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Ed Murrow

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1908-1965
US broadcaster

  1. Introduction
  2. Stories
  3. Biographical summary
  4. See also
  5. Further reading
  6. References

1. Introduction

Ed Murrow was an American radio and television broadcaster, known for his World War II radio transmissions from London and for his television programmes challenging senator McCarthy in the USA in the 1950s. The latter were portrayed in the 2005 movie Good Night, and Good Luck. Murrow and Churchill were regular companions, as were their wives Janet and Clementine who worked together on war relief efforts. Murrow and Churchill’s daughter-in-law Pamela nearly decided to divorce their spouses and get married. Murrow broadcast the now well-known phrase about Churchill: ‘He mobilized the English language and sent it into battle’, later also used by President John F. Kennedy.

2. Stories

  • Murrow came from a poor background but became one of the highest paid employees of the American network CBS.
  • Murrow became a broadcaster almost by chance when Hitler annexed Austria in 1938.
  • Murrow could not gain permission to make live radio broadcasts during London air raids until Churchill gave the go-ahead.
  • Clementine was a good friend of Janet Murrow through their work for Bundles for Britain, leading to frequent meetings between their husbands.
  • Murrow ended many of his broadcasts with the catchphrase ‘Good night, and good luck’, which had its origin in wartime London.
  • Murrow had a wartime affair with Winston’s daughter-in-law Pamela Churchill, which was eventually ended by Murrow.
  • Murrow’s bravery had an element that was seen as being sometimes foolhardy fatalism.

Murrow came from a poor background but became one of the highest paid employees of the American network CBS.

Egbert, or ‘Egg’ to his two brothers, was brought up on a subsistence farm in North Carolina, southeast USA, and then in Washington state in the northwest, where his father became a machinery operator and driver. He changed his name to Edward, or ‘Ed’, in his early twenties.

He studied speech at Washington State College and joined broadcaster CBS which sent him to London in 1937 to find sources for European cultural features. He began doing live news radio reports about European tensions in 1938 and live broadcasts during air raids in London in 1940 and 1941. These began with his signature introduction: ‘This [pause…] is London’ and became highly popular in the USA and Canada. He flew as a passenger on around 25 Allied combat missions to record material for later transmission.

He recruited a highly skilled wartime news team who became known as the ‘Murrow Boys’, including a woman Mary who used her middle name Marvin. Churchill was so impressed with Murrow’s work that in 1943 he offered him the position of joint director-general of the BBC, which Murrow turned down, honoured but concerned about possible post-war USA-UK tensions.

CBS recalled him to the USA in 1946 as head of news. In the 1950s, he cautiously added the new mass medium of television to his activities with a weekly show on topical issues (See It Now) and interviews with celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe in their homes (Person to Person). Despite reasonable ratings, his topical pieces ultimately lost out to light entertainment, particularly game shows. Commenting on the role of television, he warned that if it was used to ‘distract, delude, amuse and insulate’ viewers, instead of informing them, it is ‘merely wires and lights in a box’.1

In 1961, John F. Kennedy appointed Murrow as head of the United States Information Agency, promoting the US government’s influence internationally. He resigned in 1964 due to ill health and died of lung cancer in 1965, aged 57, having smoked over 60 cigarettes a day for many years.

Murrow became a broadcaster almost by chance when Hitler annexed Austria in 1938.

His 1937 appointment with CBS was to arrange cultural programmes, such as performances by choirs, and he had no intention of becoming a broadcaster himself. He was in Warsaw in March 1938 when he received a call from a colleague William Shirer in Vienna about Hitler’s annexation of Austria; Shirer could not report it due to Austrian censorship. Murrow told Shirer, whom he had hired, to fly to London and send a broadcast from there, which he did, as CBS’s first news transmission from abroad.

Murrow then flew to Austria and found that rival NBC had gained some reporting freedoms, which he elicited as well. He made several broadcasts from there, then returned to London to find that he was in the ascendency as part of CBS’s intention to expand its news business. He was directed to build up a European news team, which became the core of the network’s reporters. The reputation and influence of the ‘Murrow Boys’ grew to such an extent that a number of other reporters formed a group called the ‘Murrow Isn’t God Club’, which was dissolved after Murrow asked to join it.

His initial impressions of the UK were not favourable. In a BBC broadcast in 1946, he said, ‘Your country was a sort of museum piece, pleasant but small. You seemed slow, indifferent and exceedingly complacent – not important. I thought your streets narrow but mean, your tailors over-advertised, your climate unbearable, your class-consciousness offensive. You couldn’t cook. Your young men seemed without vigour or purpose. I admired your history, doubted your future, and suspected that the historians had merely agreed upon a myth.’ He added that ‘Always there remained in the back of a youthful and undisciplined mind the suspicion that I might be wrong’.2

He left with a much more positive view and thought that the most important aspect of the war was not courage or any individual battle but that the UK chose to win or lose ‘under the established rules of parliamentary procedure. […] There was no retreat from the principles for which your ancestors fought.’3

Murrow could not gain permission to make live radio broadcasts during London air raids until Churchill gave the go-ahead.

He made various requests to the air ministry to broadcast live from London rooftops during attacks but was repeatedly turned down due to security fears as to what might be said on air. To reassure the authorities, Murrow made seven rooftop recordings, describing neutrally what he could see around him, but permission was still refused.

He finally managed to contact Churchill, who authorised the transmissions in the hope that US public and political opinion would be influenced to side for the embattled British. The first one was made on 21 September 1940, with Murrow talking calmly in his baritone voice while the bomb explosions came closer.

He developed the techniques of incorporating ambient sound into broadcasts and of using multiple reporters across different locations. He also often reported on Churchill’s speeches, giving them a much broader audience than that achieved by the BBC alone, with millions listening to CBS in North America.

His broadcasts from across Europe (over 5000 in total) had a significant effect. In December 1941, the Librarian of Congress Archibald MacLeish said in a speech that ‘Over the period of your months in London you destroyed in the minds of men and women in this country the superstition that what is done beyond 3000 miles of water is not really done at all’.4 McLeish also said, ‘You burned the city of London in our houses and we felt the flames that burned it. You laid the dead of London at our doors and we knew the dead were our dead.’5

His broadcasts also impressed President Roosevelt. Murrow was invited for dinner on 7 December 1941 at the White House, which went ahead despite Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbour earlier the same day. Roosevelt did not arrive until after midnight and had a discussion with Murrow, saying that the damage was much worse than had been reported, without indicating that his remarks were off the record. Murrow agonised over whether to announce the story publicly but decided that the president should decide how to handle it after Congress met later that day.

Clementine was a good friend of Janet Murrow through their work for Bundles for Britain, leading to frequent meetings between their husbands.

Bundles for Britain was a US-based charity started in 1940 by socialite Natalie Latham in New York, initially sending knitted goods and then eventually items as large as kitchen units and ambulances. Sue White, wife of CBS executive Paul White, led the organisation in the USA and asked Janet Murrow to be executive chairman of the UK branch. As honorary chairman, Clementine was very involved with distributing the donations from America, as was Constance Winant, wife of Gil Winant, US ambassador to the UK.

Janet was a regular visitor to see Clementine at 10 Downing Street, sometimes being joined by Winston and Ed for lunch. On one occasion when Ed was collecting Janet, Churchill heard Ed’s voice and came out of his study, saying, ‘Good to see you, Mr. Murrow. Have you time for several whiskies?’6

Ed became a frequent visitor on his own, often being called by Churchill late at night for a drink and a lengthy discussion about the war and US opinion. Their bond grew over time, strengthened by their respect for each other as war correspondents.

Janet’s other work included helping to evacuate children from London to the UK countryside and to the USA, and writing scripts about the USA for the BBC. She also broadcast pieces on UK life for CBS and served on the British-American Liaison Board, which promoted good relations between American soldiers and British citizens.

After returning to the USA, the Murrows travelled to London from time to time, usually visiting the Churchills when they did so. One of their trips was for a CBS broadcast of the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip. On Winston’s 80th birthday, Murrow made a special broadcast in which he said, ‘He mobilized the English language and sent it into battle to steady his fellow countrymen and hearten those Europeans upon whom the long dark night of tyranny had descended.’7 President John F. Kennedy later borrowed the first part of the phrase when awarding Churchill honorary US citizenship (see Kay Halle). It may, however, have originated from the English writer Beverley Nichols rather than Murrow.

Murrow ended many of his broadcasts with the catchphrase ‘Good night, and good luck’, which had its origin in wartime London.

During World War II, it became common for Londoners to say goodbye in the evenings with ‘Good night, and good luck’ in a stoic approach to bombing raids. Murrow started using this at the end of his UK broadcasts in 1940 and continued to use it in the USA.

Princess Elizabeth, the future queen, also used the phrase at the end of her first public speech in 1940 at age 14, a live radio transmission to the children of the Commonwealth, particularly those who had been separated from their families. Her mother had rejected a proposal that princesses Elizabeth and Margaret should be evacuated to Canada, saying, ‘The children won’t go without me. I won’t leave the King. And the King will never leave.’8 Elizabeth asked her younger sister to join in with her saying ‘Goodnight, children’ at the end, and added, ‘Goodnight, and good luck to you all.’9

Murrow’s catchphrase became the title of George Clooney’s 2005 film which focussed on some of Murrow’s 1953 broadcasts of See It Now, challenging Senator Joseph McCarthy’s actions in his anti-communist campaign. Murrow was portrayed by David Strathairn; Clooney played Fred Friendly, president of CBS News. Clooney mortgaged his Los Angeles home to help finance the film and was paid only three dollars, to keep costs down: one dollar each for co-writing, directing and acting. It was nominated for various Academy, Golden Globe and BAFTA awards, but in the end did not win any.

In addition to his news and topical affairs plaudits, Murrow gained a few of his own movie credits. He narrated the prologue of Around the World in 80 Days (1956), featuring David Niven as Phileas Fogg. He wrote the script for and appeared in Satchmo the Great (1957), a documentary about the jazz musician Louis Armstrong. He produced Montgomery Speaks His Mind (1959), an interview with Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery (Staff) and he played himself in Sink the Bismarck! (1960), an action/drama movie about one of Germany’s most powerful ships in World War II.

Murrow had a wartime affair with Winston’s daughter-in-law Pamela Churchill, which was eventually ended by Murrow.

By 1944, Pamela Churchill (née Digby) was estranged from her husband Randolph, partly due to her earlier affair with Averell Harriman. As with Harriman, her affair with Murrow became an open secret and Winston and Clementine again turned a blind eye. In September 1944, worn down by her work and strained marriage, Janet Murrow returned to the USA for a few months while Ed remained in the UK. Ed sent her many letters and telegrams and joined her for a holiday in Florida in November but remained in close contact with Pamela.

Janet became pregnant in 1945 and the Murrows’ son Casey was born in London in November. A month later, Ed flew to New York to sign a new contract with CBS and was joined by Pamela for a few days. They discussed marriage and Ed returned to London to tell Janet that he wanted a divorce. He changed his mind, however, and sent Pamela a telegram saying, ‘Casey wins’.10

Murrow was also one of Marlene Dietrich’s many lovers, according to her daughter Maria Riva. Nevertheless, Ed and Janet remained married until Ed’s death in 1965. Janet lived for another 33 years but did not remarry. Amongst other activities, she administered donations by the Edward R. Murrow Foundation to educational, health and other organisations.

Casey became an educator after an early start in broadcasting, aged two, conducting a telephone interview with Santa Claus on one of his father’s programmes. The following year he provided an analysis of the Christmas present situation, attracting more fan mail than his father in terms of letters per programme. He was then kept out of the limelight.

Casey was the Murrows’ only child and later inherited some of his father’s possessions, notably the microphone that Murrow used for his London broadcasts. Although transmitted via CBS in the USA, the broadcasts were made from a BBC studio. The BBC gave him the microphone after the war, with Murrow saying years afterwards that it was the only trophy he had ever kept.

Murrow’s bravery had an element that was seen as being sometimes foolhardy fatalism.

Apart from reporting from rooftops and in the streets during air raids, Murrow drove an open top car, deliberately dined under skylights, and placed London’s CBS office as close as possible to the BBC, a high-profile target. The CBS offices took direct hits three times and on a fourth occasion all the windows were broken by a near miss.

He accompanied 25 Allied bombing missions despite repeated warnings from his boss Bill Paley in the USA not to do so. A colleague said, ‘A man in Ed’s position does it once to show he’s ready to do what he asks others to do. He may even make two or three flights, if there’s something extra special about them. But no more. I think Ed’s got a martyr complex.’ Paley said, ‘I used to think he was afraid he was a coward, but it’s more complicated than that.’11

Murrow’s own explanation is unclear. ‘Partly it was being a Boy Scout, I guess. Partly, I like fliers. Partly, it was a dromomania I have [an uncontrollable urge to wander about] – I even have it when I drive a car. Partly, it was vanity. Three or four times in London, when I’d be sitting in the office with some of the boys, we’d hear the B.B.C. playing back things I’d said, and nothing has ever made me feel as good as that. I can’t be logical about it.’12

He made two trips to Korea during the Korean War, again flying on bombing missions. He flew into the eye of Hurricane Edna with the Air Weather Service in 1954. He would often run himself into the ground with exhaustion, although he could retain his powers of concentration.

Churchill also placed himself in the thick of conflict. A single sword thrust or bullet could have maimed or killed him in Cuba, India, Sudan, South Africa and Belgium. He too stood on rooftops and watched bombing raids in World War II. In his case, the motivations seem to have been a mixture of excitement, glory-seeking and a sense of fulfilling destiny.

3. Biographical summary

OccupationRadio and television broadcaster
CountryUSA
CareerPresident, National Student Federation of America (1930-32). Assistant Director, Institute of International Education (1932-35). Director of Talks and Education, CBS (1935-37). Head of CBS European Bureau, based in London (1937-46). Vice-President and Director of Public Affairs, CBS (1946-47). Director, CBS Board (1947). Hear It Now radio series (1948-51). See It Now television series (1951-58). Person to Person television series (1953-59). Director of U.S. Information Agency (1961-64). Honorary KBE honour from UK (1965).
Born1908 in Polecat Creek, Guilford County, near Greensboro, North Carolina (34 years younger than Churchill)
FatherRoscoe Murrow (1878-1955), homestead farmer and engine driver
MotherEthel Lamb (1876-1961), strict Quaker; descended from Mayflower passengers
SiblingsYoungest of three surviving brothers:
1. Roscoe; died a few hours old
2. Lacey (1904-66), engineer, brigadier general in Air Force Reserve; lung cancer from smoking; suicide
3. Dewey (1906-1981), mining engineer and businessman
4. Egbert Roscoe (1908-65), later Edward in his 20s
EducationEdison High School, Washington; Washington State College (now University), majoring in Speech
SpouseJanet Brewster (1910-98), scriptwriter, broadcaster (m. 1935 until his death in 1965); daughter of a wealthy car dealer; her cousin Kingman Brewster was president of Yale University and US Ambassador to the UK in 1977-81
RelationshipsPamela Churchill (1940s), Marlene Dietrich
ChildrenCharles ‘Casey’ (1945-), born in London; teacher; married Liza Ketchum; 2 sons
Died1965 in Pawling, New York, aged 57, from lung cancer (three months after Churchill)
BuriedAshes scattered at Glen Arden Farm, Pawling, New York
Chartwell 
Other Club–
NicknameEgg (family), from birth name Egbert; subsequently Ed
Height6’1”

4. See also

Churchill and the USA

5. Further reading

Ed Murrow

  • IMDb, ‘Edward R. Murrow’, IMDb, 2020
  • Kendrick, Alexander, Prime Time: The Life of Edward R. Murrow (Little, Brown, 1969)
  • Persico, Joseph E., Edward R. Murrow: An American Original (McGraw-Hill, 1988, 1997)
  • Sperber, Ann M., Murrow, His Life and Times (Fordham University Press, 1998)
  • Wertenbaker, ‘Edward R. Murrow: The World on His Back’, The New Yorker, 1953

Murrow and Churchill

Murrow and broadcasting

  • Cloud, Stanley, and Lynn Olson, The Murrow Boys: Pioneers on the Front Lines of Broadcast Journalism (Houghton Mifflin, 1996)
  • Edwards, Bob, Edward R. Murrow and the Birth of Broadcast Journalism (Wiley, 2010)
  • Seib, Phillip, Broadcasts from the Blitz: How Edward R. Murrow Helped Lead America Into War (Potomac Books, 2006)

Miscellaneous

  • Olson, Lynne, Citizens of London: The Americans Who Stood with Britain in Its Darkest, Finest Hour (Random House, 1910)

6. References

1. Radio Television Digital Network Association, ‘Edward R. Murrow’s “Wires & Lights in a Box” Speech’, RTDNA, 1958.

2. Edward R. Murrow, In Search of Light: The Broadcasts of Edward R. Murrow, 1938-1961, ed. by Edward Jr. Bliss (Knopf, 1968), p. 1.

3. Murrow, p. 111.

4. Fred Glueckstein, ‘“This…Is London”: Ed Murrow’s Churchill Experience: An Anglo-American Friendship’, The International Churchill Society, 2009.

5. Fred W. Friendly, Due to Circumstances Beyond Our Control . . . (Random House, 2013), p. xvi.

6. Alexander Kendrick, Prime Time: The Life of Edward R. Murrow (Little, Brown, 1969), p. 231.

7. Glueckstein.

8. Royal Household, ‘Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother’, The Royal Household, 2015.

9. British Pathé, ‘Princess Elizabeth Broadcasts To The Nation on Children’s Hour’, War Archives, 1940.

10. Leonard Miall, ‘Obituary: Janet Murrow’, Independent, 1998.

11. Charles Wertenbaker, ‘Edward R. Murrow: The World on His Back’, The New Yorker, 1953.

12. Ibid.