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Ed BradleyAmerican journalist
Date of Birth: 22.06.1941
Country:  USA |
Content:
- Early Life and Education
- Broadcasting Career
- CBS News
- White House Correspondent
- "60 Minutes"
- Personal Life and Legacy
Early Life and Education
Edward Rudolph Bradley Jr.was born on June 22, 1941, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His parents divorced when he was two, and he was raised by his mother, Gladys, who worked two jobs to make ends meet. Bradley only saw his father, who owned vending machine and restaurant businesses in Detroit, during summer vacations.
At the age of nine, Bradley was sent to Holy Providence School, a Catholic boarding school for black children in Cornwells Heights, Pennsylvania. He also attended Mount Saint Charles Academy, a private Catholic school in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, and later Cheyney State College, graduating in 1964 with a degree in education.
Broadcasting Career
Teaching and RadioBradley began his career teaching sixth grade at William B. Mann Elementary School. He also worked part-time at a local radio station, WDAS, where he provided commentary on basketball games, delivered news, and compiled music playlists.
CBS News
In 1967, Bradley landed a full-time job at New York City radio station WCBS. By 1971, he had moved to France. When his savings ran out, he began freelancing for CBS News, covering the Paris peace talks.
In 1972, Bradley volunteered to go to Saigon and covered the Vietnam War. He reported on the Cambodian incursion while based in Phnom Penh, sustaining a shrapnel wound that injured his arm and back.
White House Correspondent
Bradley moved to Washington, D.C. in 1974. Two years later, he was assigned to cover Jimmy Carter's presidential campaign. By 1978, Bradley became the first black correspondent for CBS News to cover the White House beat.
"60 Minutes"
In 1981, Bradley replaced Walter Cronkite on the "CBS Evening News." He later joined Dan Rather on the news magazine show "60 Minutes."
Over his 26 years on "60 Minutes," Bradley reported on a wide range of stories, from hard-hitting segments on war, politics, poverty, and corruption to lighter profiles of people, sports, music, and food.
Bradley interviewed celebrities such as Howard Stern, Subcomandante Marcos, Laurence Olivier, Michael Jackson, Mick Jagger, Michael Jordan, and Bob Dylan.
Personal Life and Legacy
Bradley was known for his sense of style and became the first (and still only) male newscaster to wear an earring on air. He pierced his left ear in 1986, reportedly with the blessing of Liza Minnelli.
Bradley never had any children, but he was married to Haitian-born artist Patricia Blanchet, whom he met at a museum where she worked as a docent.
A lifelong jazz enthusiast, Bradley was honored with a traditional New Orleans jazz funeral procession at the New Orleans Jazzfest in 2007.
Ed Bradley died on November 9, 2006, at age 65, at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, from complications of lymphocytic leukemia. He was surrounded by his longtime friends, including Jimmy Buffett.
