Ray Brady, a longtime CBS News correspondent who focused on business and the economy, died Jan. 12 at his home in Manhattan. He was 94. Before moving to New York with his family, he lived in Little Silver for 10 years.
Brady spent 28 years with CBS News, starting in 1972 when he joined CBS Radio. He retired in 2000 after 23 years as a correspondent for CBS Evening News. Along the way he earned an Emmy in 1982 for a series of reports on unemployment amid the recession.
Brady was well-regarded among his colleagues for his knowledge of business and understanding of how markets move. He was also universally admired for his congenial nature, friendliness and sense of humor. At the time of Brady’s retirement, then CBS News president Andrew Heyward hailed “his powerful sense of integrity, his genuine interest in the people he met along the way, and his unflagging passion for the next story.”
In the 1990s, Brady hosted the regular Evening News segment, “The Money Crunch,” which sought to help viewers find ways to stretch their dollars. He also hosted the “Eye on America” segments highlighting the lives of everyday Americans.
Brady covered the major business stories of his era, notably the 1987 stock market crash and the combustible mix of oil and politics in the Middle East. He also wrote for CBS News’ “Market Watch” financial website and was a contributor to CBS Sunday Morning. In the summer of 2000, Brady served as interim host for the PBS mainstay Wall Street Week.
Born in Philadelphia, Brady grew up in New Jersey. He served in the Navy during World War II and graduated from Fordham University in 1948. He began his journalism career at New Jersey’s Long Branch Daily Record newspaper. His work continued at Forbes, Barron’s and Dun’s Review where he was editor-in-chief. From there he started his broadcast career on WCBS Radio as host of its “Today in Business” segment.
Ray was an avid equestrian who participated in fox hunts with the Monmouth County Hunt and in Ireland and often wrote about them, most notably in The New York Times. When not on a horse, Ray could usually be found behind a good book. His reading interests were varied, but history’s colorful characters were his favorite subjects.
Brady’s wife of 62 years, Mary Clark Wilson, died in 2017. He is survived by his stepson, David Wilson and his wife Betsy, of Atlantic Highlands, and his stepdaughter, Nicki Wilson, of Great Barrington, Massachusetts. He is also survived by three granddaughters, Meredith Wilson, Dana Wilson and Rebecca Sellon and two great-granddaughters.
A virtual memorial service will be held in February. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in memory of Ray Brady to the Parker Family Health Center, 211 Shrewsbury Ave., Red Bank, NJ 07701.
The article originally appeared in the January 28 – February 3, 2021 print edition of The Two River Times.
