Siegfried and Roy (Siegfried Fischbacher, 1939-2021, b. Rosenheim, Germany; and Roy Uwe Ludwig Horn, 1944-2020, b. Nordenham, Germany), noted German-American animal trainers and performers. Famed performers who enjoyed a three-decade run in Las Vegas with their trained tiger act, Siegfried and Roy wed the excitement of magic and animals with a healthy dose of glitz and glamour. After meeting while performing on a cruise ship, the duo began touring Europe in the mid-‘60s. They first appeared in Las Vegas in 1967, settling there in the early ‘70s with an exclusive contract at the MGM Grand (until 1981), and then signing with the Frontier Hotel. In 1987, Steve Wynn signed them to a five-year contract valued at $57.5 million for his soon-to-open Mirage hotel, which Variety hailed as the largest amount ever paid for a performing act. In addition to building them a specially equipped theater, Wynn invested $18 million in a jungle-like habitat to house their animals, which by then had grown to include a full bestiary of exotic creatures. They celebrated their 10,000th Las Vegas appearance on their opening night at the Mirage in 1990. Wynn signed the duo to a lifetime contract in 2001. However, on October 3, 2003, Horn was mauled during one of their live performances by a 400-pound white tiger. They officially retired from performing in 2010.
See studies by S. Fischbacher (1992), J. Mydlach and J. Lavery (2008); Siegfried and Roy: The Magic Box (1999, IMAX film).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
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