Siegfried and Roy

Early life

Siegfried Fischbacher (born June 13, 1939) and Roy Horn (born Uwe Ludwig Horn on October 3, 1944) were born and raised in Germany. They migrated to the United States and became naturalized citizens.

Siegfried

Siegfried Fischbacher was born in Rosenheim, Germany on June 13, 1939 to Maria and Martin Fischbacher. Siegfried's mother was a housewife and his father was a professional painter who was imprisoned by the Soviets during World War II. Siegfried purchased a magic book as a child and began practising tricks. Siegfried moved to Italy in 1956, and began working at a hotel. He eventually found work performing magic on the ship the TS Bremen under the stage name Delmare. Siegfried and Roy met while Siegfried was performing aboard the ship and asked Roy to assist him during a show. Siegfried and Roy were fired from the TS Bremen for bringing a live cheetah onto the ship, but were scouted by a New York-based cruise line and began performing together as a duo.

Roy

Roy Horn was born Uwe Ludwig Horn on October 3, 1944 in Nordenham, in the midst of bomb attacks, to Johanna Horn. His biological father fought on the Russian front, and his father and mother divorced after the war ended. Roy's mother remarried a construction worker, and later began work in a factory. Roy had three brothers: Manfred, Alfred, and Werner. Roy became interested in animals at a very young age, and cared for his childhood dog, named Hexe. Roy's mother's friend's husband, Emil, was founder of the Bremen zoo, which gave Roy access to exotic animals from the age of ten. Roy visited the United States briefly when his ship wrecked and was towed to New York City, and returned home to Bremen before returning to the sea as a waiter, where he met Siegfried and launched his performance career.

Career

The owner of the Astoria Theatre in Bremen, Germany saw Siegfried and Roy's act aboard a Caribbean cruise ship and recruited the duo to perform at her nightclub. This launched a career on the European nightclub circuit, and the duo began to perform with tigers. They were discovered performing in Paris by Tony Azzie, who asked them to come to Las Vegas in 1967. They spent some time in Puerto Rico, and may have purchased property there.

In 1981, Ken Feld of Irvin & Kenneth Feld Productions started the Beyond Belief show with Siegfried & Roy at the New Frontier Hotel and Casino. A revamped version of the show was taken on a world tour in the third quarter of 1988.

On October 3, 2003, during a show at the Mirage, Roy Horn was bitten on the neck and dragged by a 7-year-old male white tiger named Montecore. Crew members separated Horn from the tiger and rushed him to the only Level I trauma center in Nevada, University Medical Center. Horn was critically injured and sustained severe blood loss. While being taken to the hospital, Horn said, "Montecore is a great cat. Make sure no harm comes to Montecore." The injury to Horn prompted the Mirage to close the show, and 267 cast and crew members were laid off. By 2006, Horn was talking and walking, with assistance from Fischbacher, and appeared on Pat O'Brien's television news program The Insider to discuss his daily rehabilitation.

In 2004, their act became the basis for the short-lived television series Father of the Pride. Right before its release, the series was almost cancelled until Siegfried & Roy urged NBC to continue production after Roy's injury from October 2003 improved.

In February 2009, the duo staged a final appearance with Montecore as a benefit for the Lou Ruvo Brain Institute. This performance was recorded for broadcast on ABC television's 20/20 program. Montecore died in 2014 after a short illness.

On April 23, 2010, Siegfried & Roy retired from show business. "The last time we closed, we didn't have a lot of warning," said longtime manager Bernie Yuman. "This is farewell. This is the dot at the end of the sentence."

Filmography

Television