Chicago broadcasting icon Merri Dee dies

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Merri Dee, a beloved Chicago reporter, broadcaster, and community relations professional, has died.

Dee was 85.

Dee spent nearly all of her career with WGN-TV, Channel 9 – first as a reporter and staff announcer from 1972 until 1983, and then as director of community relations until she retired from the station in 2008.

"She was a beautiful woman with a beautiful voice and beautiful spirit," said CBS 2 anchor Jim Williams, who worked with Dee at WGN.    

A graduate of Englewood high School in Chicago, Dee began her broadcasting career at WBEE radio in south suburban Harvey in 1966.

"She started out as a DJ, you know, at jazz station, then she moved to popular station that had a mixture of jazz and some progressive rock," Williams said. 

Dee switched to television two years later, hosting programs on WCIU-TV 26 and then WSNS-TV 44, where she worked as a talk show host.

It was while working at WSNS-TV in 1971 that Dee and one of her guests, psychic Alan Sandler, were kidnapped outside the station -- then located at 430 W. Grant Pl. in Lincoln Park. 

The kidnapper drove Dee and Sandler to a forest preserve on the Far Southeast Side of the city. Each was shot in the head, and Sandler was killed, while Dee was left for dead.

But Dee managed to crawl away and seek help.

"I immediately thought about my family, I thought about my daughter," Dee told CBS 2 in 2011. "My daughter was 12 years old."

She almost died and was left temporarily blind. Dee worked through a difficult recovery and resumed her career the following year at WGN-TV.

"She survived that - for some reason," said WGN-TV anchor Micah Materre. There was a reason why she survived  that - to be able to help those in need."

At WGN, Dee became one of the first Black women to anchor in Chicago.

"It's not easy to break ground in field like this - especially being a Black woman - and Merri Dee was a pioneer," Materre said. "She was someone who could tell you like it T-I-is."

Dee worked 11 years in assorted on-air positions at WGN before taking over as director of community relations and manager of the station's Children's Charities. She also served as the First Lady of the Illinois Lottery on WGN.

Robert Jordan and CBS 2's Williams both worked with Dee at WGN. On Tuesday, Williams looked back with Jordan on Dee's career.

"I was just stunned, because I had just spoken with her yesterday. We were planning to go to lunch. And she said, 'Let's plan in the next week or so,' because I hadn't seen her for probably several months," Jordan said.

Jordan and Dee had a longstanding friendship dating back to when Jordan first joined WGN.

"Merri was the first person to welcome me to WGN. In 1973, I was in the cafeteria, and she walked up and said: 'Hello, I'm Merri Dee. Welcome to WGN,' you know, with that lilting, beautiful voice,'" Jordan said. "And she says, 'Let's talk, and we sat down, and became dear friends – close friends.'"

Dee was also appointed to serve as an official U.S. Army ambassador, and was appointed to by Mayor Richard M. Daley to serve on the Mayor's Council on Women's Issues. She also served as a commissioner on the Illinois Human Rights Commission, and as the Illinois State President for AARP.

In December 2021, Dee received the Pioneer Award from the Illinois Broadcasters Association. That was the last time CBS 2 President and General Manager Jennifer Lyons saw Dee, but Dee's impact is forever.

"She was a trailblazer for women. She really was," Lyons said. "She inspired me. I know there's countless other women out there that she inspired and encouraged."

Dee was also someone who gave her all. Close friend Andrew Hayes recalled how Chicagoans embraced Dee over the years.

"Wherever we would go, she would be stopped. People would want a photo or autograph. Oftentimes, they would ask what lottery numbers to pick - because she, for a time, was the person who pulled the balls out of the lottery machine live on air," Hayes said.

Dee emceed countless charitable events, and sure, she rubbed elbows with many celebrities over the years. Her heart was in violence prevention, and she put children first.

Former Gov. Jim Edgar credits Dee for shining the important light on adoption in Illinois.

"She made a very positive difference in thousands of lives in Illinois," Edgar said, "and she'll be missed, but she won't be forgotten."

Tributes poured in from the city and beyond Wednesday night. The National Association of Black Journalists called Dee a journalist who broke many barriers.

Meanwhile, CBS 2's Brad Edwards had this tribute: "Merri Dee was never just in the room. She was omni-present - her aura, electric. so explains this picture."

In 2018, Edwards introduced Dee at an event for the LGBTQ community.

"Long before it was chic, PC, or necessary, she supported causes that didn't benefit her," Edwards said. "That is the measure of mercy."

He added, "Eighty-five years isn't enough for a light that shines as bright, and tonight, the world's a little darker - because we were lucky enough to have her."