Legendary Magician/Actor John Calvert

John Calvert could have been Errol Flynn, Tyrone Power or Douglas Fairbanks. Instead, despite appearing in over 40 movies, Calvert chose magic.

"I went to Hollywood and they liked what they saw and I wound up with a movie contract," he reminded Siegfried & Roy during a momentous onstage and backstage visit...a "thank you" reunion for the advice he gave them prior to their Mirage opening. It also was the first time Siegfried & Roy invited a celebrity on stage in more than three decades of performing in Las Vegas.

Calvert, the first magician to perform a big magic show in Las Vegas and on Broadway, came to Las Vegas years ago to see Lynette Chappell, Siegfried & Roy's leading lady, who was a member of his troupe during her teen years. It was Calvert who trained Chappell.

"It was so special when we saw John that night," recalls Siegfried. "He meant everything to magic; a legend for so many years. When he came backstage to visit Lynette, we told him that we were ready to open a new show and asked him if there was anything that we should or shouldn't do in our new show."

"Without hesitation he said, 'Yes...what you're doing at the end of your show you should be doing at the beginning'," says Roy. "We asked, 'What's that?' and he said, 'Warm up to the audience.' He said it is so important to warm up to the audience, get acquainted with them. Let the audience get acquainted with you. Let them feel like they know you. It's advice we've never forgotten."

Siegfried & Roy's philosophy about magic is the mirror image of Calvert's: set your sights, aim high, work hard, and don't try to copy all the things you've seen other magicians do. "John's words have remained with us," Siegfried notes. "They have guided us and have made us better performers."

"That's why we always say that every performance is an opening night," smiles Roy. "We know we are actors playing the part of a magician who has learned to take material things and normal things and create the magic."