Fritz Reuter Leiber Jr. (December 24, 1910 – September 5, 1992) was an American writer of fantasy, horror and science fiction. He was also an expert chess player and a champion fencer. Leiber (first syllable sounds like "lie") was born Dec 24, 1910 in Chicago, Illinois to Fritz Leiber, Sr and Virginia Leiber, thespians (theater and actors feature heavily in his narrative) and, for a time, seemed inclined to follow in his parents' footsteps.