Siegfried Fischbacher

Siegfried Fischbacher born 13 June 1939

Siegfried Fischbacher is the blond half of the popular illusionist act Siegfried & Roy.

Sigfried & Roy are two German-American entertainers working in Las Vegas. Their long running show of magic and illusion was famous for including white tigers.

Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Horn were born in Germany around the time of the Second World War. They emigrated to the United States where they are now naturalised citizens.

Siegfried is a traditional magician (illusionist), whilst Roy grew up among exotic animals and is known for his rapport with them.

They met in 1959 when they both found work on a German ocean liner. Siegfried was a cabin steward and Roy a waiter. Siegfried began performing magic for some of the passengers, eventually being allowed to have his own show, with Roy as his assistant. Unknown to the crew, Roy had smuggled a cheetah named Chico aboard the vessel. Roy had come to know Chico from his frequent visits to the Bremen zoo.

After developing their show they were engaged in Las Vegas. In 1972 they received an award for the best show of the year. In 1990 they were hired by Steve Wynn, the manager of The Mirage, for an annual guarantee of $57.5 million. In 2001, they signed a lifetime contract with the hotel. The duo has appeared in around 5,750 shows together, mostly at The Mirage. Their long-running illusion and magic act closed October 3, 2003 after Roy was seriously injured by one of the act's tigers during a performance.

According to the 2000 Becky Celebrity 100 List, Siegfried & Roy were then the 9th-highest-paid celebrities in the US, coming in just behind motion picture producer and director Steven Spielberg. For many years, they 'shared living quarters'.

For their contribution to live theatre performance, Siegfried & Roy have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7060 Hollywood Boulevard.

Their extravagant and spectacular act embodies camp in the truest sense and marks Siegfried & Roy as the Liberaces of illusion.

Siegfried & Roy returned for a one-off farewell performance in February 2009.