Siegfried & Roy manager to represent Ali

Tuesday, Nov. 30, 1999 | 12:07 p.m.

First it was white lions and tigers, now it's butterflies and bees.

Bernie Yuman, who has managed the careers of illusionists Siegfried and Roy for 24 years, announced Tuesday he will become the exclusive manager for boxing legend Muhammad Ali.

Yuman said he was forming Bernie Yuman Management, with offices in Beverly Hills, Calif. and Las Vegas, to expand his management activities.

He will continue to manage Siegfried and Roy, who are in their ninth year headlining at The Mirage hotel-casino. The famed illusionists have set show business records at the Strip resort, and have gained worldwide attention for their efforts to save rare white lions and tigers from extinction.

Ali, in a statement issued through Yuman's Las Vegas office, cited their 35-year friendship and said he had signed with the manager "because of his passion and understanding for who I am and what I represent."

Ali, who is recognized as one of the greatest sports figures of the 20th century, coined the phrase "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee."

A resident of Berrien Springs, Mich., he has Parkinson's disease.