Ed Bradley - R.I.P.

hornplayer · November-9th-2006, 12:42 PM

CBS has just announced that Ed Bradley has passed away from complications of leukemia.

I'm blown away. Just saw him on 60 Minutes Sunday evening!

rollhead · November-9th-2006, 12:43 PM

I believe he was very involved at Jazz at Lincoln Center, no?

Ed Bradley, CBS Newsman, Dies at 65

Ed Bradley, a veteran CBS News and "60 Minutes"
correspondent, died of leukemia in New York, a network spokeswoman said. He was 65.

Gentle Giant · November-9th-2006, 12:46 PM

Beat me to it. He was a good one, and a jazz fan.

RIP

60 Minutes' Ed Bradley Dead At 65
NEW YORK, Nov. 9, 2006(CBS) Veteran 60 Minutes correspondent Ed Bradley died of leukemia this morning. He joined the staff of the venerable news magazine 26 years ago.

Bradley’s consummate skills as a broadcast journalist and his distinctive body of work were recognized with numerous awards, including 19 Emmys, the latest for a segment that reported the reopening of the 50-year-old racial murder case of Emmett Till.

He was honored with the Lifetime Achievement award from the National Association of Black Journalists. Three of his Emmys came at the 2003 awards: a Lifetime Achievement Emmy; one for a 60 Minutes report on brain cancer patients, "A New Lease on Life" (April 2002); and another for his hour on 60 Minutes II about sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, “The Catholic Church on Trial” (June 2002).

Bradley’s 60 Minutes interview with condemned Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh (March 2000) was the only television interview ever given by the man guilty of one of the worst terrorist acts on American soil; it also earned Bradley an Emmy.

His reporting on the worst school shooting in American history, “Columbine” (April 2001), revealed on 60 Minutes II that authorities ignored telling evidence with which they might have prevented the massacre.

Other hourlong reports by Bradley have prompted praise and action: “Death by Denial” (June 2000) won a Peabody Award for focusing on the plight of Africans dying of AIDS and helped convince drug companies to donate and discount AIDS drugs; “Unsafe Haven” (April 1999) spurred federal investigations into the nation’s largest chain of psychiatric hospitals; and “Town Under Siege” (December 1997), about a small town battling toxic waste, was named one of the Ten Best Television Programs of 1997 by Time magazine.

Bradley’s significant contribution to electronic journalism was also recognized by the Radio/Television News Directors Association when it named him its Paul White Award winner for 2000. He joins other distinguished journalists, such as Edward R. Murrow, Walter Cronkite and Peter Jennings, as a Paul White recipient.

More recently, the Denver Press Club awarded him its 2003 Damon Runyon Award for career journalistic excellence. Another prestigious honor received by Bradley is the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Awards grand prize and television first prize for "CBS Reports: In the Killing Fields of America" (January 1995), a documentary about violence in America, for which he was co-anchor and reporter.

His work on 60 Minutes has gained much recognition, including a George Foster Peabody Award for “Big Man, Big Voice” (November 1997), the uplifting story of a German singer who became successful despite birth defects. In 1995, he won his 11th Emmy Award for a 60 Minutes segment on the cruel effects of nuclear testing in the town of Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan, a report that also won him an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award in 1994.

Also in 1994, he was honored with an Overseas Press Club Award for two 60 Minutes reports that took viewers inside sensitive military installations in Russia and the United States. In 1985, he received an Emmy Award for “Schizophrenia,” a 60 Minutes report on that misunderstood brain disorder.

In 1983, two of Bradley’s reports for 60 Minutes won Emmy Awards: “In the Belly of the Beast,” an interview with Jack Henry Abbott, a convicted murderer and author, and “Lena,” a profile of singer Lena Horne. He received an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Silver Baton and a 1991 Emmy Award for his 60 Minutes report “Made in China,” a look at Chinese forced-labor camps, and another Emmy for “Caitlin’s Story” (November 1992), an examination of the controversy between the parents of a deaf child and a deaf association.

In addition to “In the Killing Fields,” his work for "CBS Reports" has included: “Enter the Jury Room” (April 1997), an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award winner that revealed the jury deliberation process for the first time in front of network cameras; “The Boat People” (January 1979), which won duPont, Emmy and Overseas Press Club Awards; “The Boston Goes to China” (April 1979), a report on the historic visit to China by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which won Emmy, Peabody and Ohio State Awards, and “Blacks in America: With All Deliberate Speed?” (July 1979), which won Emmy and duPont Awards.

Bradley’s coverage of the plight of Cambodian refugees, broadcast on the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite and CBS News Sunday Morning, won a George Polk Award in journalism.

He also received a duPont citation for a segment on the Cambodian situation broadcast on CBS News’ “Magazine” series. He covered the presidential campaign of Jimmy Carter during Campaign ‘76, served as a floor correspondent for CBS News’ coverage of the Democratic and Republican National Conventions from 1976 through 1996, and has participated in CBS News’ election-night coverage.

Prior to joining 60 Minutes, Bradley was a principal correspondent for "CBS Reports" (1978-81), after serving as CBS News' White House correspondent (1976-78). He was also anchor of the "CBS Sunday Night News” (November 1976-May 1981) and of the CBS News magazine "Street Stories" (January 1992-August 1993).

Bradley joined CBS News as a stringer in its Paris bureau in September 1971. A year later, he was transferred to the Saigon bureau, where he remained until he was assigned to the CBS News Washington bureau in June 1974. He was named a CBS News correspondent in April 1973 and, shortly thereafter, was wounded while on assignment in Cambodia. In March 1975, he volunteered to return to Indochina and covered the fall of Cambodia and Vietnam.

Prior to joining CBS News, he was a reporter for WCBS Radio, the CBS Owned station in New York (August 1967-July 1971). He had previously been a reporter for WDAS Radio Philadelphia (1963-67).

Bradley was born June 22, 1941, in Philadelphia and was graduated from Cheyney (Pa.) State College in 1964 with a B.S. in education.

Scott Dolan · November-9th-2006, 12:47 PM

GG, you've really been slipping in your duties this past year.

Gentle Giant · November-9th-2006, 12:54 PM

The Angel of Death lost my cell number. Now I have to resort to mortal data sources.

Jason Bivins · November-9th-2006, 01:23 PM

Wow, bummer. He lived down the street from us when I was a young kid. My Dad always said he was a very nice fellow. RIP.

Valerie · November-9th-2006, 01:29 PM

this is the saddest news! i didn't know him personally but know many people who did and loved him. i knew he hadn't been well for quite awhile by the way he looked but lately i had thought he looked better and was hopeful. DAMN!! only 65 years old!

hornplayer · November-9th-2006, 01:29 PM

They also missed the part when he lived in Milwaukee. '69-'70... He used to date a friend of my BIL's cousin. would run into them at parties and at clubs, especially when Al Jarreau was in town...

Rats!

hearsay · November-9th-2006, 01:35 PM

He was an avid jazz supporter, he did the live from jazz at lincoln center. I once met him when I was at the Thelonius Monk Institute Aspen Summer Workshop in 98-

hornplayer · November-9th-2006, 01:42 PM

nice pic, hearsay. Nice memory!

GoodSpeak · November-9th-2006, 01:43 PM

Damn.

I wasn't even aware he was ill.

Rest in Peace, Mr. Bradley.

Lenny D.Guitarist · November-9th-2006, 01:48 PM

I talked to him once at a jazz concert. He was an articulate, down to earth,
overall nice guy. RIP, Mr. Bradley.

graypencil · November-9th-2006, 02:20 PM

He was always my favorite interviewer on 60 Minutes.

A real gentleman and, as many have already noted, a really big time jazz fan and supporter as well..

RIP Ed ..

clinthopson · November-9th-2006, 02:23 PM

Ed Bradley was one of the good guys.

I've enjoyed his hosting of the Lincoln Center radio broadcasts.

Mike Schwartz · November-9th-2006, 02:32 PM

I used to bump into him in the jazz clubs in NYC in the late '70s & 80's

Randy & Michael Brecker had a place called 7th Avenue South, at which I'd see him there hangin' at the bar regularly with other notables outside the music biz who were jazz fans. Also saw him numerous times at the old Sweet Basil's and at Bradley's for the late night piano sessions.

Great voice, had a wonderful way of asking questions, leaves behind a terrific resume, and LOVED jazz were among those things that made him a most likeable individual who was in the public eye.

RIP Mr. Bradley

I think this thread should be in Speakout.
He was a broadcaster and a patron and a champion of our beloved art form.

jesus marion joseph · November-9th-2006, 02:47 PM

Same age as my mother. Too damned young. RIP Mr. Bradley.

Gentle Giant · November-9th-2006, 03:12 PM

I've noticed that official CBS photos almost always show his right side.

Whereas he wore an earring in his left ear.

Coincidence? I think not.

rollhead · November-9th-2006, 03:33 PM

I appreciate the fact that he started as a stringer for CBS (TV) and then was assigned to Vietnam. He paid his dues!

Rob Damen · November-9th-2006, 03:39 PM

Heartbroken

Lois Gilbert · November-9th-2006, 04:03 PM

Like Peter Jennings, I moved this thread into speakout. He was such a lover of jazz and served on the boards of so many wonderful jazz organizations. I would often see him just hanging at a club. He was far more than the voice from Jazz at Lincoln Center

Peace and blessings
Lois

Lois Gilbert · November-9th-2006, 04:03 PM

“Ed Bradley was a great American, one of our definitive cultural figures, a man of unsurpassed curiosity, intelligence, dignity and heart. We of course are shocked and experiencing that unspeakable grief that always attends the finality of the death of a loved one. We have lost a trusted friend and mentor. Our nation has lost a voice of integrity and wisdom. We love him and miss him and it will always be that way.”

-Wynton Marsalis, Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center

Ron Thorne · November-9th-2006, 04:12 PM

I'm really saddened by this news.

Ed Bradley was a unique voice in broadcasting, and one which will not be forgotten or replaced.

His passion was evident and his contributions were many. He will be greatly missed.

R.I.P., Ed Bradley~

Valerie · November-9th-2006, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lois Gilbert

“Ed Bradley was a great American, one of our definitive cultural figures, a man of unsurpassed curiosity, intelligence, dignity and heart. We of course are shocked and experiencing that unspeakable grief that always attends the finality of the death of a loved one. We have lost a trusted friend and mentor. Our nation has lost a voice of integrity and wisdom. We love him and miss him and it will always be that way.”

-Wynton Marsalis, Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center

thanks, lois, for posting this. i know how much Wynton loved, admired and respected Ed. his message brought tears to my eyes but the tears have been coming and going ever since i heard this incredibly sad news.

JamesH · November-9th-2006, 07:39 PM

Bradley was a huge talent and a class act.

Lois Gilbert · November-9th-2006, 08:31 PM

ED BRADLEY: In Remembrance Of The Great Communicator

By Karu F. Daniels, AOL Black Voices

Another one of our great ones are no longer with us.

Longtime '60 Minutes' anchor Ed Bradley is died today of leukemia at New York City's Mount Sinai Hospital.

The 19-time Emmy Award winner was 65.

Bradley, who grew up in Philadelphia, graduated from Cheney State College, and launched his career as a DJ and news reporter for a Philadelphia radio station WDAS in 1963. He joined New York's WCBS radio in 1967.

Known for his thoughtful, smooth voice and often comfortable interviewing style, Bradley covered it all during his 25 years on the groundbreaking news magazine show; From his legendary interviews with BET chief Bob Johnson, jazz icon Miles Davis and the incomparable Lena Horne, to being granted the only TV interview with Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, Bradley epitomized "first rate journalism."

"Ed Bradley was highly respected by the African-American community, particularly because he was ours, and to the world at large, he certainly was excellence in journalism and revered by his colleagues," Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin told The BV Newswire via statement. "His loss is a major one to the journalistic community at large. He loved to cook and we would always see each other in New Orleans during the Essence Music Festival. His gumbo wasn't always that good but his 60 Minute segments were always delicious, I'm saying that in jest! God bless Ed Bradley for all the wonderful pieces and information he gave us every Sunday evening."

His works are truly unforgettable conversation pieces that serve as time capsules for media junkies and news buffs, alike.

I, myself, will never ever forget his interview with Rose Rock --during a big profile on her son, Emmy Award winning funnyman Chris Rock-- where the Brooklyn native declared the difference between "[N-words] and Black People."

That was television history.

His most recent Emmy Award was for a segment about the reopening of the racial murder case of Emmett Till. His hour-long report on the plight of Africans dying of AIDS, titled 'Death by Denial,' won a Peabody Award.

Bradley was survived by his wife, Patricia Blanchet, but his legacy continues.
He touched millions on and off the screen.

The BV Newswire reached out to entertainment industry and celebrity notables to get their reactions of this great loss inthe community.

"Ed was a true professional, one of the best in the business," reflected renowned broadcast journalist Ed Gordon, who has also been featured as a correspondent on '60 Minutes.' "He brought a style and grace to reporting that few could equal. I had the pleasure of knowing him and he was always gracious to me. He set the bar high for those of us who followed in his footsteps. He will be missed. I think it far to say, and not an understatement, there will never be another Ed Bradley."

BET Networks Chairman and CEO Debra Lee, who hosted Bradley at BET headquarters, worked to secure him as on-air host for a special 'BET OPEN MIC' town hall meeting with Colin Powell just prior to the Iraq war. "Ed Bradley represented a special generation of African-American journalists – one who proudly, but somewhat quietly, carried the mantle of pioneer," she said. "He was the consummate professional whose most probing and controversial questions still represented the very best in journalist ethics and news judgment. Ed was a favorite of our BET News division. He often lent his voice and expertise to help us deliver the news from an African-American perspective. We will miss him."

TV personality and best-selling author Star Jones Reynolds was a dear friend of Bradley's. "I am deeply saddened to learn of Ed Bradley's death," theformer co-host of 'The View' told The BV Newswire today. "He was an amazing journalist, a dear, loyal friend and a consummate professional. I was always taken with his genuine spirit and my thoughts and prayers remain with his family and his wife, Patricia."

An avid music aficionado, Bradley played anintegral part of keeping jazz music alive, by serving as host of concerts, galas and fundraising events. "Not only was [he] a mentor and a friend as an adult, but as a kid I wanted to be [him]," said Take 6 member Alvin Chea, who met Bradley at a show he hosted at Carnegie Hall, a few years ago. "I approached life in a way that emulated the success he'd achieved in journalism. For me and many others Ed was the quintessential black male icon i.e., driven, smart, handsome and gifted. Always approachable, affable and distinguished, he will be sorely missed."

Rest In Peace.

http://journals.aol.com/bvnewswire/b...mmunicator/567

Mike Schwartz · November-9th-2006, 09:16 PM

Having just seen the CBS Evening News, had they had any guts (the way Bardley always seemed to have) they would have had Katie Couric[sp?] introduce one of the CBS vets do the story of his passing, and for one segment, let her get out of the way, as she was clearly the most unqualified person on the current news team to let moderate a tribute to Ed Bradley..

She was clearly not a long time friend of Ed's, and she's the new kid on the block at CBS. The fact that she directed questions towards 4 long time [35 years in some cases] friends including the creator/producer of 60 Minutes still came off with a shallow sense of emotion from Katie, while the others would have done a better job, while wearing emotions on their sleeves.

Perhaps they'll let those closer to Bradley do some sort of special, and at the least a segment of 60 Minutes.

John P. Cooper · November-9th-2006, 10:43 PM

I liked EB. He had a good on screen persona. 65 is too young to go.

Now that the thread has morphed already, though I suppose additional lamentations would have been similar in nature and I see that Monte Smith has lampooned some of what has gone before and the other guy has added that the young Couric rookie reporter was iimproperly used by CBS to deliver the Bradley story to the viewing public, I'll venture the thought that I can't remember any special story that Ed Bradley reported upon on "60 Minutes".

All I remember is that CBS "60 Minutes" tossed all the 'black' stories to him.....and it became pretty pathetic......would black people talk to Ed Bradley only?

Anyone at CBS still black and alive who could have done the obit for CBS? Anyone still old and alive? Any of his 60 Minutes comrades? Wonder why they didn't use them.

Ron Thorne · November-9th-2006, 10:58 PM

Brian Williams and NBC paid a nice tribute to Ed Bradley on the NBC Nightly News tonight, which included some teary-eyed remarks from his 60 Minutes sidekick, Mike Wallace.

gonzo · November-10th-2006, 02:44 AM

he was friends with the neville brothers and would go on tour with them. one of the last years i went to the playboy fest. he was on tour with the neville's.
my then young niece had the pleasure of meeting him at area behind the stage, extremely nice man. came over and talked to us like he knew us. came out and played cowbell w/neville's later that night. very huge loss for the world. my prayers go out to his family and friends.

hornplayer · November-10th-2006, 07:19 AM

If you didn't see Larry King Live last night, you missed THE tribute... On the day of, so, impromptu, Mike Wallace, Steve Kroft, Andy Rooney, Don Hewitt, Bob Schieffer and ... Aaron Neville, singing.