Gloria Dea, who died March 18, 2023, aged 100, was an American actress, dancer, artist, and magician. Dea is noted for being the first magician to have performed in Las Vegas, as well as starring in films during the Golden Age of Hollywood.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloria_Dea

On Wednesday, March 22, 2023 at 12:42:44 PM UTC-5, Michael Rhodes wrote:
> Gloria Dea, the first magician to have performed in Las Vegas

Well, there's been some discrepancy about that over the years. Jack Kodell has traditionally been credited as the first. Since Jack was a friend of mine, I'm going to take his side of the story.

In article <d99f8f71-d302-483c-a0ac-bc525df28245n@googlegroups.com>, MJ
Emigh <mj@mjmagician.com> wrote:

> On Wednesday, March 22, 2023 at 12:42:44?PM UTC-5, Michael Rhodes wrote:
> > Gloria Dea, the first magician to have performed in Las Vegas
>
> Well, there's been some discrepancy about that over the years. Jack Kodell
> has traditionally been credited as the first. Since Jack was a friend of
> mine, I'm going to take his side of the story.

Gloria Dea could reasonably have been the first *woman* magician to
perform in Vegas.

On Wednesday, March 22, 2023 at 8:54:19 PM UTC-5, A Friend wrote:
> Gloria Dea could reasonably have been the first *woman* magician to
> perform in Vegas.

That's probably the case, but her dates don't really match up with Vegas history. Jack's wife, Mary Naylor ( a wonderful Brit woman) was a huge star in the UK. She did many Royal Command performances performances, later adding Jack and his budgie act on skates to her own shows. They were offered a spot at the old El Rancho Casino & Hotel, making that the town's first magic act. All these decades later, magic is still a major draw in Vegas.

In article <6afc46fd-d7f0-434c-93af-c441e6c53174n@googlegroups.com>, MJ
Emigh <mj@mjmagician.com> wrote:

> On Wednesday, March 22, 2023 at 8:54:19?PM UTC-5, A Friend wrote:
> > Gloria Dea could reasonably have been the first *woman* magician to
> > perform in Vegas.
>
> That's probably the case, but her dates don't really match up with Vegas
> history. Jack's wife, Mary Naylor ( a wonderful Brit woman) was a huge star
> in the UK. She did many Royal Command performances performances, later adding
> Jack and his budgie act on skates to her own shows. They were offered a spot
> at the old El Rancho Casino & Hotel, making that the town's first magic act.
> All these decades later, magic is still a major draw in Vegas.

Thanks for all of that. I've never had much interest in what happens
in Vegas (whether it stays there or not), and I drove right by it when
I bounced around the southwest for a couple of weeks too damn many
years ago.

On Thursday, March 23, 2023 at 4:57:40 PM UTC-5, A Friend wrote:
> I drove right by it when I bounced around the southwest for a couple of weeks too damn many
> years ago.

Seems like ALL the fun things happened too many years ago. Cheers!

A Friend <nope@noway.com> wrote:
> In article <6afc46fd-d7f0-434c-93af-c441e6c53174n@googlegroups.com>, MJ
> Emigh <mj@mjmagician.com> wrote:
>
>> On Wednesday, March 22, 2023 at 8:54:19?PM UTC-5, A Friend wrote:
>> > Gloria Dea could reasonably have been the first *woman* magician to
>> > perform in Vegas.
>>
>> That's probably the case, but her dates don't really match up with Vegas
>> history. Jack's wife, Mary Naylor ( a wonderful Brit woman) was a huge star
>> in the UK. She did many Royal Command performances performances, later adding
>> Jack and his budgie act on skates to her own shows. They were offered a spot
>> at the old El Rancho Casino & Hotel, making that the town's first magic act.
>> All these decades later, magic is still a major draw in Vegas.
>
>
> Thanks for all of that. I've never had much interest in what happens
> in Vegas (whether it stays there or not), and I drove right by it when
> I bounced around the southwest for a couple of weeks too damn many
> years ago.

Let's not forget Las Vegas,NEW MEXICO,which I think is older than the
Nevada version,as well as much easier to reach by Amtrak (in 2004 I
went through one en route to the other).

Who was first in magic there?

-=-=-
The World Trade Center towers MUST rise again,
at least as tall as before...or terror has triumphed.

Louis Epstein <le@main.lekno.ws> wrote:

>>. . .

>Let's not forget Las Vegas,NEW MEXICO,which I think is older than the
>Nevada version,as well as much easier to reach by Amtrak (in 2004 I
>went through one en route to the other).

>Who was first in magic there?

You made me look it up. Settlers in 1835 had received a land grant from
the Mexican government.

John C. Fremont didn't arrive in what would become Las Vegas Nevada till
1844. The city wasn't founded till 1905.

Louis, you're only the second person I've ever communicated with who knows there's that other Las Vegas; ain't much of a town, but neither is it merely a one-horse burg.

But I'll admit that, I wasn't aware of the small city EITHER before I arrived in New Mexico in 2000 to host "Radioactive Albuquerque with Bryan Styble" on KBRT and then KKNS (and then soon enough, explored behind the wheel of the Styblemobile darned near every precinct of that hugely expansive and wonderful state, just so I could familiarize myself with all the places to which I was broadcasting.

Now, that's something EVERY radio newsyakker SHOULD do within weeks of landing a new gig in a new state. But very few if any other of my colleagues take the automotive trouble to do, alas. (As far as I'm concerned, that's an OBLIGATION which EVERY conscientious broadcaster harbors...though my three decades in the industry made it disturbingly clear just about all of rest of them consider themselves entertainers first and foremost, not broadcast journalists--much to the intellectual suffering of their ever-loyal listeners and callers.)

Oh, and Louis, do you recall that little story which CBS Radio ran nationally a month or so prior to the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles* ? It seems some resident of The Land of Enchantment State was phoning the appropriate 800 number to purchase spectator tickets for some Olympic competitions. But when s/he gave the clueless woman [wo]manning the line their New Mexico mailing address, the ignorant lady responded, "I'm sorry, you'll have to call this other number; on this line we don't handle any international sales."

BRYAN STYBLE/Florida
==================* Which I was honored to cover for Metro Radio News & Traffic, in those bygone days before I mastered how to project a polished, professional sound.

Oh, and Las Vegas [New Mexico] is the closest town of any size to the enormous* Philmont Scout Ranch, which the terrific (yet nowadays woke-denuded) Boy Scouts of America call their "Premier High-Adventure Base".

(I never got to Philmont--much less scaled any of its several mounts--except as an adult broadcaster...inasmuch as I washed out after Webelos, never even attaining Tenderfoot status, that most lowly of post-Cub Scout ranks.)

STYBLE/Florida
=============
* 214 square miles!