Leopard being groomed for her debut in show business

By Jerry Fink

Thursday, July 9, 2009 | 2 a.m.

The latest member of magician Dirk Arthur’s cast is waiting in the wings, a cute and cuddly female who will wear nothing but a collar when she makes her debut at the Tropicana.

Well, not in the wings exactly. The 10-week-old black leopard is being introduced to show business at the magician’s animal habitat.

“Her name is Jan. She will be phased into the show in a month or two,” Arthur says. “The younger the better. It’s easier to get them used to the lights, the music and everything.”

Arthur and his cast of cats and beautiful dancers have performed at the Tropicana for five years. They replaced magician Rick Thomas when he moved to the Stardust.

The amiable Arthur seems to be rising to the top of the Tropicana marquee by attrition. First he took over the 2 and 4 p.m. time slots from Thomas.

In March the Tropicana dropped “Les Folies Bergere,” which had headlined the resort for almost 50 years. (Arthur briefly worked as a specialty magic act in “Folies” early in his Vegas career before moving to “Jubilee!” at Bally’s for six years.) Arthur added the 7 p.m. spot once reserved for the topless extravaganza.

“All of our tigers will be topless,” he says.

Arthur covers the broad spectrum of magic — from sleight of hand to props. (He makes a helicopter materialize.) But he’s best known for the tigers and leopards — as well as an assortment of ducks and chickens. He has 13 cats at his habitat, nine of which are in the show. There are Bengal tigers, white tigers and snow tigers.

He has been breeding cats in Vegas for almost 18 years. Before that he had a breeding program in his native Bahamas.

He sometimes trades animals that have been donated to him with other habitats across the country.

“It keeps their gene pool diversified,” he says. “Some day we hope to repopulate the wilds, but it’s tough right now because of the loss of habitat, poachers and things like that. But some day it may be possible. Meantime we can keep the species surviving in captivity.”

The latest addition to his family of tigers (called a “streak” or an “ambush” in the wild), will eventually become part of Arthur’s production.

“I’ve added a new illusion to the show in which I stand in a framework prop and it looks like a girl passes through my chest,” he says. “It’s kind of weird and interesting. My idea is that after the girl passes through, the black leopard will leap out of my body.”

It may take a year before the trick is perfected.

In the meantime, Jan can adapt to her new status as the cat’s meow of Extreme Magic.