It’s here! The so-called  “scandalous book” that has been talked about for 6 months.

            The Secret Life of Siegfried and Roy: How the Tiger Kings Tamed Las Vegas

I read the book over last weekend. As some of you may know, I worked for S & R  for about 7 years, right up until his accident.  I have  the utmost respect for them. They are inspiring and it was an honor to work with them and for them!

Everyone has a personal, private life. Some things they may not want shared with others. VERY FEW people live the life of  an “open book.” Especially gay people. Some fear telling their families and/or friends that they are gay. Everyone has  “secrets” or things they may not be proud of, that they keep private. So what? A lot of gay people in the media’s eye choose to stay in the closet. Look at Liberace! ( a close friend to Siegfried & Roy). He denied he was gay till the end, even on his death bed withering away from AIDS.  Is it right? Is it wrong? Who are we to judge. I believe it is up to each individual to decide when to come out. It’s sad though to watch people live their lives for someone else. I don’t understand it. Eventually, all secrets come out.

The Secret Life of Siegfried and Roy reveals the touching,  little-known story of how two youngsters founded a friendship, a franchise, and a tempestuous on-and-off love affair that would last a lifetime. We all knew they were gay. DAH! Look at those cod pieces and costumes! The book reveals their depth of their romance. Their disagreements and fights. Their sexual desires. Their trust and love.

     

Like most celebrities and very public people, they work very hard to control their image and public perception.  In the weeks and months that followed the accident, more coverage was given to Siegfried & Roy than they had ever seen in whole career. In the spotlight as never before, Roy’s mauling triggered the press’ relentless investigation into the secret world of these Las Vegas icons. For the first time ever, author Louis Mydlach, a longtime friend––at Roy’s side throughout his traumatic recovery––describes in detail the agonies of rehabilitating the partially paralyzed performer.  –  Roy was undergoing strenuous rehabilitation. He wanted to present a stiff upper lip to his adoring fans. People hide things because they are afraid of what others may think. Being a gay man myself, I learned at an early age that is too short to lie! Just be yourself. And if someone will not accept you for who you are, do you really want them in your life?

Siegfried & Roy dazzled audiences’ eyes for decades as they masterfully hid a lifetime of secrets. Key players in the duo’s inner circle––Louis Mydlach, his security chief father Jim Mydlach, and show consultant Jimmy Lavery––finally unravel the untold story: The life of Siegfried & Roy was their ultimate illusion.

Is the book scandalous? Not really. I would not call it scandalous. It gives the reader an inside look into  two very private lives of two great men who happened to be gay and involved for numerous years in an on-again  off-again love relationship. I did find some of the language in the book a little bit of a slap in the face to gay people. But we have to remember, this book was probably written by four straight people and I think sometimes they are titillated talking about gay sexual issues, and don’t handle it in the same manner as a gay person might. There is talk about S&R’s like for younger men, video booths and glory holes. But so what? What gay person over 50 hasn’t been there, done that or thought about it?

The book exposes what happened behind closed  doors. It is personal, intimate and the side of them we never got to see. THEY ARE HUMAN. They fight. They cry. They have emotions. They are just like you and me. It’s the private life we never got to see or read about because they protected their privacy. Unlike Britney!

They are still amazing men who accomplished so many things and changed the face of magic and the face of Las Vegas. Reading the book will not change your feelings about them, but you will probably appreciate them more, by seeing this human side of them. 


Sidenote –  It is rumoured Siegfried & Roy are currently shopping around their own memoirs to publishers.

The Secret Life of Siegfried and Roy: How the Tiger Kings Tamed Las Vegas



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