Names like David Copperfield and Penn & Teller dominate the billboards on the Las Vegas strip, but it all began with magician, actor, and dancer Gloria Dea. She was just 19 when she performed at El Rancho Vegas on May 14, 1941, the first known performance by a professional magician in the then growing resort city. She would go on to have a career as an actor before retiring from the performing arts. She was inducted into the UNLV College of Fine Arts Hall of Fame this week by Copperfield, a ceremony scheduled prior to her death.
- Died: March 18, 2023 (Who else died on March 18?)
- Details of death: Died in Las Vegas of coronary artery disease at age 100.
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Breaking Ground at a Young Age
Born Gloria Metzner, Dea was performing tricks and illusions by the age of four, and by seven was performing for audiences. In 1929, the Oakland Tribune called her “the youngest working magician in the world.” She was a member of the Pacific Coast Association of Magicians at age 11, then at 19, unknowingly broke ground when she became the first magician to perform on what would become the Las Vegas Strip. That performance – May 14, 1941 at the El Rancho – was small in its day, but it set the stage for Vegas to become one of the world’s premier venues for stage magic and performances.
Later Performance Career
In the mid-1940s, Metzner officially changed her name to Gloria Dea and moved on to a career in Hollywood. She had roles in small pictures like “Delightfully Dangerous” and “Plan 9 From Outer Space,” and she also starred in “King of the Congo.” Even when her performing career waned, her work didn’t. In the 1950s, she served as a board member for the San Fernando Labor Co-ordinating Council. She was president of the Burbank Hadassah, served with a wide array of community organizations, and won a Women’s Council service award in 1964. She sold cars before retirement. Dea received renewed appreciation in her final years when David Copperfeld and others honored her contributions to the performing arts.
Tributes to Gloria Dea
Full Obituary: Las Vegas Review Journal
