Siegfried: Roy Is Communicating

"Siegfried & Roy" at The Mirage is over for good, but the famous duo will continue as a team if Roy Horn recovers from a tiger attack, their manager said.

"I would say that there will be a Siegfried and Roy as long as Roy survives," Bernie Yuman said Wednesday night on CNN's "Larry King Live."

"You know, whether Roy performs or not again, I don't know if any one of us are prepared to say," he said.

Yuman appeared alongside Siegfried Fischbacher, who insisted the show would return, though with a new approach.

"Siegfried and Roy is still Siegfried and Roy," Fischbacher said. He said the duo would "take a different path, I'm sure, but ... the show is our life."

Fischbacher also said he couldn't imagine continuing a show without his longtime partner.

"I love the audience like Roy loves the animals," said Fischbacher. "I wouldn't be strong enough alone."

"Siegfried & Roy" debuted in 1990 at The Mirage and earned the hotel-casino about $44 million in annual revenue. The show's 267 employees have been let go.

Fischbacher and Yuman also discussed an animated television series, "Father of the Pride," that will air on NBC next September.

"It's from the point of view of the Siegfried and Roy animal family," Yuman said.

Wednesday was the first time that Fischbacher had talked to the American media since Horn, 59, was attacked Friday before a sellout performance of 1,500. He gave an interview to the German daily Bild that was published Tuesday.

Fischbacher, 64, said Horn still can't talk but is communicating through hand signals - one gesture for "yes," two for "no."

"So we talk... and also with eye contact," he said. "When you are that long together... he understood exactly what I was saying. I could see it in his face."

Horn remains in critical condition at University Medical Center but has shown signs of improvement. Doctors said he moved his hands and feet during the weekend.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Fischbacher confirmed that Horn suffered a stroke after the attack but did not discuss Horn's injuries or whether Horn is expected to recover fully.

"We take it hour by hour, day by day," Fischbacher said.

Fischbacher spoke inside the "Jungle Palace," one of his Las Vegas homes that's dotted with exotic animal statues and filled with magic books.

No exotic animals were visible, just some house cats, a black palm Cockatoo and a 10-year-old French bulldog named Piaf.

A sometimes tearful Fischbacher described the attack as a "terrible accident" that lasted only seconds.

"It was so fast even the audience didn't realize what was going on," Fischbacher said.

Fischbacher said he was standing backstage when Horn was attacked by a Royal White tiger named Montecore. The illusionist tripped and the tiger lunged, grabbing Horn's arm. After Horn tried to free himself by hitting the tiger on the head with a microphone, the 600-pound animal bit his neck and then dragged him offstage.

Show workers set off fire extinguishers backstage to distract the tiger, which then scurried to his cage.

Fischbacher said the tiger didn't intend to kill Horn. If that was the case, he said, "I wouldn't be here, Roy wouldn't be here."

According to Fischbacher, Horn muttered only a few words after the attack: "Don't harm the cat."

The cat remains quarantined at the casino. The federal Agriculture Department is investigating.