Ed Bradley Biography

Television, radio journalist. Born Edward R. Bradley on January 22, 1941, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A leading African-American journalist, Bradley is best known as one of anchors of the award-winning news program 60 Minutes. At first, he worked as teacher in the early 1960s after earning a degree in education from Cheyney State College. Bradley began his career in media on the radio as a DJ and news reporter in Philadelphia.

Moving to New York City in 1967, Bradley went to work for WCBS Radio. He made the move to television reporting in the early 1970s for CBS News. Bradley became the network's main correspondent for Southeast Asia in 1973 and then went to Washington, D.C., to cover the White House in 1976. He also served as an anchor for CBS Sunday Night News from 1976 to 1978.

Bradley spent 26 years as a member of the 60 Minutes team, which also featured Mike Wallace, Morley Safer, Lesley Stahl, and other important journalists during its long run. He joined the news magazine in 1981 and had an impressive record of covering important stories and landing important interviews. He tackled such subjects as the Emmett Till murder case and AIDS in Africa. As an interviewer, Bradley had an almost uncanny ability to put his subjects at ease. He seemed to find a way to connect with his subject—whether it was legendary musician Bob Dylan or convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.

Bradley died of leukemia on November 9, 2006, in New York's Mount Sinai Hospital. He is survived by his third wife, Patricia Blanchet. During his illustrious career, Bradley received numerous awards for his work, including 19 Emmy Awards and will be remembered for being a trailblazer for African Americans in the field of journalism.

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