SAG-AFTRA Mourns Passing of Broadcaster Bob Edwards, Former SAG-AFTRA National Board Member, AFTRA National President and Longtime Host of NPR’s 'Morning Edition'

Bob Edwards, whose career in broadcasting spanned over five decades, passed away on Feb. 10 at the age of 76. The former host of NPR’s Morning Edition was a former SAG-AFTRA National Board member and, prior to merger, national vice president, national first vice president and briefly, in 2007, acting national president of AFTRA. 

As an AFTRA elected leader, Edwards played a role in the 2012 merger of Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists as a founding member of the joint Group for One Union.

Edwards began his career in 1968 at a small radio station in New Albany, Indiana. He joined NPR in 1974 and was co-host of All Things Considered before hosting Morning Edition from 1979 to 2004.

Praised for his reassuring voice and skill as an interviewer, Edwards won a George Foster Peabody Award in 1999 and was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2004.

“When you heard Bob’s voice come on the radio, you could be sure you were going to learn something new, discover an interesting person or simply be entertained,” said SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher. “He was the consummate newsman who brought the world to his listeners — and they loved him for it. Millions of us will miss his sonorous baritone and his warm personality that could be felt even across the airwaves. Behind the scenes, Bob’s work was no less impressive. As a union leader, he fought tirelessly over more than three decades to improve the lives of his fellow broadcasters.”

SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said, “Bob’s passion for broadcasting began during his childhood in Kentucky and continued unabated throughout his life, and that devotion was obvious to anyone who tuned in to his show. With a distinguished journalism career birthed during his military service that blossomed during Watergate — and with tens of thousands of interviews over the decades — Bob was a giant among broadcasters, and someone who knew how to tell a good story. We have lost a true American original.” 

Edwards became a member of AFTRA in 1972 and served his Washington-Baltimore Local as an elected Board member for nearly 30 years. As an AFTRA national and local leader, he was actively involved through the 2012 SAG-AFTRA merger. His legacy as a broadcaster and union leader will remain an inspiration for future generations of journalists.

About SAG-AFTRA

SAG-AFTRA represents approximately 160,000 actors, announcers, broadcast journalists, dancers, DJs, news writers, news editors, program hosts, puppeteers, recording artists, singers, stunt performers, voiceover artists and other entertainment and media professionals. SAG-AFTRA members are the faces and voices that entertain and inform America and the world. A proud affiliate of the AFL-CIO, SAG-AFTRA has national offices in Los Angeles and New York and local offices nationwide representing members working together to secure the strongest protections for entertainment and media artists into the 21st century and beyond. Visit SAG-AFTRA online at SAGAFTRA.org.