Second Golden Age of Magic
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Photograph of Roy Horn standing surrounded by children holding a white tiger. There is a label on the back of the photograph that reads, “WHAT’S NEW PUSSYCAT – Youngsters visiting Siegfried and Roy’s Secret garden are have the opportunity to touch Passion, one of the four white lion cubs born this year, when Roy gives in to her request to play with the kids.”
Gift of Robert “Bob” Stoldal, Ref: MS 0013.051
While there is not an exact date for when the “Second Golden Age of Magic” officially started, these five figures—Siegfried & Roy, Melinda Saxe, David Copperfield, and Lance Burton—were undoubtedly significant to the unprecedented success that magic found in Las Vegas during this period. From the 1980s to the 2000s, Las Vegas was the global epicenter for magic performance in the world; these shows were bigger, more expensive, more elaborate, and drew some of the biggest, most enthusiastic audiences the city has ever seen.
The early 1980s saw Siegfried & Roy premiere at the Frontier Hotel & Casino, with their critically acclaimed and commercially successful Beyond Belief. It was here that the duo began experimenting with added showtimes, catering specifically to younger audiences, much to the criticism of executives and the media, many of whom questioned the commercial viability of such a prospect. This period also found Siegfried & Roy fully embraced as members of the city’s magic elite, with Siegfried—the magician of the duo—rubbing shoulders and exchanging trade secrets with high-profile peers such as magicians Gary Darwin and Jimmy Grippo.
Melinda Saxe, a dancer in Siegfried & Roy’s Beyond Belief production, was inspired by the both the duo and her own mother’s legendary career in Las Vegas entertainment, that she set off to establish a solo career as a magician. Saxe, later known as the “First Lady of Magic,” began her career as a magician at the Bourbon Street Hotel & Casino in 1987, as part of the property’s Bourbon Street Follies. Saxe’s show, true to her influences, memorably blended magic and dance into a seamless experience. In addition to Bourbon Street, many other properties sought to capitalize on the groundswell of popularity of magic in the city by opening their own magic-themed productions. Splash premiered at the Riviera Hotel & Casino in June 1985 and featured a myriad of variety acts and magicians, among them illusionist Haruo Shimada. Following Splash was the Kirby VanBurch-starring Abracadabra, which premiered at the Aladdin hotel & Casino in April 1988.
L to R: Siegfried Fischbacher, Lynette Chappell, Roy Horn
Magician Lance Burton premiered his first solo show, Lance Burton: A Magical Journey, at the Hacienda Hotel & Casino on July 11, 1991. Burton, like Siegfried & Roy, had broken into the Las Vegas mainstream by originally performing as part of the Folies Bergere ensemble. His show premiered in the wake of the duo’s self-titled Mirage Hotel & Casino engagement making waves in the city’s entertainment landscape for its unprecedented ticket prices and overwhelming fan demand. Burton went on to headline at the Monte Carlo Hotel & Casino beginning in July 1996 with Master Magician, which—similarly to Siegfried & Roy’s residency at the Mirage—saw the magician perform in a custom-built, multimillion dollar venue.
After years of performing in the city while on his extensive worldwide tours, magician David Copperfield—an icon of the “Second Golden Age of Magic”—finally settled into Las Vegas as a permanent headquarters beginning in May 2003 with An Intimate Evening of Grand Illusion. This is just months before Siegfried & Roy’s performing career was abruptly cut short after Roy suffered an attack on-stage in October 2003. At this time, both Copperfield and Siegfried & Roy were among the highest paid entertainers in the world, employing crews of hundreds to bring their shows to life.