Illusionist making first appearance since near-fatal attack

LAS VEGAS -- Roy Horn has never spoken publicly about the incident in which a 380-pound white tiger named Montecore nearly mauled him to death.

So when NBC airs the special "Siegfried & Roy: The Miracle" at 8 p.m. Sept. 15, viewers will hear Horn for the first time and see his battle to regain his motor skills after the tiger attack -- and subsequent debilitating stroke -- left him in a wheelchair.

"That's been the remarkable part of this thing," said Jason Raff, the show's executive producer and director. "He really let us in to see the good days and bad days. I believe they gave us an unprecedented look."

In his own words, Raff said, Horn will attempt to answer what happened that terrifying night during a live performance at The Mirage hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip. He'll be interviewed by Maria Shriver in one of her first TV assignments since becoming California's first lady.

Viewers shouldn't expect the definitive account.

"We will offer a very thorough look," Raff said. "Will we answer every question? No. We will not answer every question."

As Shriver noted in an interview, "No one is 100 percent sure what happened that night."

The special probably won't include the closely guarded footage of the Oct. 3 accident that was taped by Feld Entertainment, the company that produced the wildly popular Siegfried & Roy show.

Feld officials have refused to turn over the video to investigators from the Agriculture Department, the federal agency responsible for looking into such incidents, saying it "would quickly end up in the hands of media who would then sensationalize this horrible tragedy."

The special -- produced by the network's entertainment division -- includes interviews with some of the 1,500 audience members and show staff who witnessed the horrifying attack, as well as the paramedics who treated Horn in those first crucial minutes.

The tiger bit Horn in the neck and dragged him off stage. One of the show's employees was able to beat the animal off Horn by hitting it with a fire extinguisher. Horn is said to have lost a tremendous amount of blood.

The more dramatic moments of the special are expected to include audio tapes of the 911 calls and conversations between hospital staffers and paramedics as Horn was being rushed to the emergency room. It was his 59th birthday.

Horn had to undergo repeated surgeries after he arrived at University Medical Center. Horn gave doctors permission to disclose his medical information for the special, Raff said.

"He was very close to dying from what the doctors said," Raff explained. "The first three days were truly touch and go. We are going to let the doctors tell what happened."

While Horn staved off death in those first 72 hours, Raff said partner Siegfried Fischbacher had to make "some very quick decisions, life-saving decisions" about whether doctors should perform those potentially dangerous operations.

The program was filmed over several months, mostly in Las Vegas, where Horn and Shriver, a longtime friend of Horn's, visit a caged Montecore.

There are also scenes at a Denver rehabilitation clinic for stroke victims. Raff said Horn has gone through "grueling therapy."

Shriver said Horn is doing remarkably better, but it's not clear if he'll ever perform again. There's no talk of reviving the Siegfried & Roy show, which debuted in 1990, although Siegfried & Roy are involved in NBC's new animated show "Father of the Pride."

Still, doctors described Horn's survival as a miracle.

"This is a guy who had come back from the impossible," Shriver said. "He has defied everybody's single belief that he would be here today."

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