Gordon C. Peck — dentist and magician
Dr. Gordon C. Peck, a Glens Falls dentist, magician and politician, couldn’t make cavities magically disappear or pull votes out of a hat.
But he could make an American Beauty rose appear to bloom over a 90-second interval, an illusion he invented himself and called “Blooming Rosebush.”
In the dental field, he was a national recognized expert on crowns and bridges.
A Post-Star editorial the morning after Peck’s death in 1949 paid tribute to Peck and his magic show side kick Mike — a pet rooster “of considerable local renown.”
“In the death of Dr. Gordon C. Peck yesterday, Glens Falls lost one of its favorite citizens and, with few exceptions, one of its most widely known, for he ranked near the top of his craft in two seldom related professions, dentistry, and the always delightful and beguiling practice of magic.”
Peck never accepted a fee for his magic shows — choosing to use his talent to spread good will and raise funds for charity.
In 1919, for example, he did a charity show to benefit a fund for local actors and actresses who became sick or disabled.
When he was in Washington in 1936 to speak at a dental conference, Peck stopped by the Motel Mayflower to entertain Fort Edward high school students that were in D.C. on their senior class trip.
Also in 1936, he performed “clever and mystifying illusions” for about 80 people that attended the annual employee party of the Glens Falls Post Co., parent company of The Glens Falls Times and Post-Star.
“The sharing of his talent was a measure of Dr. Peck’s civic consciousness.”
Peck was born in Glens Falls on Jan. 30, 1894.
He began studying magic at age 11.
He graduated Glens Falls High School in 1912 and University of Pennsylvania Dental School in 1916.
He worked for a dental practice in New York City for about a year and then opened his own practice Jan. 1, 1918 at the Glens Falls Insurance Co. building.
In 1936 he ran unsuccessfully for state Assembly as a Democrat against incumbent Republican Harry A. Reux of Warrensburg.
In 1941 he ran unsuccessfully for Glens Falls 3rd Ward councilman against Republican Paul L. Koch.
In 1949, the year of Peck’s death at age 58, he donated $5,000 — the equivalent of about $54,000 in 2019 dollars — to Glens Falls Hospital to equip a dental operating room.
“This city had no other citizen quite like Dr. Peck. He was a very human individual and very gifted. It is Glens Falls’ misfortune that he died in the prime of his life.”
Sources: The Post-Star, Nov. 5, 1919; June 15, 1936; Dec. 24, 1949.
Click here to read a previous post about a local labor organizer that was a magician.
