Tributes To Trailblazer Ed Bradley

Actress Kristen Stewart smiles as she arrives for the screening of On the Road at the 65th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 23, 2012. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan) / Joel Ryan

From dignitaries to average television viewers, tributes poured in for Ed Bradley, the veteran 60 Minutes correspondent who died Thursday in New York at the age of 65.

At the White House, President Bush said he and first lady Laura Bush were "deeply saddened by the death of Ed Bradley." Mr. Bush remembered Bradley for producing "distinctive investigative reports that inspired action and cemented his reputation as one of the most accomplished journalists of our time."

At CBS News, where Bradley spent 35 years, including 25 with 60 Minutes, friends and colleagues offered their remembrances.

Bradley was "a kind, gentle, strong man. A first-rate reporter and a first-rate human being," said fellow 60 Minutes correspondent Mike Wallace. "When he laughed, he laughed whole-heartedly from down deep. He was just an absolutely delightful man."

CBS News chief Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer said Bradley "was simply the coolest person I have ever known. He was a great observer of the American scene with a shrewd eye and a terrific sense of humor. And let me tell you, no one ever put one over on Ed Bradley."

Bradley died at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan of complications from chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

His consummate skills as a broadcast journalist and his distinctive body of work were recognized with numerous awards, including 20 Emmys, the latest for an interview with Neil Armstrong.

As one of the most visible black journalists on television, Bradley broke down racial barriers and became a role model for young African Americans.

"The pressure is there," Bradley said. "It's been there every day of my life."

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Listen to more of what Wallace has to say about Bradley.
Check out photos of Bradley through the years.
Read what Public Eye has to say about Bradley.

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Bradley 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;" and another for an hour-long piece about sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, "The Catholic Church on Trial."
Watch the video report. Read part I. Read Part II.

Viewers who watched Bradley's reports over the years shared their thoughts on CBSNews.com.

"My wife and I wept at the news of Ed Bradley's passing. She said, 'He came into our home every Sunday with something important to say'. He did indeed. I don't write these types of 'fan letters' but Bradley was extraordinary," said RJGATOR.

"Ed Bradley will be sorely missed in our household and by countless admirers," said joycenbill. "His ability to give us the heart and soul of the people or stories he reported upon was extraordinarily human."

And jtmjc wrote: "We loved Ed Bradley here in New Orleans, he was here in town this past Jazz fest in May, and he got on stage with Irma Thomas and watched behind the stage as Lionel Richie performed his set. … We will miss his COOLNESS."

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Read more memories of and tributes to Bradley.

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Ed Bradley was born June 22, 1941 in a rough section of Philadelphia, where he once recalled that his parents sometimes worked 20-hour days at two jobs apiece.

"I was told, 'You can be anything you want, kid,'" he once told an interviewer. "When you hear that often enough, you believe it."

After graduating from Cheney State College with a degree in education, he launched his career as a DJ and news reporter for a Philadelphia radio station in 1963, moving to New York's WCBS radio four years later.

Bradley's first job out of college was as a sixth-grade teacher.

He joined CBS News as a stringer in the Paris bureau in 1971, transferring a year later to the Saigon bureau during the Vietnam War. It was the story that put him on the map and almost killed him, Stahl reports.

As Bradley explained in one interview: "People were moved from Viet Cong areas into towns controlled by the government. And all of a sudden I heard this terrific noise ... if I had not moved to sit on the side, I would have been dead."

After reporting in Cambodia, Bradley moved to the Washington bureau in June 1974, 14 months after he was named a correspondent.

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Watch Bradley on the anchor desk in 1979.
Watch Bradley report on the end of the Vietnam war.
Watch "the best of Bradley."

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Other hour-long reports by Bradley prompted praise and action: "Death by Denial" 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" spurred federal investigations into the nation's largest chain of psychiatric hospitals; and "Town Under Siege," 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, joining 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. Bradley also received the prestigious Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Awards grand prize and television first prize for "CBS Reports: In the Killing Fields of America," a documentary about violence in America, for which he was co-anchor and reporter.

Bradley's work on 60 Minutes gained him much recognition, including a George Foster Peabody Award for "Big Man, Big Voice," the uplifting story of a German singer who became successful despite birth defects. In 1995, he won his 11th Emmy 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.

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 report "Made in China," a look at Chinese forced-labor camps, and another Emmy in 1992 for "Caitlin's Story," 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" included: "Enter the Jury Room," an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award winner that revealed the jury deliberation process for the first time in front of network cameras. A series of stories from 1979 were award winners, including: "The Boat People," which won duPont, Emmy and Overseas Press Club Awards; "The Boston Goes to China," 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?," 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 1976, 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" from 1978 to 1981, after serving as CBS News' White House correspondent from 1976 to 1978. He was also anchor of the "CBS Sunday Night News" from 1976 to 1981 and of the CBS News magazine "Street Stories" from January 1992 to August 1993.

A lifelong fan of jazz, Bradley took on a side gig in recent years as radio host for "Jazz at Lincoln Center," for which he won one of his four Peabody awards.

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 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.

What was Bradley's secret to getting such renowned stories? Schieffer said it was all in his style.

"Ed knew everyone from Jimmy Carter to Jimmy Buffett. He made people comfortable. He wasn't the bulldog type reporter like Mike Wallace," Schieffer said. "He set people at ease and got them to talk. Sometimes that was in their interest and sometimes it wasn't. But he was like Columbo, who had that disarming style and the knack of getting that last answer out of someone."

60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft said: "I think the thing that made him terrific was his presence. There was a dignity about him... a perfect mix of style and substance."

Bradley is survived by his wife, Patricia Blanchet and Reba E. Gaston, his aunt, of Dayton Ohio.

[sharbon-2009]

The good Lord now and then sends to mankind, individuals who set the standard. Ed Bradley was undoubtedly one such person. If any good can come from his untimely death, then it%u2019ll be in journalists getting a glimpse of his body of work and realizing what good journalism is all about. My deepest sympathies go out to Mr. Bradley%u2019s family and friends. They%u2019re playing Lena Horne in heaven tonight.

[darren034]

No attention should be paid to the negative comments entered on this thread. When we give these negative comments our attention, we inadvertently reinforce the cowardice and bigotry that exists in this world, and more importantly and apparently within the individuals entering negative comments on this website. What should gauge us is mourning the untimely loss of an extremely intelligent and talented man and the remarkable contributions that he has made to the world of journalism.

[joycenbill]

Ed Bradley will be sorely missed in our household and by countless admirers. His ability to give us the heart and soul of the people or stories he reported upon was extraordinarily human. His upbringing by caring parents in stilled him with so much confidence and dignity that showed in his approach to his assignments.

My hearfelt sympathies go out to his wife, Patricia, and his family and friends at CBS. Thank you for sharing Ed with us!

[mollymaggie1]

When I heard Ed Bradley had passed, it took a little while for it to sink in. I have been an avid 60 minutes watcher for 30 years. I loved his demeanor and how relaxed he always seemed when with the "BIG" stars. To me, he was the star, and seeing how many positive postings on this web page really reinforces that impression. When watching his co-workers on CBS news tonight at 6:30pm EST, I was extremely moved by Steve Croft's emotions when he would speak about his friend. You could tell how much he cared and felt about his relationship with Mr. Bradley. I feel lucky to have been able to witness this mover and shaker regarding news reporting, arts appreciation, and his mentoring of young afro-americans. Isn't it true that sometime someone's talents and contributions aren't appreciated until after their demise? I, for one, feel included in that category and I feel I'm the unlucky one for not paying more attention to the person behind the microphone. I now wish I had. His untimely passing has affected me more than I ever thought possible. My heart goes out to his family and to everyone who was touched by his life. Godspeed, Mr. Edward Bradley. You have left a big hole in a lot of souls.

[jasperlily]

I was stunned and deeply saddened to hear that Mr. Ed Bradley has died. He was a joy to watch and listen to..... a gentleman of true excellence exuding integrity, intelligence, compassion and stability.

My very deepest sympathy goes out to his family, his friends and his colleagues. To say he will be missed is a gross understatement - I cannot think of words to describe how much we have lost.
As one commentor wrote, "we do not miss the light until it has gone out".

As for that Oommey or whoever, I can't be bothered to scroll way back to find out what he said about our friend. Must be just another scuzzy low-life not worth the attention he's hoping for.

[chicatibu]

There are few men who can make it to the top on ability alone Ed Bradley was the exception. Ed Bradley wasn%u2019t an icon of Black America he was an icon of all America.
He will be missed and he%u2019ll never be forgotten.
Ken Hughes Waterford USA.

[inarguable]

ezsgirl,
Bradley was the epitome of journalism at its finest? LOL...a true journalist should report the news, not inject his own brand of partisan bias into his reporting to skew the storyline. Bradly has done this many times in his illustrious career, and just because the man is dead, lets not turn him into something he wasn't. Good reporter? YES! An example of journalism at its finest? Yeah, right! And Andy Rooney is a fair and unbiased reporter too!
***....why could it not have been Andy Rooney who died instead? There is a partisan hack who is so far past his prime and so dead-set in his liberal mindset that the only press job he currently deserves would be writing the newsletter on the goings-on in the Shady Acres retirement village for the partisan-impaired.

[gaynellmarie]

Just as I thought oommey. Once a racist coward, always a racist coward. Shame on you for "hating" on a deceased, intelligent, African American gentleman who loved all people, and who probably would have given your sorry pathetic but a fair interview. Rest in peace Ed.

[gaynellmarie]

Be a man oommey and eveal your identity.

[inarguable]

uh, hey Rick in Canada,
as a Toronto boy myself, your comments made me laugh. Puleeeassse! What Canadians are you talking about? The "not so Great White North" is a myopic nation of ignorant cowards who have allowed our political apparatus to dismantle our once proud military so that today it is impotent and incapable of enforcing any foreign policy objectives....not that we Canadians have ANYTHING in the way of respectable foreign policy anymore! While once proud and respected (particularly following WWII), today Canada's position on the global stage has become a laughingstock by many around the world, and we are seen as a nation that does not hold any capability at all to influence the geo-political spectrum. That loser racist troll who got you all riled up could still probably single-handedly annex Canada in the name of the kkk if he wanted!