Mention the name Sigmund Neuberger to most people today and they would draw a blank, follow that it by saying that he performed under the name of ‘The Great Layfette’ and you might get a glimmer of recognition from a few but most who still be none the wiser. Yet in his time he was the best paid, some say the richest taking in £44,000 a year (equivalent to Millionaire status today), and possibly the most universally hated performer on the Music Hall, Theatre and Vaudeville circuit in the UK and USA.

What made this native of Munich, who emigrated to the USA with his parents when he was a child, such a rich man was his dedication to the mastery of magic and illusion. Not only did he devise his own illusions and tricks, but he sold some to other illusionists and magicians and was known to drive a hard bargain. He protected the secrets of how they worked by insisting on Stage areas being locked down and not allowing anyone other than his ‘team’ access.

He arrived in Edinburgh to do a 2 week engagement at the Empire Palace Theatre in Nicolson Street, Edinburgh at the start of May. Within a day of arriving his dog Beauty, a cross bred terrier, given to him by his ‘only’ human friend Harry Houdini, another (though better known) illusionist and escapologist, died.( Reportedly death was due to the fact that the dog ate the same food as its Master, i.e. if Layfette had a 5 course dinner then the dog had the same) As his animals were his ‘real’ friends he was distraught and immediately sought to have the dog interred in a cemetery. This was met with derision, ‘Cemetries were for people’, he was told. Eventually he was allowed to bury the dog in Piershill Cemetery, on the proviso that when he died his ashes would be interred in the same grave, and that he would purchase the plot for £300.

Whilst still affected by the trauma Layfette was nothing if not a showman and the ‘show must go on’. So, he carried on with his engagement at the Empire much to the delight of the paying public. A week after his pet’s death on the 9^th of May as his act was drawing to its end with the grand illusion ‘The Lion’s Bride,’ which was set in an Eastern Harem where a kidnapped Princess was being fed to a lion because she would not marry the man who abducted her, one of the elaborate electric Moroccan style set lights, all of which had been erected and wired by Layfette’s own electrician, caught fire. The inflammable materials making up the set were quickly alight and as the performers and stagehands tried to flee the developing inferno. The crowd sat mesmerised thinking this was all part of the act until the Stage Manager ordered the Safety Curtain to be lowered and that the band should start playing the National Anthem, ‘God Save the King’. Normally played at the end of every performance in theatres and cinemas throughout the country this was universally observed by the patriotic public who stood up in respect. This was also the cue to the Ushers and Usherettes, who knew that the performance wasn’t normally over by this time, that something was amiss and they should immediately start to evacuate the 3,000 people in the packed audience. The 2 ½ minute tune saw the audience and the band safely exit the Theatre. (2 1/2 minutes would be adopted as the British Safety standard for Audience evacuation from Theatr’s, etc., following this fire)

The Safety Curtain, designed to separate the stage from the auditorium in case of fire, stuck 3/4 of the way down whist being lowered. This allowed the fire on the stage to draw air from the vast auditorium to feed the flames. Due to Layfette’s requirement for the backstage to be secure, lockfast, performers and stage crew had difficulty in escaping despite the number of exits. 11 people died, including 2 children, a boy and a girl, who were part of the act along with a lion, from the final illusion, and an arab stallion, also part of the final illusion, which was greatly loved by Layfette and it was reported that he could have saved himself from the blaze but was last seen returning to the stage to try and to lead the horse to safety.

Edinburgh Fire Brigade, under the leadership of Firemaster Arthur Pordage, attended and fought the fire for 3 hours before it was finally extinguished. Two of the Brigade’s Officers entered the premises and managed to rescue a couple of the people who had been overcome with smoke, whilst sustaining injuries themselves, but others died of smoke inhalation on staircases as they tried to find an unlocked exit. Firemaster Pordage later testified to the Official inquiry into the fire and submitted plans he drew as to where bodies were found, placement of appliances (pumps), water supplies, exit routes, etc., which appeared in the subsequent Inquiry report.

A search of the premises after the fire was out discovered the bodies of those that had died, including the lion, and eventually the body of Layfette. His remains were recovered and dispatched to Glasgow for cremation whilst the search continued. Another body was discovered, and speculation arose as to who it was. Layfette’s Manager had to admit that this body was in fact that of Layfette and could be recognised by the rings, that only he wore, on his fingers. The question then arose as to who was on route to Glasgow for cremation. The Manager admitted that it was most probably Layfette’s band leader who doubled for him during illusions.

Eventually Layfette’s body was taken to Glasgow, cremated and his ashes returned to Edinburgh where they were later interred in the casket beside Beauty, between its paws. But not before further controversy ensued following a grand funeral cortege from Lothian Road to Piershill cemetery containing limousines bearing some of his pets and the refusal of the Rabbi to carry out the burial service when he learned that the remains were to be interred beside a dog. Luckily the local minister was pressed into service and the burial took place.

Piershill Cemetry has now become a place of pilgrimage for members of the Magic Circle and those interested in the subject.

Finally , some might say as a lasting tribute, the Layfette Bill stipulates that the Safety Curtain in all theatres must be raised and lowered before any performance can begin.