Remembering Ed Bradley

One of our most treasured colleagues passed away six years ago today. Whenever we watch one of Ed Bradley's interviews from his 25 years at 60 Minutes, we are still struck by his enormous talent-- and how much we miss him.

If there's one thing to know about Ed Bradley it's that he cared. He cared about the people he worked with, and the people he interviewed. At 60 Minutes, Ed became known for stories about the powerless and those who were caught in the grip of unjust forces. Ed listened to their stories, engaged them in extraordinary conversations, and often brought relief to their situations.

That was clear from Ed's very first appearance on 60 Minutes in 1979, when he waded into the Pacific and reached out to desperate refugees known as "boat people" as they staggered and collapsed before him. It's a remarkable story, and you can watch it in the video player above.

In the years after that story aired on 60 Minutes, we would all come to learn a lot about Ed Bradley - that he loved jazz, couldn't carry a tune, enjoyed pulling pranks. As a reporter, there wasn't a story that Ed couldn't tell. He had a natural ability to converse with the most powerful, as well as the least.

In honor of this anniversary of Ed's passing, here are Morley Safer's recollections of his late colleague, in a piece he did at the time of Ed's death in 2006: