Alex Dreier; Radio, TV Commentator With Burnished Voice Won 7 Emmys

Alex Dreier, former network radio and television commentator who won seven Emmys, has died in Rancho Mirage. He was 83.

Dreier, whose long career included a stint in Los Angeles television news, died Sunday in his Thunderbird Heights home in the posh desert community.

“During World War II, [Dreier’s] magnificent and unforgettable voice kept the American people knowledgeable about the conflict in Europe,” former President Gerald Ford told the Desert Sun from his home in Colorado. “For 25 years, Betty and I treasured his friendship.”

During his three decades in the desert community, Dreier proved a dedicated philanthropist. At the time of his death, he was a trustee of the Eisenhower Medical Center and chairman of the board of the Annenberg Center for Health Sciences, both in Rancho Mirage.

Born in Honolulu and raised in San Francisco, Dreier studied political science at Stanford, with no thought of becoming a journalist. But World War II was on the horizon, and his fraternity brother’s father, then head of the United Press wire service, got him into a newspaper job.

Dreier worked for UP briefly in New York and then went to Germany, where in 1941, he was expelled with other newsmen as the Nazis escalated the war. Dreier moved to London and covered the European theater for radio’s “News of the World.” His assignments led to dinners with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

After the war, he worked in Chicago and the Rocky Mountain states for NBC and then ABC. His baritone voice always made him a favorite on radio, particularly as host of the long-running show “Man on the Go.” But despite his 400-pound stature, he also proved popular on television as a news anchor.

In 1967, Dreier moved west, working for three years with Metro Media KTTV in Los Angeles and commuting to his desert home. During his retirement years, he also served as a commentator on Palm Springs’ KESQ-TV.

Once established in California, Dreier branched out a bit from news and made guest appearances as an actor in several television movies. He also performed with comedian Phil Harris in Las Vegas.

Leonore Annenberg, who had been a Stanford classmate of Dreier’s, said she and her husband, Walter H. Annenberg were saddened by the commentator’s death, adding: “He was a very dedicated, clear-thinking person and he always had everybody else’s interest at heart.”

Rep. David Dreier (R-San Dimas) who called the newscaster “Uncle Alex,” said in a statement that Alex Dreier’s “journalistic skills were unsurpassed and his voice unmatched.”

“While we never figured out exactly how we were related, Alex assured me that we were,” the congressman said. “I am so honored to have been the beneficiary of his incredible love, intelligence and inspiration.”

Services are planned today at 1 p.m. in Ramon Chapel of the Palm Springs Mortuary, 69855 E. Ramon Road, Cathedral City.

Memorial donations can be made to the Annenberg Center for Health Sciences at Eisenhower Medical Center, 3900 Bob Hope Drive, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270.