Siegfried & Roy DVDs, videotapes in demand

Heather Rawlyk and Jean Reid Norman

Friday, Oct. 24, 2003 | 10:57 a.m.

Commercials began airing this month on Las Vegas cable television stations for DVDs and videotapes of Siegfried & Roy produced before Roy Horn was critically injured by one of his tigers Oct. 3.

The commercials are part of a national media campaign that has been going for the past five months, said Joseph Torkan, chairman and president of Vox Corp., which produced the three-tape set. Sales have doubled since the accident, he said.

"There is a strong demand for this," Torkan said. "We've been having a tremendous amount of demand for videos."

The campaign includes the commercials, which began this month, ads in National Enquirer and the Globe and placement in mail-order outlets, and will soon begin on QVC, the shopping cable network. Network advertising is scheduled to begin soon. The tapes and DVDs also are available at the Mirage gift shop, he said.

The commercials offer the three-tape series for two payments of $19.95. They include "Magic & Mystery," a video of the show, "Magic Box," a history of the entertainment duo, and "The World of Siegfried and Roy," which is a behind-the-scenes look at the Siegfried & Roy compound in Las Vegas where the tigers are raised, as well as four signed photos of Siegfried & Roy with the animals.

Torkan, whose company also produced a TV-marketed video, "The Best of Red Skelton," said he has a contract with Siegfried & Roy that includes royalties for the pair and said he worked with the their agent, Bernie Yuman, on producing the video.

It has been a successful project, Torkan said.

The Mirage gift shops have been selling a lot of the video box sets and DVDs, a Mirage gift shop salesman said Thursday night. They are one of the first items in sight at the gift shop register counter.

The videos and DVDs are front and center at all of the gift shops located throughout the Mirage. Both the DVD and video collection cost $39.98 at the Mirage.

Several tourists took a look at the videos at the Mirage gift shop Thursday, sparked by curiosity.

Jocelyn Shaw of Kentucky said the videos were a good way to remember Horn as the gifted magician he is.

"I thought about getting at least one video because it's probably the only way to ever see them perform as they were," Shaw said. "I never got to see them in person but they've always seemed amazing with all they did. I'd like to get a look at their show, and this seems to be the only way to do it now."

Others said the videos are more interesting because of the attack.

"I actually looked at the tape because of the attack," Jake Mihal of Florida said. "The attack makes the shows seem even more daring in a way because now you really realize the risk that they took every show. The animals seem a lot more powerful now instead of just playful pets and fluffy things. I think people want to see (the video) so they can get a feel for how it happened."

Mihal said the attack has probably helped the sales more than anything else.

"I think a lot of people are buying this stuff as memorabilia really," he said. "They probably think it's going to be worth something and they're probably right."

Brianna Bost of New Jersey agreed.

"These tapes are going to be a piece of history," she said. "This will be something everyone will always remember and I think these tapes will be a good way to remember them in a good way. Even if they aren't worth a lot of money in the end, they will be worth something to a lot of people who were such fans for so long."

Bost said that she had purchased a different tape of Siegfried & Roy the last time she came to town.

"They're fun videos to watch but now they're kind of sad," she said. "I think it's mainly just sad because you know they probably won't get to perform or have a show like that again. I am hopeful but still undecided whether they'll be back like before. It's weird to see them in the video, unaware of what would happen in the future."

Torkan said the videos are a service to the dedicated fans of Siegfried & Roy.

"It's unfortunate that he had this accident. We're heartbroken," he said. "It wasn't fair that he should be in this position.

"At the same time, you cannot deny people who want to know about them -- what is their life story, what is going on. A lot of people didn't have a chance to come to Las Vegas and see the show. Here is their chance to see the tape, which is done in a very tasteful manner."

Through the videos, fans all over the world can get an inside look and remember the magic of Siegfried and Roy.

"We are upset and really sorry that Roy was unnecessarily hurt," Torkan said. "But the fact is that people are showing great interest and wanting to know what the show is about."