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Author: Lawrence Aikens (Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists Professional Actor)
Edward Rudolph “Ed” Bradley II (June 22, 1941 – November 9, 2006) was a journalist best known for his award-winning 26-year career on 60 Minutes. He covered the Fall of Saigon, was the first black television reporter to cover the White House, and hosted his newscast, CBS Sunday Evening News with Ed Bradley. He received numerous awards for his work, including a Peabody Award, the National Association of Black Journalists Lifetime Achievement Award, the Broadcast and Television Digital News Association Paul White Award, and 19 Emmy Awards.
He graduated from Cheyney State College with a bachelor’s degree in education. His first job was teaching sixth grade at William B. Mann Elementary School in the Winfield neighborhood of Philadelphia. He worked part-time at the old WDAS studio, for free and later for minimum wage. He wrote music, read the news, and covered basketball games and other sporting events.
He has written over 500 stories covering almost every type of news, from “heavy” news on war, politics, poverty and corruption, to light biographical articles or stories about sports, music and food. He has interviewed Howard Stern, Laurence Olivier, Vice Commander Marcos, Timothy McVeigh, Neil Armstrong, Michael Jackson, Mick Jagger, Bill Bradley, 92-year-old George Burns and Michael Jordan, and he also did the first TV interview with Bob Dylan in 20 years. Some of his odd moments include playing blackjack with Ray Charles, interviewing Soviet generals in a Russian sauna, and being pranked by Muhammad Ali. His favorite segment on 60 Minutes was an interview with 64-year-old singer Lena Horne. He said: “If I get to the gates of heaven and St. Peter says, ‘What did you do to deserve to go to heaven?’ I will just say, ‘Did you see my story about Lena Horne?'”
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