Who was George Dency?

George Dency was born in Baltimore in 1906. His parents were immigrants from Hungary who came to the United States looking for employment. Disappointed in finding none, George’s father eventually packed up the family and sent them back to Hungary when George was only four years old. His father would follow them two years later.

When George was approximately eight years old, he saw his first magician in a beer hall in Hungary. Soon after this he saw his first Punch and Judy Show at the same beer hall. It was not until sometime later that George got the opportunity to see another magician while at Government Public School. George recalled this magician putting cards all over the back of an assistant and when called for, cards would rise from the assistant’s back. Although George was in preparation for attending a teachers’ college, he never entered it. Instead, George at the age of 19 chose to return to the United States.

The next magicians George saw were on the Keith Circuit in the United States. George remembers seeing Thurston and Blackstone in Ford’s Theatre in Baltimore. He would not meet a real magician face to face until, during World War II, when a young man from out of town who worked at the same bakery as George showed him some magic. It was from this co-worker that George would learn about Thumb Tips, the Cups & Balls, and the source of magic supplies.

Magic became an important part of George’s life. The first magic club he belonged to was The Yogi Magic Club of Baltimore. He then joined the Society of American Magicians, the Magicians Alliance of Eastern States, and The International Brotherhood of Magicians (I.B.M.). George would eventually become the Territorial Vice-President for Maryland for the I.B.M. He also graced the cover of the November 1963 issue of M-U-M magazine.

The March 1965 issue of The Linking Ring recognized George for “doing a masterful job in planting the I.B.M. banner in the form of a new Ring in Baltimore, Maryland.” In 1965, Ring 179 of Baltimore was chartered thanks to the efforts of George. Charter members included Earl Canapp, Otts Oehm, Mike Schirmer, Dennis Haney, Edwin Perkins, Manny Floam, H. Kearney Jones, George Weisensel, Al Dennis, Fred Schmelz, and of course its founder, George Dency.

Although George held down a fulltime job at a bakery, he managed to find time to perform shows for such venues as Churches, Scouts, Lions Clubs, Knights of Columbus, and Optimists. He was always ready to help his fellow magicians, for instance, with a move on a particular effect or to offer his services for a club show or whatever was needed.

To honor George for all he had done, the official name of Ring 179 became the “George Dency Ring 179” on April 2, 1990, exactly 25 years after George had founded it.

George Dency passed away in 1991 but his legacy lives on in the Ring he founded in Baltimore.