James Brady

Brady began his career in public service as a staff member in the office of Republican Illinois senator Everett Dirksen. In 1964, he was the campaign manager for congressional candidate Wayne Jones in the race for Illinois's 23rd district. In 1970, Brady directed a campaign in the same district for Phyllis Schlafly.[3]

Brady served in various positions in both the private sector and government, including service as special assistant to 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 staff member 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, Brady became the 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]

On March 30, 1981, 69 days into his presidency, Ronald Reagan and his cabinet members and staff, 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., who thought that killing the President would impress actress Jodie Foster, with whom Hinckley had an unhealthy obsession.

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

During the confusion that ensued from the shooting, all major media outlets reported that Brady had died. At the time, he was 40 years old.[4] When ABC News anchorman Frank Reynolds, a personal 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 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 having deficits in memory and thinking, such as failing to recognize people.[10]

Brady was unable to work as 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.

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]

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).

Brady received an 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 1994, James and Sarah received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.[12] In 1996, Brady received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Bill Clinton, the highest civilian award in the United States.

Brady married Sue Beh in 1960. The marriage ended in divorce in 1967. In 1972, Brady married Sarah Jane Kemp and they joined an Episcopal Church.[13]

In 2000, the White House press briefing room was renamed the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room in his honor.[14]

Brady died on August 4, 2014, in Alexandria, Virginia, 25 days short of his 74th birthday.[15] 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.[16] In addition, since Brady's death occurred more than 33 years after the shooting, prosecution of Hinckley was barred under the year and a day law in effect in the District of Columbia at the time of the shooting.[17]

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.[18] Brady was also portrayed by John Connolly[19] in the 2001 Showtime film The Day Reagan Was Shot.[20] Michael H. Cole portrayed him in the 2016 television film Killing Reagan.[21]

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

Wikimedia Commons has media related to James Brady.

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