Fritz Reuter Leiber, Jr. (December 24, 1910– September 5, 1992) was an American writer of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. He was also a poet, actor in theater and films, playwright and chess expert. With writers such as Robert E. Howard and Michael Moorcock, Leiber can be regarded as one of the fathers of sword and sorcery fantasy, having in fact created the term. Moreover, he excelled in all fields of speculative fiction, writing award-winning work in fantasy, horror, and science fiction.
Life
Leiber was born December 24, 1910, in Chicago, Illinois, to the actors Fritz Leiber, Sr., and Virginia Bronson Leiber and, for a time, he seemed inclined to follow in his parents' footsteps. (Theater and actors are prominently featured in his fiction.) He spent 1928 touring with his parents' Shakespeare company before studying philosophy at the University of Chicago, where he graduated with honors (1928–32). In 1932, he studied at the Anglican-affiliated General Theological Seminary and worked for a time as a lay preacher. In 1934, he toured with his parents' acting company, Fritz Leiber & Co. Six short stories in the 2010 collection Strange Wonders: A Collection of Rare Fritz Leiber Works carry 1934 and 1935 dates.
Fritz Reuter Leiber Sr. (January 31, 1882 – October 14, 1949), was an American actor. A Shakespearean actor on stage, he also had a successful career in film. He was the father of science fiction and fantasy writer Fritz Leiber, Jr., who was also an actor for a time.
Life
Born in Chicago, Leiber was based there for most of his pre-Hollywood career. He married Virginia Bronson, who like him was a Shakespearian performer. Leiber died from a heart attack at the age of 67.
Career
Leiber and his wife spent much of their time touring in a Shakespearian acting company, known by the 1930s as Fritz Leiber & Co. Leiber made his film bow in 1916, playing Mercutio in the Francis X. Bushman version of Romeo and Juliet. With his piercing eyes and shock of white hair, Leiber seemed every inch the priests, professors, musical professors, and religious fanatics that he was frequently called upon to play in films. His many silent-era portrayals included Caesar in Theda Bara's 1917 Cleopatra and Solomon in the mammoth 1921 Betty Blythe vehicle The Queen of Sheba.
Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser Series - Worlds of Speculative Fiction (lecture 24)
Enroll in the FREE online class, Worlds of Speculative Fiction - https://reasonio.teachable.com/p/worlds-of-speculative-fiction/
- and get access to handouts, lesson pages, other resources - and stay informed about the ongoing series!
This is the twenty-fourth session in a new series of monthly lectures and discussions, featuring Dr. Gregory Sadler, and hosted by the Brookfield Public Library. The series focuses on philosophical themes in the works and world of selected classic and contemporary fantasy, science fiction, horror, and other speculative fiction genre authors.
We continue the series by focusing in this session on the classic fantasy, horror, and science fiction author, Fritz Leiber. We are looking specifically at his Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser series of works, set (for the...
published: 15 Feb 2018
Fritz Leiber's Lankhmar the Board Game Review (and the Early Days of D&D)
This video is between a review of the game Lankhmar by TSR and a series of thoughts about wargaming, narrativity, and RPG's in the early days of D&D. Historical intro (00:00); Map of the game (04:29); How the game works, and the importance of an honest effort (06:56); Conclusions, or Two Adventurers Walk into a Wargame (20:29)
published: 21 Mar 2016
Pacificon II (1964) Worldcon - Fritz Leiber - "Monsters And Monster Lovers"
Pacificon II, the 22nd World Science Fiction Convention, was held in Oakland, CA in 1964. In this interesting audio with images, Fritz Leiber speaks eloquently about his favorite literary monsters (from Yog Sothoth to the forest in Peer Gynt), the relationship of science fiction to traditional monsters, why we are drawn to these characters, and on horror in a time of war. The first 10 minutes or so are a loving listing of characters, and the meat of the talk starts after that. This material was provided by The Southern California Institute for Fan Interests (SCIFI), and Jerome Scott, Director of Projects for SCIFI in LA. For more fan history, subscribe to this channel and visit FANAC.ORG
published: 28 Mar 2018
Ask Lovecraft - Fritz Leiber
In which we're still disappointed the Gray Mauser wasn't an actual cat.
Support the show at: www.patreon.com/asklovecraft
Music by Evan Stephens: https://soundcloud.com/evan-stephens/sets/compositions
published: 24 Sep 2018
Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser Vol. 1 - Swords and Deviltry - Fritz Leiber
Enroll in the FREE online class, Worlds of Speculative Fiction - https://reasonio.teachable.com/p/worlds-of-speculative-fiction/
- and get access to handouts, ...
Enroll in the FREE online class, Worlds of Speculative Fiction - https://reasonio.teachable.com/p/worlds-of-speculative-fiction/
- and get access to handouts, lesson pages, other resources - and stay informed about the ongoing series!
This is the twenty-fourth session in a new series of monthly lectures and discussions, featuring Dr. Gregory Sadler, and hosted by the Brookfield Public Library. The series focuses on philosophical themes in the works and world of selected classic and contemporary fantasy, science fiction, horror, and other speculative fiction genre authors.
We continue the series by focusing in this session on the classic fantasy, horror, and science fiction author, Fritz Leiber. We are looking specifically at his Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser series of works, set (for the most part) in the world of Newhon, and often in the city of Lankhmar.
We explore Leiber's biography and works, his worldbuilding of Newhon, and several main philosophical themes. These include: swords and sorcery as a literary genre, the friendship of the two main characters, the ethics of roguery, how women fit into Leiber's stories, and the irreverent polytheism of Newhon's deities.
Here are books containing Leiber's stories that we reference during this session, and where you can get them:
Swords and Deviltry - http://amzn.to/2C4J9Ym
Swords Against Death - http://amzn.to/2CncXLD
Swords in the Mist - http://amzn.to/2sx07e6
Swords Against Wizardry - http://amzn.to/2Co83Oa
The Swords of Lankhmar - http://amzn.to/2Hk4L26
The authors we discuss in the 2018 series are: Jorge Luis Borges, Fritz Leiber, Robert Heinlein, L. Sprague de Camp, Andre Norton, Arthur Clarke, Robert Howard, Kim Stanley Robinson, Gene Wolfe, C. J. Cherryh, Jack Vance and Gordon Dickinson.
Authors discussed in the 2016 series and 2017 series are: J.R..R. Tolkein, A.E. Van Vogt, C.S. Lewis, Isaac Asimov, Frank Herbert, Roger Zelazny, Ursula K. Leguin, Michael Moorcock, Philip K. Dick, Mervyn Peake, George R.R. Martin, Philip Jose Farmer, Madeline L'Engle, Douglas Adams, Anne McCaffrey, Orson Scott Card, Iain Banks, H.P. Lovecraft, William Gibson, C.L. Moore, and Octavia Butler
If you can't make the lectures in person - or if you missed them - you definitely want to enroll in the FREE online class, where you can watch all of the sessions, find out about upcoming ones, and get the resources I've developed on these authors and their works! Here's the link - https://reasonio.teachable.com/p/worlds-of-speculative-fiction/
You can support my work here - https://www.patreon.com/sadler/
I also offer philosophy tutorials - https://reasonio.wordpress.com/tutorials/
Enroll in the FREE online class, Worlds of Speculative Fiction - https://reasonio.teachable.com/p/worlds-of-speculative-fiction/
- and get access to handouts, lesson pages, other resources - and stay informed about the ongoing series!
This is the twenty-fourth session in a new series of monthly lectures and discussions, featuring Dr. Gregory Sadler, and hosted by the Brookfield Public Library. The series focuses on philosophical themes in the works and world of selected classic and contemporary fantasy, science fiction, horror, and other speculative fiction genre authors.
We continue the series by focusing in this session on the classic fantasy, horror, and science fiction author, Fritz Leiber. We are looking specifically at his Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser series of works, set (for the most part) in the world of Newhon, and often in the city of Lankhmar.
We explore Leiber's biography and works, his worldbuilding of Newhon, and several main philosophical themes. These include: swords and sorcery as a literary genre, the friendship of the two main characters, the ethics of roguery, how women fit into Leiber's stories, and the irreverent polytheism of Newhon's deities.
Here are books containing Leiber's stories that we reference during this session, and where you can get them:
Swords and Deviltry - http://amzn.to/2C4J9Ym
Swords Against Death - http://amzn.to/2CncXLD
Swords in the Mist - http://amzn.to/2sx07e6
Swords Against Wizardry - http://amzn.to/2Co83Oa
The Swords of Lankhmar - http://amzn.to/2Hk4L26
The authors we discuss in the 2018 series are: Jorge Luis Borges, Fritz Leiber, Robert Heinlein, L. Sprague de Camp, Andre Norton, Arthur Clarke, Robert Howard, Kim Stanley Robinson, Gene Wolfe, C. J. Cherryh, Jack Vance and Gordon Dickinson.
Authors discussed in the 2016 series and 2017 series are: J.R..R. Tolkein, A.E. Van Vogt, C.S. Lewis, Isaac Asimov, Frank Herbert, Roger Zelazny, Ursula K. Leguin, Michael Moorcock, Philip K. Dick, Mervyn Peake, George R.R. Martin, Philip Jose Farmer, Madeline L'Engle, Douglas Adams, Anne McCaffrey, Orson Scott Card, Iain Banks, H.P. Lovecraft, William Gibson, C.L. Moore, and Octavia Butler
If you can't make the lectures in person - or if you missed them - you definitely want to enroll in the FREE online class, where you can watch all of the sessions, find out about upcoming ones, and get the resources I've developed on these authors and their works! Here's the link - https://reasonio.teachable.com/p/worlds-of-speculative-fiction/
You can support my work here - https://www.patreon.com/sadler/
I also offer philosophy tutorials - https://reasonio.wordpress.com/tutorials/
This video is between a review of the game Lankhmar by TSR and a series of thoughts about wargaming, narrativity, and RPG's in the early days of D&D. Historica...
This video is between a review of the game Lankhmar by TSR and a series of thoughts about wargaming, narrativity, and RPG's in the early days of D&D. Historical intro (00:00); Map of the game (04:29); How the game works, and the importance of an honest effort (06:56); Conclusions, or Two Adventurers Walk into a Wargame (20:29)
This video is between a review of the game Lankhmar by TSR and a series of thoughts about wargaming, narrativity, and RPG's in the early days of D&D. Historical intro (00:00); Map of the game (04:29); How the game works, and the importance of an honest effort (06:56); Conclusions, or Two Adventurers Walk into a Wargame (20:29)
Pacificon II, the 22nd World Science Fiction Convention, was held in Oakland, CA in 1964. In this interesting audio with images, Fritz Leiber speaks eloquently ...
Pacificon II, the 22nd World Science Fiction Convention, was held in Oakland, CA in 1964. In this interesting audio with images, Fritz Leiber speaks eloquently about his favorite literary monsters (from Yog Sothoth to the forest in Peer Gynt), the relationship of science fiction to traditional monsters, why we are drawn to these characters, and on horror in a time of war. The first 10 minutes or so are a loving listing of characters, and the meat of the talk starts after that. This material was provided by The Southern California Institute for Fan Interests (SCIFI), and Jerome Scott, Director of Projects for SCIFI in LA. For more fan history, subscribe to this channel and visit FANAC.ORG
Pacificon II, the 22nd World Science Fiction Convention, was held in Oakland, CA in 1964. In this interesting audio with images, Fritz Leiber speaks eloquently about his favorite literary monsters (from Yog Sothoth to the forest in Peer Gynt), the relationship of science fiction to traditional monsters, why we are drawn to these characters, and on horror in a time of war. The first 10 minutes or so are a loving listing of characters, and the meat of the talk starts after that. This material was provided by The Southern California Institute for Fan Interests (SCIFI), and Jerome Scott, Director of Projects for SCIFI in LA. For more fan history, subscribe to this channel and visit FANAC.ORG
In which we're still disappointed the Gray Mauser wasn't an actual cat.
Support the show at: www.patreon.com/asklovecraft
Music by Evan Stephens: https://soun...
In which we're still disappointed the Gray Mauser wasn't an actual cat.
Support the show at: www.patreon.com/asklovecraft
Music by Evan Stephens: https://soundcloud.com/evan-stephens/sets/compositions
In which we're still disappointed the Gray Mauser wasn't an actual cat.
Support the show at: www.patreon.com/asklovecraft
Music by Evan Stephens: https://soundcloud.com/evan-stephens/sets/compositions
Enroll in the FREE online class, Worlds of Speculative Fiction - https://reasonio.teachable.com/p/worlds-of-speculative-fiction/
- and get access to handouts, lesson pages, other resources - and stay informed about the ongoing series!
This is the twenty-fourth session in a new series of monthly lectures and discussions, featuring Dr. Gregory Sadler, and hosted by the Brookfield Public Library. The series focuses on philosophical themes in the works and world of selected classic and contemporary fantasy, science fiction, horror, and other speculative fiction genre authors.
We continue the series by focusing in this session on the classic fantasy, horror, and science fiction author, Fritz Leiber. We are looking specifically at his Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser series of works, set (for the most part) in the world of Newhon, and often in the city of Lankhmar.
We explore Leiber's biography and works, his worldbuilding of Newhon, and several main philosophical themes. These include: swords and sorcery as a literary genre, the friendship of the two main characters, the ethics of roguery, how women fit into Leiber's stories, and the irreverent polytheism of Newhon's deities.
Here are books containing Leiber's stories that we reference during this session, and where you can get them:
Swords and Deviltry - http://amzn.to/2C4J9Ym
Swords Against Death - http://amzn.to/2CncXLD
Swords in the Mist - http://amzn.to/2sx07e6
Swords Against Wizardry - http://amzn.to/2Co83Oa
The Swords of Lankhmar - http://amzn.to/2Hk4L26
The authors we discuss in the 2018 series are: Jorge Luis Borges, Fritz Leiber, Robert Heinlein, L. Sprague de Camp, Andre Norton, Arthur Clarke, Robert Howard, Kim Stanley Robinson, Gene Wolfe, C. J. Cherryh, Jack Vance and Gordon Dickinson.
Authors discussed in the 2016 series and 2017 series are: J.R..R. Tolkein, A.E. Van Vogt, C.S. Lewis, Isaac Asimov, Frank Herbert, Roger Zelazny, Ursula K. Leguin, Michael Moorcock, Philip K. Dick, Mervyn Peake, George R.R. Martin, Philip Jose Farmer, Madeline L'Engle, Douglas Adams, Anne McCaffrey, Orson Scott Card, Iain Banks, H.P. Lovecraft, William Gibson, C.L. Moore, and Octavia Butler
If you can't make the lectures in person - or if you missed them - you definitely want to enroll in the FREE online class, where you can watch all of the sessions, find out about upcoming ones, and get the resources I've developed on these authors and their works! Here's the link - https://reasonio.teachable.com/p/worlds-of-speculative-fiction/
You can support my work here - https://www.patreon.com/sadler/
I also offer philosophy tutorials - https://reasonio.wordpress.com/tutorials/
This video is between a review of the game Lankhmar by TSR and a series of thoughts about wargaming, narrativity, and RPG's in the early days of D&D. Historical intro (00:00); Map of the game (04:29); How the game works, and the importance of an honest effort (06:56); Conclusions, or Two Adventurers Walk into a Wargame (20:29)
Pacificon II, the 22nd World Science Fiction Convention, was held in Oakland, CA in 1964. In this interesting audio with images, Fritz Leiber speaks eloquently about his favorite literary monsters (from Yog Sothoth to the forest in Peer Gynt), the relationship of science fiction to traditional monsters, why we are drawn to these characters, and on horror in a time of war. The first 10 minutes or so are a loving listing of characters, and the meat of the talk starts after that. This material was provided by The Southern California Institute for Fan Interests (SCIFI), and Jerome Scott, Director of Projects for SCIFI in LA. For more fan history, subscribe to this channel and visit FANAC.ORG
In which we're still disappointed the Gray Mauser wasn't an actual cat.
Support the show at: www.patreon.com/asklovecraft
Music by Evan Stephens: https://soundcloud.com/evan-stephens/sets/compositions
Fritz Reuter Leiber, Jr. (December 24, 1910– September 5, 1992) was an American writer of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. He was also a poet, actor in theater and films, playwright and chess expert. With writers such as Robert E. Howard and Michael Moorcock, Leiber can be regarded as one of the fathers of sword and sorcery fantasy, having in fact created the term. Moreover, he excelled in all fields of speculative fiction, writing award-winning work in fantasy, horror, and science fiction.
Life
Leiber was born December 24, 1910, in Chicago, Illinois, to the actors Fritz Leiber, Sr., and Virginia Bronson Leiber and, for a time, he seemed inclined to follow in his parents' footsteps. (Theater and actors are prominently featured in his fiction.) He spent 1928 touring with his parents' Shakespeare company before studying philosophy at the University of Chicago, where he graduated with honors (1928–32). In 1932, he studied at the Anglican-affiliated General Theological Seminary and worked for a time as a lay preacher. In 1934, he toured with his parents' acting company, Fritz Leiber & Co. Six short stories in the 2010 collection Strange Wonders: A Collection of Rare Fritz Leiber Works carry 1934 and 1935 dates.