the event on his blog early Sunday, while others didn't receive photos until the afternoon.

"That was unauthorized, a breach of the rules," said an executive involved in the event.

SIGHTINGS

Former NFL All Pro defensive end Renaldo Wynn of the Washington Redskins, congratulating former Redskins coach Joe Gibbs, who owns Kyle Busch's car, in Victory Lane following the Shelby 427... In the pit area at the start of the NASCAR race Sunday: Oscar winner Adrien Brody, actress Angie Harmon and husband Jason Sehorn and Nick Lachey as guests of driver Jimmie Johnson. Also spotted before the race: Pete Rose, NFL legend Willie Lanier, Miss Nevada USA Georgina Vaughn, Mayor Oscar Goodman, presenting the mayor's trophy to Kyle Busch for winning the pole position; comedian Carrot Top, dropping in on the NASCAR drivers' meeting and later posing with driver Tony Stewart, comedian Ron White, hanging out with Kurt Busch. ...

"Sex in the City" star Kristin Davis and her male companion, diving in opposite directions when I asked if I could take a photo of them in their VIP seats minutes before the Siegfried & Roy farewell. "No photos, no photos," said Davis, while waving her hands. Earlier, she attended "Love" (Mirage) with a male companion and took photos with the cast, by herself.

THE PUNCH LINE

"It would be nice if the guys in the pits occasionally surprised me with a piece of carrot cake or something." -- From David Letterman's "Top Ten Things Never Before Said by a NASCAR Driver," presented by Kevin Harvick.

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