

Her personality was the catalyst to achieve it.”ĭea was a budding, 19-year-old entertainer when she performed at El Rancho Vegas on May 14, 1941. “Gloria was an amazing woman who accomplished an amazing amount of stuff,” Bowes said Saturday. It was an honor to know her.”ĭea was an only child and had no immediate family.īowes had cared for her for years and spent more time with Dea than anyone late in her life. And in Vegas, as a young magician, she started it all.

Magician legend David Copperfield, who befriended Dea in her later years, said Saturday, “Gloria was amazing.

Plans for a memorial are to be determined. Dea died in hospice care at her Las Vegas residence. Saturday her caregiver, Beth Bowes, said Saturday morning. She was 100.ĭea died of coronary artery disease at 6:35 a.m. Gloria Dea, the first magician to perform on what would be the Strip, only to be rediscovered in the twilight of her life, has died.
