Background

David McClure Brinkley was born on July 10, 1920, in Wilmington, North Carolina, United States. He was the son of William Graham and Mary (West) Brinkley. His parents died when he was only eight.

Education

Brinkley studied at New Hanover High School. Then, he attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Emory University, and Vanderbilt University.

Career

Brinkley's first job in journalism came while he was still in high school. He was hired to work for the Star-News in Wilmington, North Carolina, for which he broadcast daily five-minute radio reports. He worked at an A&P grocery store for a time. Then, he enlisted in the National Guard where he was a clerk. A physical a year later got Brinkley discharged from his unit, however, because a doctor misdiagnosed him as having kidney disease.

Brinkley began his journalism career at United Press Associates as a reporter and later as a bureau manager. In 1943 he was hired by NBC as a news writer and broadcaster, becoming a Washington correspondent in 1951. Five years later, at the Democratic National Convention, Brinkley was teamed up with Chet Huntley, and the pair found they had a great deal of on-air chemistry. Huntley and Brinkley became popular hosts of NBC's Huntley-Brinkley Report during the 1950s and 1960s. From 1961 to 1962, he also produced for NBC a series of documentaries under the title of "David Brinkley's Journal". He also appeared as a narrator in the 1961 film, "The Challenge of Ideas" and as himself in an episode of "The Jack Benny Program" on September 25, 1964. During the 1970s, he continued, although not as active as he would have liked, reporting the news or hosting various programs for NBC.

When Huntley retired in 1970, ratings declined for Brinkley as a solo act, and he decided to move to ABC in 1981. There he got a new show, This Week with David Brinkley, which became well known for its lively interviews. He was also the anchor for ABC This Week until his 1997 retirement.

Brinkley authored three books: Washington Goes to War (1988), the autobiography David Brinkley: Eleven Presidents, Four Wars, Twenty-two Political Conventions, One Moon Landing, Three Assassinations, 2,000 Weeks of News and Other Stuff on Television, and Eighteen Years of Growing up in North Carolina (1995), and Everyone Is Entitled to My Opinion (1996).

Achievements

• David Brinkley was a well-known and highly respected television news broadcaster who appeared on National Broadcasting Company (NBC) and American Broadcasting Company (ABC) programs for over forty years and gained fame for his commentaries.
  
  In 1992 Brinkley was the recipient of the George Foster Peabody Award for his report on the 50th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, starting World War II for America. He was the recipient of two more George Foster Peabody Awards and 10 Emmy Awards. In 1992 President George H.W. Bush presented him with the highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Everyone Is Entitled to My Opinion

    (No matter how seriously we take our politics, Americans l...)

    1996
  • Washington Goes to War

    (The noted television newscaster and commentator presents ...)

    1988
  • Brinkley's Beat

    (From one of America's most revered journalists - a richly...)

    2003
  • David Brinkley

    (David Brinkley, the icon of the American airwaves, has wr...)

    1995

Personality

Brinkley's style of writing and delivering the news - clipped sentences spoken in measured cadences and in a sardonic voice - was echoed by legions of young television commentators, imitated by comedians and mimics, and instantly recognized by generations of Americans.

Connections

On October 11, 1946, Brinkley married Ann Fischer but later the couple divorced. They had three sons: Alan, Joel, and John. On June 10, 1972, Brinkley married Susan Adolph. They had one adopted daughter, Alexis.

Father:

William Graham Brinkley

(9 June 1875 - 11 November 1928)

Mother:

Mary McDonald West Brinkley

(27 January 1879 - 10 April 1966)

Son:

Alan Brinkley

(2 June 1949 - 17 June 2019)

Son:

Joel Brinkley

(22 July 1952 - 11 March 2014)

Son:

John Brinkley

adopted daughter:

Alexis Brinkley

ex-wife:

Flora Ann Fischer Brinkley

(30 May 1921 - 10 November 1996)

Wife:

Susan Melanie Benfer Brinkley

(30 September 1942 - 2 June 2019)

References

• Contemporary Authors New Revision Series In response to the escalating need for up-to-date information on writers, Contemporary Authors New Revision Series (Volume 217) brings researchers the most recent data on the world's most popular authors.
  2011
• Political Commentators in the United States in the 20th Century Devoid of technical jargon, this bio-critical sourcebook is a unique accounting of the careers of significant political commentators of the 20th century, including print and broadcast journalists, scholars, and political consultants.
  1997