James Brady

James Scott Brady (August 29, 1940 – August 4, 2014) was an assistant to the U.S. President and the fifteenth White House Press Secretary, serving under President Ronald Reagan. In 1981, Brady became permanently disabled from a gunshot wound during the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan. His death was ruled a homicide, caused by the gunshot wound he received 33 years earlier.[2]

For other people named James Brady, see James Brady (disambiguation).

James Brady
Brady in 1986
15th White House Press Secretary
In office January 20, 1981 – March 30, 1981^＊
President	Ronald Reagan
Preceded by	Jody Powell
Succeeded by	Larry Speakes (Acting)
Personal details
Born	James Scott Brady (1940-08-29)August 29, 1940 Centralia, Illinois, U.S.
Died	August 4, 2014(2014-08-04) (aged 73) Alexandria, Virginia, U.S.
Cause of death	Complications due to gunshot wounds
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Sue Beh ​ ( m. 1960; div. 1967) Sarah Kemp ( m. 1972)
Education	University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (BA)
Nickname(s)	Bear[1]
^＊ Brady formally retained the title of Press Secretary until the end of the Reagan Administration on January 20, 1989, but he did not brief the press after he was shot in the 1981 assassination attempt.

Early career

Brady began his career in public service as a staff member in the office of Illinois Senator Everett Dirksen (R-IL). In 1964, he was the campaign manager for Congressional candidate Wayne Jones in the race for Illinois' 23rd District. In 1970, Brady directed a campaign in the same district for Phyllis Schlafly.[3]

Brady served various positions in both the private sector and the government, including service as Special Assistant to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, James Thomas Lynn; Special Assistant to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget; Assistant to the Secretary of Defense; and member of the staff of Senator William V. Roth, Jr. (R-DE). He also served as Press Secretary in 1979 to presidential candidate John Connally.[3]

After Connally withdrew his candidacy from the race, Brady became Director of Public Affairs and Research for the Reagan-Bush Committee, then Spokesperson for the Office of the President-elect. After Reagan took office, Brady became White House Press Secretary.[3]

Shooting

Main article: Attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan

On March 30, 1981, 69 days into his presidency, Ronald Reagan and his cabinet members, including Brady, were leaving the Washington Hilton Hotel when a gunman opened fire. The first of six bullets hit Brady. The gunman was 25-year-old John Hinckley Jr.

Secret Service and police officers forced the suspect to the ground and arrested him. Hinckley had fired 6 shots from a .22 caliber Röhm RG-14 revolver. Brady was hit in the head above his left eye passing through underneath his brain and shattering his brain cavity, exploding on impact. President Reagan, Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy and District of Columbia police officer Thomas Delahanty were also injured from the shooting. Brady, Reagan and McCarthy were taken to George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C.

During the confusion that followed the shooting, all major media outlets erroneously reported that Brady had died.[4] When ABC News anchorman Frank Reynolds, a friend of Brady, was later forced to retract the report, he angrily said on-air to his staff, "C'mon, let's get it nailed down!",[5][6] as a result of the miscommunication.

During the hours-long operation on Brady at the George Washington University Hospital, surgeon Arthur Kobrine was informed of the media's announcement of Brady's death, to which he said, "No one has told me and the patient."[7][8]

Although Brady survived, the wound left him with slurred speech and partial paralysis that required the full-time use of a wheelchair.[9] Kobrine, his neurosurgeon, described him as having difficulty controlling his emotions while speaking after the shooting, saying "he would kind of cry-talk for a while", and suffering deficits in memory and thinking, such as failing to recognize people.[10]

Brady was unable to work as the White House Press Secretary but remained in the position until the end of the Reagan Administration with Larry Speakes and Marlin Fitzwater performing the job on an "acting" or "deputy" basis.

Gun control advocate

With his wife Sarah Brady, who served as Chair of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Brady subsequently lobbied for stricter handgun control and assault weapon restrictions. The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, also known as "the Brady Bill", was named in his honor.[3]

Brady received the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from McKendree College, Lebanon, Illinois, in 1982. Sarah and James Brady were each awarded a doctorate degree (of Humane Letters) by Drexel University in 1993. In 1994, James and Sarah received the S. Roger Horchow Award for Greatest Public Service by a Private Citizen, an award given out annually by the Jefferson Awards Foundation.[11] In 1996, Brady received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Bill Clinton, the highest civilian award in the United States.

President George W. Bush hosts six White House Press Secretaries, including James Brady (second from the right) with his wife Sarah Brady (far right), before the Press Briefing Room underwent renovation (August 2, 2006).

Personal life

Brady married Sue Beh in 1960. The marriage ended in divorce in 1967. In 1972, Brady married Sarah Jane Kemp.

In 2000, the White House press briefing room was renamed the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room in his honor.[12]

Death

Brady died on August 4, 2014, in Alexandria, Virginia.[13] Four days later, the medical examiner ruled that his death was a homicide,[2] caused by the gunshot wound which he sustained in 1981. Hinckley did not face any charges for Brady's death because he had been found not guilty by reason of insanity.[14]

Portrayals in film

Brady's recovery after the shooting was dramatized in the 1991 HBO film Without Warning: The James Brady Story, with Brady portrayed by Beau Bridges.[15] Brady was also portrayed by John Connolly in the 2001 Showtime film The Day Reagan Was Shot.[16] Michael H. Cole portrayed him in the 2016 television film Killing Reagan.[17]

Season 1, Episode 4, In Control of the TV series The Americans takes place on the day of Reagan's assassination attempt as the main characters try to figure out what's happening. As such, the episode depicts the media falsely reporting Brady having died before issuing the correction that he's still alive.

References

1. Todd S. Purdum (August 4, 2014). "Remembering James S. Brady". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
2. Peter Herman (August 8, 2014). "James Brady's death ruled homicide by Virginia medical examiner". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
3. Jim Brady biodata, bradycampaign.org; retrieved August 7, 2014.
4. "Media Outlets Apologize After Falsely Reporting Giffords' Death". The Huffington Post. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
5. Stan Grossfeld (November 1, 1987). "Brady's had bear of a time - Reagan aide fights back from shooting". Daily News of Los Angeles (reprinted from the Boston Globe). p. USW1.
6. David Bianculli (June 25, 2002). "Reagan Shooting Is Gripping 'Minute'". New York Daily News. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
7. Stephen Smith (February 11, 2009). "Jim Brady, 25 Years Later". CBS News. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
8. Victor Cohn (November 23, 1981). "James Brady and his odyssey". The Washington Post. p. A1.
9. Scott Simon (March 26, 2011). "Jim Brady, 30 Years Later (radio interview)". NPR Radio. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
10. Erika Check Hayden (January 11, 2011). "Anatomy of a brain surgery". Nature News. Nature Publishing Group. doi:10.1038/news.2011.9. Retrieved January 11, 2011.
11. "Jeffersonawards.org". Archived from the original on November 24, 2010. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
12. "President Barack Obama on the Passing of James Brady". Imperial Valley News.com. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
13. "James Brady, Reagan spokesman and anti-gun activist, dies at 73". CBS News. August 4, 2014.
14. "John Hinckley Won't Face Murder Charges in James Brady's Death". nbcnews.com. January 2, 2015. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
15. Vick, Karl (June 16, 1991). "James Brady, After the Bullet: HBO film follows press secretary's struggles since the Reagan shooting". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
16. Fries, Laura (December 5, 2001). "Review: 'The Day Reagan Was Shot'". Variety. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
17. de Moraes, Lisa (May 23, 2016). "Kyle More Cast As John Hinckley Jr. In Adaptation Of Bill O'Reilly's 'Killing Reagan' For NatGeo". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 12, 2017.

External links

• Opinion James Brady and the case for gun safety laws
• Brady Death Ruled Homicide
• A Final Walk with Jim Brady
• Appearances on C-SPAN

Political offices
Preceded by Jody Powell	White House Press Secretary 1981	Succeeded by Larry Speakes Acting