Gloria Dea, 1st magician on Las Vegas Strip, dies at age 100
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Gloria Dea, touted as the first magician to perform on what became the Las Vegas Strip in the early 1940s, has died. She was 100. One of Dea’s caretakers says she died Saturday at her Las Vegas residence. A memorial is being planned. Dea also appeared in several movies in the 1940s and ’50s, including “King of the Congo,” starring Buster Crabbe, in 1952. Dea was 19 when she performed at El Rancho Vegas on May 14, 1941. The Las Vegas Review-Journal says Dea’s show at the Roundup Room is the first recorded appearance by a magician in Las Vegas. After appearing in some moves in the mid-1940s and 1950s, Dea moved from California to Las Vegas in 1980.
