Edward Rudolph Bradley, Jr. was an
American journalist, and he was best known for his award-winning work on the long-running
CBS News television magazine
60 Minutes. Bradley grew up in a two parent household, learning the value of hard work from his mother and father.His parents both worked two jobs. Ed went to St.
Thomas More High School in Philadelphia, which has since closed. He attended Cheyney State College (now
Cheyney University of Pennsylvania) in
Cheyney, Pennsylvania, graduating in 1964 with a degree in Education. His first job was teaching sixth grade at the William B. Mann Elementary School in Philadelphia's
Wynnefield community. While he was teaching, he moonlighted at the old
WDAS studios on Edgley Drive in
Philadelphia's
Fairmount Park, working for free and later, for minimum wage. He programmed music, read news, and covered basketball games.
His introduction to news reporting came during the
riots in
Philadelphia in the 1960s. In 1967, he landed a full-time job at the
CBS-owned
New York radio station WCBS. In 1971, he moved to
Paris, France and was living off his savings. As he ran out of money, he became a
stringer for
CBS News. He covered the
Paris Peace Talks. In 1972, he was transferred to
Saigon, to cover the
Vietnam War. He spent time in
Phnom Penh covering the war in
Cambodia. While covering the war, he was injured by a
mortar round. He had
shrapnel wounds to his back and arm. In 1974, he moved to
Washington, D.C. He covered the
Carter campaign in 1976 and then became CBS News'
White House correspondent until 1978. From 1978 to 1981, he served as principal correspondent for CBS Reports.
In 1981, he joined the staff of
60 Minutes, when
Dan Rather left to replace
Walter Cronkite as the anchor of the
CBS Evening News. He was the first and the only male correspondent to regularly wear an
earring on the show. He had his left ear
pierced in 1986 and says he was inspired to do it after receiving encouragement from
Liza Minnelli following an interview with the actress.
Over the course of his career, Bradley received the
Emmy Award 19 times; a
Peabody Award for his
African AIDS report, "Death By Denial"; a
Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award; and the
Paul White Award from the
Radio and Television News Directors Association He was married to
Haiti-born artist Patricia Blanchet and had homes in
Woody Creek, Colorado,
East Hampton, New York, and
New York City, New York.
Bradley was also a
jazz music enthusiast and hosted the
Peabody Award-winning
Jazz at Lincoln Center on
National Public Radio for over a decade until just before his death. A big fan of the Neville brothers, Bradley performed on stage with the bunch. He was known as 'the fifth Neville brother' .
"Because when it gets to the point where it's not fun anymore, I've always hoped that I would have the courage to say goodbye and walk away from it." Ed Bradley
