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Bob Edwards, host of NPR’s “Morning Edition” for nearly a quarter century whose rich baritone and calm demeanor empowered his radio broadcasts to reach millions of listeners, died Saturday in Arlington, Virginia. He was 76 years old.
His wife, Windsor Johnson, said that he died in a rehabilitation facility due to complications from heart failure and bladder cancer.
Mr. Edwards, a Kentucky native who knew from an early age that he wanted to be in radio, joined NPR in 1974 during the Watergate hearings. That year, he became co-host of “All Things Considered”, the public broadcaster’s signature evening news magazine of interviews, analysis and features. Its success led to the spinoff “Morning Edition” in 1979.
Mr. Edwards started as a 30-day temporary host of that program before serving as its anchor for 24 and a half years.
“Bob Edwards understood the intimate and viscerally personal connection with audiences that sets audio journalism apart from other mediums,” NPR CEO John Lansing said in a statement, “and for decades he has been a vital part of the daily lives of millions of people.” Was a credible voice. NPR listeners.”
In an interview with NPR for Mr. Edwards’s obituary, Susan Stamberg, his co-host on “All Things Considered,” described his oil and vinegar chemistry.
She said, “We had five good years – even if rocky – until we got into each other’s rhythm, because he was Mr. Cool, she was Mr. Authoritative and straight forward.” “I was a New Yorker with a million ideas and a lot of laughs. But we’ve adjusted really well.”
She continued to call it “the voice we wake up to” for a quarter century.
On “Morning Edition,” Mr. Edwards interviewed thousands of prominent figures in the news, but also included features on singer Dolly Parton and famed baseball announcer Red Barber, with whom he conducted a popular weekly segment of commentary.
Mr. Edwards was ousted from “Morning Edition” in 2004, a move that led to listener protests that reached the halls of Congress, where Senator Dick Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, took to the Senate floor to object. Standing lauded Mr. Edwards as “the most successful morning voice in America.”
An NPR ombudsman, Jeffrey A. Dworkin wrote at the time that 35,000 listeners had commented on Mr. Edwards’ departure from the program, many of whom were disappointed and some who suggested ageism. Mr. Edwards was about to turn 57.
He discussed his departure on air with his NPR colleague Scott Simon, saying, “Tastes change, and they have different ideas about the program and who should do it.” They were replaced by Steve Inskeep and Renée Montagne. (Today’s program is hosted by Mr. Inskeep, Leila Fadel, Michelle Martin and A. Martínez.)
Robert Allen Edwards was born on May 16, 1947 in Louisville to Joseph and Loretta (Fuchs) Edwards. His father worked for the city government. Bob Edwards knew he had a voice for radio when, as a child, he would answer the phone and the caller would say, “Hello, Mr. Edwards,” assuming he was his father. He told Mr. Simon.
After graduating from the University of Louisville in 1969, he was conscripted and sent to South Korea, where he worked for Armed Forces Radio and Television. He earned a master’s degree in journalism from the American University in Washington. He dropped his Kentucky accent and worked for a time at WTOP in Washington before joining NPR.
In 2000, Mr. Edwards won a Peabody Award for “Morning Edition,” which the awards committee described as “two hours of in-depth news and entertainment per day expertly conducted by one man who embodies the essence of excellence in radio.”
In addition to his wife, Ms. Johnston, a reporter and news anchor for NPR, he is survived by two daughters, Susannah and Eleanor Edwards, from a previous marriage, and a brother. His marriages to Joan Murphy and Sharon Kelly ended in divorce.
Mr Edwards married Ms Johnston in 2011. They had met several years earlier, when she interviewed him for WHYY in Philadelphia about the book he was writing, “Edward R. Murrow and the Birth of Broadcast Journalism.” He wrote two other books, “A Voice in the Box: My Life in Radio” and “Fridays with Red: A Radio Friendship”.
In a phone interview, Ms. Johnston said Mr. Edwards had long been upset that NPR had pushed him out of the “Morning Edition” host chair several months ago after 25 years at the helm. “He could never get over that,” she said.
After his final “Morning Edition” broadcast on April 30, 2004, he was hired as an NPR correspondent, but he soon left when he was approached to host a program on SiriusXM Radio; “The Bob Edwards Show”, as it was called, ran until 2014. He also appeared on “Bob Edwards Weekend” on public radio stations.
“He was adamant on even the smallest details and adhered to the philosophy of ‘less is more’,” Ms Johnston wrote on Facebook. “He helped pave the way for the younger generation of journalists who continue to make NPR what it is today.”
