‘60 Minutes’ to honor Bradley

“60 Minutes” will give its late correspondent Ed Bradley a send-off on Sunday with an hourlong tribute that features interviews with close friends and a solo by jazz musician Wynton Marsalis.

Bradley, a 26-year veteran of the CBS newsmagazine, died Thursday of complications from leukemia.

Sunday’s special includes Steve Kroft’s interviews with some of Bradley’s closest friends, musician Jimmy Buffett, journalist Charlayne Hunter-Gault and Marsalis. Morley Safer will review the legacy of Bradley’s estimated 500 “60 Minutes” stories.

Lesley Stahl will do a profile of Bradley, from his childhood in Philadelphia to his job at “60 Minutes.” He joined the newsmagazine in 1981 after 10 years at the network, first as a freelance reporter in Paris, then as a correspondent in Vietnam and later at the White House.

Bradley’s death caught many by surprise. His “60 Minutes” colleague Mike Wallace said Bradley had been “private” about his illness. “The first time I really understood that he was ill, on the air, was a couple of weeks ago,” Wallace said. “He was narrating a story, and his rich voice wasn’t there anymore. It was just thinner.”