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They were two young men torn by the turmoil of post-war Germany. For Siegfried Fischbacher, magic provided an escape. For Roy Horn, escapism came via the animals with whom he formed an incredible bond. A chance meeting on a cruise ship where they both worked would change their lives and raise the bar for the entertainment industry forever. They would touch tens of millions of lives along the path they would take.

Siegfried & Roy took Las Vegas by storm, breaking every box office record along the way and establishing themselves as Strip icons during a 36-year tenure.

The incredible run ended abruptly on Oct. 3, 2003, when Roy, celebrating his 59th birthday, was bitten on the throat by one of the white tigers he lovingly called his "children." Roy was dragged off stage by Montecore, a 400-pound, 7-year-old white tiger he had raised from a cub and had featured in the show since he was six months old. It would take a medical miracle, the will of a giant and the prayers of millions around the world to assure Roy's survival.

Survival was nothing new for the famed illusionists.

Siegfried was born in Bavaria, Germany on June 13, 1939, and spent his boyhood years in a country ravaged by war. At the age of 8, he bought his first book on magic after finding five marks in the gutter.

Roy was born in Nordenham, Germany, October 3, 1944, during an Allied bombing raid. When his father returned from the war, he brought with him an animal that was half dog, half wolf. Hexe would become Roy's constant companion, nurturing his love for animals and one day saving his life.

"I had a rough childhood and animals evoked the best in me," Roy recalled in an October 2000 interview for the book Siegfried & Roy's Gift for the Ages. I had no friends. My father was coming back from the war, and the trauma of war made him unfit to be a parent. He was very abusive."

To escape the rage of his father, Roy would steal away to the nearby woods with Hexe. One day in 1951, Roy wandered into a swamp and began to sink. Hexe ran to a nearby farm to get help, saving Roy's life. The action would seal a special bond that would transform Roy into a modern-day Dr. Doolittle.

In 1955, Roy began to frequent a zoo in Bremen, Germany, befriending a cheetah named Chico and generating a love for exotic cats. Two years later he went to work as a bellboy on the ocean liner ts bremen. In 1959 Roy met Siegfried, the ship's entertainer. The two formed an act centered on Siegfried's magic and Roy's cheetah, which he had "liberated" from the Bremen zoo. Who would have dreamed this would mark the beginning of one of the most fascinating chapters in show business history.

The two played venues throughout Europe, including the famed "Folies Bergere" in Paris. But playing Las Vegas had always been their dream. They had their shot in 1967 but were almost dissuaded even before they got to the footlights. Signed as a specialty act at the "Folies" on the Strip, a Tropicana Hotel executive told Siegfried & Roy: "Magic doesn't work in Las Vegas."

"All my confidence was gone," Siegfried would recall years later in an interview at the duo's walled compound, the Jungle Palace. "But when I performed here for the first time, I knew it was meant to be."

Indeed.

Siegfried & Roy proved that magic would work in Las Vegas, paving the way for numerous headliners who now ply that trade.

The "Folies" gig was followed by two different stints at the Stardust, four years at the old MGM Grand (now Bally's) and seven years at the Frontier.

In 1988, the two signed an unprecedented five-year, $57.5 million contract to headline in a theater bearing their name at the under-construction Mirage Casino & Hotel. That same year they took a step that would become one of the most memorable of their lives-being sworn in as U.S. citizens along with their assistant, Lynette Chappell. Ms. Chappell, who was featured as the Evil Queen in the Siegfried & Roy show, was also the "den mother" to the Siegfried & Roy cat family and worked with the illusionists on a host of civic activities.

Over the next year, while waiting for completion of The Mirage, they performed 38 weeks in a custom venue in Tokyo, then three weeks at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, where they broke a 57-year-old box office record.

Then it was back to Las Vegas to prepare for a show that would transform the Entertainment Capital of the World. Siegfried & Roy committed $35 million of their own money to raise the bar for their Mirage entertainment spectacle, which was co-produced by five-time Tony Award-winner John Napier ("Cats," "Les Misérables," "Phantom of the Opera.") While gaining worldwide fame for their artistry, Siegfried & Roy were also garnering global attention for their work with exotic animals. Roy's childhood love of animals had become a passion, a mission.

In the early 1980s, "we didn't know there was such a thing as white tigers," Siegfried recalled. "But Roy began having these strange dreams about tigers, white tigers, with no stripes, no color." The dreams proved prophetic.

In 1982, the Maharaja of Baroda, India's Commissioner of Wildlife, saw their performance and was impressed by Roy's rapport with animals. "He came to us after the show and said because of our work with animals, he would like for us to be involved in preservation efforts for the white tigers," Siegfried recalled. "He thought we provided the perfect combination in the new world."

India had bequeathed two of the exquisite white tigers to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. and the Cincinnati Zoo, long recognized for its work in breeding endangered animals. Siegfried & Roy made a financial and personal commitment to the Cincinnati Zoo to aid in its preservation program. In return, the famous duo would receive cubs from a new generation of white tigers born in Cincinnati.

Roy's eyes gleamed as he talked about his trip to the Cincinnati Zoo in 1982 to pick three tiny cubs from one of the first litters of white tigers. The three-which he named Sitarra, Shasadee and Neva- were transported to the Jungle Palace.

"From a handful, we now have over 200 white tigers all over the world," Roy said in the 2000 interview.

The famed showmen lost no time in introducing the rare white tigers to the Las Vegas stage, and the public loved the combination.

"Roy, with his passion for animals, had the idea to put them in the show," Siegfried recalled.

"We always wanted the audience to carry something away with them," Siegfried added. "I think we achieved that."

But their involvement with white tigers was more than just a show business hook. The animals became the focal point of Roy's life.