The Magic of Siegfried & Roy

Both natives of rural Germany and raised in the midst of World War II, Siegfried Fischbacher and Uwe Ludwig “Roy” Horn each discovered their respective passions at young ages before their fated meeting aboard the cruise liner, the TS Bremen. While the former was studying magic from a book he’d purchased with money found on the street, the latter began to work with exotic animals at the local zoo; each brought these talents to their work aboard the Bremen as teenagers in the late 1950s, entertaining guests with a rudimentary version of their famous act that would eventually take them across the globe.

At this time, before their names were forever immortalized with only an ampersand separating them, Siegfried was performing modest illusions onboard under the name of Delmare the Magician while Roy was preoccupied with smuggling aboard a cheetah, Chico, he had befriended while working at the zoo. Sources may differ as to their exact meeting date—the historic record strongly supports either 1957 or 1959—but it is abundantly clear that both Siegfried & Roy presented an opportunity to one another. For Siegfried, Roy’s uncanny animal magnetism was the chance to elevate his magic to the next level, and for Roy, Siegfried’s deft illusions and showmanship were the ideal vehicle to share his love of wild animals with audiences the world over.

By the time the duo formalized their partnership and took their show on the road across Europe, they were already highly buzzed about and praised by audiences, critics, and peers alike; the duo even performed for Princess Grace of Monaco in 1966 at her prestigious Gala des Rois. It wasn’t long before Siegfried & Roy caught the attention of producers and entertainers in the United States, first touching down in Las Vegas in August 1967.