Edwin McKinley Bradley

Ed was born Feb. 26, 1958, in Chardon, Ohio, to James F. and Linda J. (McKinley) Bradley. The family moved to Portage, Mich., in 1966. He graduated from Portage Northern High School in 1976. After starting college at Western Michigan University, he transferred to, and graduated from, Michigan State University in 1981 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and history.

Ed married Katherine Jones on June 17, 1989 in Flint, Mich. They have two sons – Andrew E. and James L. He was a member of First Presbyterian Church of Flint, where he served as both a deacon and elder, chancel choir member, fine arts committee member, and usher. Ed also served with the Neighborhood Breakfast Program through the church.

He was a passionate fan and supporter of the Michigan State Spartans. He shared basketball season tickets with friends from the time the Breslin Center opened in the 1989-1990 season through this season. He also attended many MSU football games and Detroit Tiger baseball games over the years.

Ed was a loving, kind, gentle soul with a warm smile. He always thought the best of people – except maybe some players/coaches associated with the University of Michigan. He was known as a bit of a contrarian (which he was proud of) on the SpartanMag.com message board, with 5,777 posts.

Ed spent almost his entire career in journalism, writing and editing mostly in the sports and entertainment fields.

He started as a part-time sports reporter at the Kalamazoo Gazette while still in college. After MSU, he worked for the Columbus (Ga.) Ledger-Enquirer, the Meridian (Miss.) Star and the Virginian-Pilot (in Norfolk). In his 20 years (1987-2007) at the Flint Journal, he served as assistant features editor, entertainment editor and film critic.

During his time in Flint, Ed earned two master’s degrees at the University of Michigan-Flint – one in American Studies and the second one in English. After his job at The Journal ended, Ed became associate curator of film at the Flint Institute of Arts in 2008, working closely with the Friends of Modern Art and running a weekly series of independent and foreign films. He served on the committee of the Jewish Film Festival in Flint.

Ed also taught classes at UM-Flint, Oakland Community College and Warner University in Lake Wales, Fla. He was a copy editor for Crain’s Detroit Business (2012-2017). Most recently, he was an assistant editor for the Michigan Historical Review, both with Central Michigan University and the Historical Society of Michigan.

Ed was a well-regarded expert and author in the area of American cinematic history, specializing in Depression-era musicals. He authored four books on the subject: “The First Hollywood Musicals: A Critical Filmography of 171 Features, 1927-32” (1996); “The First Hollywood Sound Shorts, 1926-31” (2005); “Unsung Hollywood Musicals of the Golden Era: 50 Overlooked Films and Their Stars, 1929-39” (2016); and “Hollywood Musicals You Missed: 70 Noteworthy Films from the 1930s” (2020). The latter two were cited as among the best movie books of the years by Classic Images magazine. He also published a blog, EarlySoundGuy.com, in which he interviewed, and wrote about, movie stars of the era.

Famous people he interviewed included Mickey Rooney, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., George Burns, Oprah Winfrey, Jerry Seinfeld, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Leslie Nielsen, and many others.

He is survived by his wife, Kathy; two sons, Andrew of Grand Blanc and James of Tempe, Ariz.; stepmother Vicky Bradley of Portage; sister Kathleen (Howard) Reiff of Peoria, Ariz.; brothers James (Lisa) Bradley of Vicksburg and Ian (Paula) Bradley of Marine City; stepsister Kasey Bradley of Novi; stepbrother William Bradley of Kalamazoo; brothers-in-law Steven Jones of Grand Rapids and Kevin (Tricia) Jones of Lancaster, Ohio; sisters-in-law Rebecca (David) Galvas of Grand Blanc and Patricia Jones of Grand Blanc, Aunt Mary Ann Bradley Whelan of Indianapolis, as well as many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and his in-laws, Walter and Lois Jones.

A memorial visitation for Edwin will be held on Wednesday, February 9, 2022 from 4:00PM to 8:00PM at Brown Funeral Home - 1480 E. Hill Road, Grand Blanc, MI. A memorial service will occur on Thursday, February 10, 2022 at 11:00 AM at First Presbyterian Church, 746 S Saginaw Street, Flint, MI, with a one hour visitation prior to the service.

Contributions in Edwin's memory may be made to First Presbyterian Church of Flint c/o Neighborhood Breakfast Program, 746 S. Saginaw Street, Flint, MI 48501, https://www.fpcf.org/; and Flint Institute of Arts, 1120 E. Kearsley Street, Flint, MI 48503, https://flintarts.formstack.com/forms/museumdonation.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.brownfh.com for the Bradley family.