Katie Spikes Dies: Longtime “60 Minutes” Producer Was 53

On: 2023-07-27

Katie Spikes, a veteran producer for 60 Minutes, has died after a long battle with cancer, CBS News said.

Spikes, who was 53, died on Tuesday.

She was at the network for three decades in a number of producing roles, including as senior story editor. of 60 Minutes. She was tasked with many high profile guest bookings, ranging from former President Barack Obama to Olympic gold medal winner Michael Phelps. She also was behind 60 Minutes profile last year of Tony Bennett, which showed how the singer, despite suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, could still perform. Bennett died last week.

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60 Minutes executive producer Bill Owens said, per CBS News, “She was the relentless positive energy that everyone sought out. Smart, funny, hardworking, and a genius friend and mentor. I valued Katie’s opinion because she wasn’t afraid to take the other side of an argument and always had impeccable taste.”

Susan Zirinsky, senior executive producer at the network and former president of the news division, wrote on X/Twitter, “Katie never got mad never ever said a cross word-when times were rough she was the light – she embodied positivity. CBS – 60 min and the world lost a piece of their heart. Our love and support for the family you are in our prayers.”

Spikes also played a major role in CBS News’s coverage of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. She also was a founding senior producer of 60 Minutes Sports, which aired on Showtime. She won an Emmy for her work on the network’s coverage of the 1997 death of Princess Diana.

Spikes was born in New York City on Oct. 26, 1969, and lived in Westfield, NJ.

She is is survived by her loving husband, Donald Furrer; her two sons, James Joseph Furrer and Owen Doolin Furrer; her stepson, Brandon Scott Furrer; her parents, Judith Doolin Spikes and James L. Spikes; and her sister, Sarah Spikes.