He then finished his degree in radio and speech at Fresno State College while living in a funeral home rent-free in exchange for answering the phones at night; or at least that was the deal.
In 1972, Cleveland, Ohio radio station WERE hired him from Fresno, California where he had been a country music disc jockey and advertising agency owner.
After an ownership change at WERE in 1975, country music outlet WHK hired away Dee to be their new morning show host, where he continued to enjoy successful ratings for almost a decade.
He was known for his encounters with politicians—especially legendary Cleveland City Councilman George Forbes, who would go on the air with Gary, often trading jabs until both were laughing so hard they could not continue.
Highlights of this period included Dee finding out, on the air, that his beloved wooden boat (the Lyman, as he would refer to it) had been burned while docked outside of the city.
His health began to fail, but he did return to WERE in the early 1990s for a brief run before his death of heart failure following a stroke on November 10, 1995.