Siegfried Fischbacher (June 13, 1939 – January 13, 2021) and Roy Horn (born Uwe Ludwig Horn; October 3, 1944 – May 8, 2020) were German-American magicians and entertainers who performed together as Siegfried & Roy.
They were best known for their use of white lions and white tigers in their acts.
The pair met on a cruise ship and began performing together on ships and in European clubs and theaters.
Siegfried Fischbacher was born in Rosenheim, Bavaria, Germany, on June 13, 1939, to Martin and Maria Fischbacher.
His mother was a housewife and his father was a professional painter who, during World War II, ended up as a prisoner of war in the Soviet Union.
Fischbacher purchased a book about magic tricks as a child and began to practice illusions.
1944
Roy was born Uwe Ludwig Horn on October 3, 1944, in Nordenham, Oldenburg, Germany, in the midst of bomb attacks, to Johanna Horn.
His father died in World War II, and his mother married a construction worker after the war ended.
She later began work in a factory.
Horn had three brothers: Manfred, Alfred, and Werner.
Horn became interested in animals at a very young age and cared for his childhood dog named Hexe (witch).
A family friend was the founder of Bremen Zoo, which gave Horn access to exotic animals from the age of 10.
Horn left school at age 13.
The duo met on board the cruise ship TS Bremen where Horn was a waiter and Fischbacher was performing magic under the stage name Delmare.
While performing on board, Fischbacher asked Horn to assist him during a show.
The two were fired from the TS Bremen for bringing a live cheetah onto the ship, but were scouted by a cruise line based in New York and began performing together as a duo.
The owner of the Astoria Theatre in Bremen saw Fischbacher and Horn's act aboard a Caribbean cruise ship and recruited the duo to perform at her nightclub.
This launched a career for the pair on the European nightclub circuit, and they began to perform with tigers.
1956
He moved to Italy in 1956 and started work at a hotel.
1967
In 1967, they were invited to begin performing in Las Vegas, Nevada.
They were discovered performing in Paris by Tony Azzie, who asked them to come to Las Vegas in 1967, where they debuted at the Folies Bergere at The Tropicana Hotel Las Vegas.
1978
The duo were originally placed 14th on a long bill, but by 1978, they had become the grand finale.
1981
In 1981, Ken Feld of Irvin & Kenneth Feld Productions started the Beyond Belief variety show with them at the New Frontier Hotel and Casino.
1988
They moved to the United States and became naturalized citizens in 1988.
A revamped version of the show was taken on a world tour in the third quarter of 1988.
1990
Starting in 1990, they headlined a show at The Mirage casino resort.
In 1990, Fischbacher and Horn moved their show to the newly opened Mirage, where they performed until 2003.
During a period of their careers, Fischbacher and Horn were romantically involved, though they avoided discussion of their private lives.
2003
Their performing career came to an end in 2003 when Horn was critically injured by his partner during a performance.
Fischbacher and Horn were born and raised in Germany.
During a show at the Mirage on Horn's birthday on October 3, 2003, a seven-year-old white tiger named Mantacore attacked Horn.
(The name of the tiger has frequently been misspelled as "Montecore" in media reports. ) As part of the act, but veering off script, Horn held the microphone to Mantacore's mouth and told him to say "hello" to the audience.
Mantacore responded by biting Horn's sleeve.
Horn swatted the tiger and barked "release!", while standby trainers unsuccessfully attempted to distract the cat with cubes of meat.
Possibly incited by Horn's retreat, the tiger leapt at Horn, swinging at his legs and knocking him off his feet.
As trainers rushed to the stage to assist, Mantacore bit into Horn's neck and dragged him offstage toward his cage.
Trainers finally got the tiger to release Horn by spraying him with CO2 fire extinguisher canisters, which was the last resort available.
Horn survived, but the attack severed his spine, resulting in massive blood loss and severely injuring other parts of his body.
It left him with permanent impairment to his motor and verbal abilities.
He also had a stroke either before or after Mantacore dragged him offstage.
