Ray Hartmann, 73, a well-known journalist and media personality in St. Louis, was killed Thursday afternoon in an accident on Interstate 64, west of I-270. He was pronounced dead at Mercy Hospital St. Louis.
Hartmann retired from the popular Nine PBS prime program Donnybrook, where he rarely missed an appearance in his 37 years on the program. Along with a panel of four other St. Louis journalists, Hartman delighted fans with his quick-witted, highly opinionated and endearing conversational style.
Hartmann made his mark as the founder of the Riverfront Times, where he was also a contributor until he sold the paper in 1998. He was a voice on KTRS and a speechwriter for the late Christopher S. (Kit) Bond, Missouri’s youngest-ever governor.
Hartmann acquired St. Louis Magazine in 2002 and managed it until its sale in 2018. He was inducted into the St. Louis Print Media Hall of Fame, named Media Person of the Year by the Press Club of Metropolitan St. Louis and twice won the Missouri National Education Association’s statewide Horace Mann Award for contributions to public education in journalism.
St. Louis American Publisher Donald Suggs referred to Hartmann as “a valued personal friend who generously shared some of his vast knowledge and experience in local media over many years.” Suggs said, “I am stunned and deeply saddened by his death. This is a tragic loss for his family and so many in the community who held him in high regard for his principled and firm advocacy on behalf of the many who are less privileged and well regarded.”
“Ray Hartmann never backed down from any journalistic challenge,” said Alvin A. Reid, city editor of The St. Louis American. “He took on the connected and the powerful in corporate and political worlds, and while his adversaries may not have agreed with him, they always respected him.”
Reid said he lost “a true friend” and the region lost “a native son that was dedicated to the pursuit of equity and opportunity for all its residents.”
Hartmann is a graduate of Parkway Central High School and the University of Missouri-Columbia, where he received a bachelor’s degree. He is survived by his wife, Kerri, and one son and one daughter, who are both in college.
Sylvester Brown Jr. is the Deaconess Foundation Community Advocacy Fellow.
I am in shock after reading this. I saw on the internet that there had been a car crash with a fatality. I had no idea that Ray Hartmann was involved. He will be greatly missed. My deepest condolences goes out his family and friends. Rest In Peace Ray Hartmann.