John Drury

John Richard Drury (January 4, 1927 – November 25, 2007) was an American television news anchor from Chicago, Illinois. Drury is most known for serving as anchor on Chicago news broadcasts which included: WGN-TV from 1967 to 1970 and again from 1979 until 1984; WLS-TV from 1970 to 1979 and 1984 until his retirement in 2002. Upon his retirement came the news that he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, otherwise known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Drury was a leading activist for ALS research and was a spokesperson for the Brain Research Foundation. Drury died from motor neurone disease in 2007 at age 80.

Career Eyewitness News team, 1972. Back, from left: anchor John Drury, anchor Joel Daly. Front, from left: weatherman John Coleman, anchor Fahey Flynn, sportscaster Bill Frink. In 1947, Drury's broadcasting career began at WMRO-RADIO (now WBIG-RADIO) in Aurora Illinois. His Television career began in 1955 at WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee. He anchored and reported on the 10 p.m. news until leaving in 1962. He then joined WBBM-TV. He both anchored and reported news for them until 1967. During this time, he served as Fahey Flynn's first co-anchor. Following his stint at WBBM-TV, Drury joined WGN-TV, where he served as the 10 p.m. news anchor until 1970. Drury won one more Chicago Emmy in 2003 for his news report, "9/11/02 The New Homeland."

Awards

Chicago Journalism Hall of Fame Induction – 1996 Chicago Emmy Award for Individual Excellence – 1983, 1987, 1988 and 2003 They had four children: Logan, James, Richard, and Susan. Drury married Ann Guercio in 1988; they were married until his death in 2007.