Birmingham News (AL)
June 24, 1999
Section: OBITS
Page: 01-B
VETERAN REPORTER TED BRYANT DIES FOLLOWING STROKE
Author: TOM GORDON News staff writer
Article Text:
Ted Bryant, whose knowledge of Alabama history, government and politics provided decades of insights to readers of the Birmingham PostHerald, died Wednesday.
Mr. Bryant, who would have been 60 on July 17, had been hospitalized since suffering a stroke on Monday. The news of his death prompted calls of condolences from politicians, lobbyists, power brokers and others about whom Mr. Bryant had written during a journalistic career that spanned more than 40 years.
In the somber Post-Herald newsroom, longtime friend Karl Seitz called Mr. Bryant the most knowledgeable person he knew when it came to Alabama politics and Alabama people.
''You could ask him about some person you had never heard of before but had been around politics,'' said Seitz, the Post-Herald's editorial page editor and a colleague of Mr. Bryant's for more than 20 years. ''He probably knew him and might even have a funny story about him.'' Bryant,
Page 5B Page 1B
Mr. Bryant had an easygoing manner, characterized by his strolling style of walking and a trademark cigarette in his right hand. But his manner belied a quick mind that could grasp and make understandable the complex and contradictory bits of information that constantly came from Montgomery, particularly during legislative sessions and political campaigns.
He also chronicled the long career of Alabama's only four-term governor, the late George Wallace. He covered Wallace's first gubernatorial bid in 1958 and his announced retirement from politics in 1986, and wrote a six-part series on Wallace after the former governor died in 1998.
Charles Ted Bryant's early years were a lot like those of many of his fellow Alabamians: He spent them on tenant farms. One of his family's residences was in the small Houston County community of Webb. Mr. Bryant graduated from Houston County High School and attend the University of Alabama and Samford University.
His reporting career began with the Dothan Eagle in 1958. He moved a year later to the Post-Herald and then, after less than a year, to The Mississippi Farmer. On July 4, 1960, he rejoined the Post-Herald and had stints as a City Hall reporter and city editor before becoming the paper's chief political reporter and columnist in 1973.
His twice-weekly column, titled Alabama Politics, was named Best Original Column by the Alabama Press Association three times. It was known for its witty, hard-hitting appraisals of politicians and their unwillingness to act on pressing state problems. An oft-quoted sage in the column was a fictional rube named Redd Kneck.
The column was bipartisan in its targets. Earlier this year, as Republican Gov. Fob James was ending his sometimes tumultuous four-year term, Bryant assessed the James years and said, ''Goodbye, Fob. We'll miss you. Of course, we also miss a case of the flu when it goes away, but we're glad it's gone.''
In May, he focused on James' successor, Democrat Don Siegelman, and Siegelman's proposed education lottery, saying, ''Siegelman is in effect telling Alabamians there is a simple solution to our problems, that we do not have to deal with the harsh realities of life.''
Mr. Bryant lived in Springville, where his wife, Fran, boards and grooms dogs, and their name for their house is ''Dog Patch.'' In keeping with his kinship with country ways, he drove a pickup.
Besides his wife, Mr. Bryant is survived by a son, Greg, and a stepson, James Dailey, both of Birmingham; two brothers, Don Bryant of Dothan and Jim Bryant of Deatsville; and four grandchildren.
The family will receive visitors from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Friday at Roebuck East Chapel. The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Roebuck East with burial in Elmwood Cemetery.
June 24, 1999
Section: OBITS
Page: 01-B
VETERAN REPORTER TED BRYANT DIES FOLLOWING STROKE
Author: TOM GORDON News staff writer
Article Text:
Ted Bryant, whose knowledge of Alabama history, government and politics provided decades of insights to readers of the Birmingham PostHerald, died Wednesday.
Mr. Bryant, who would have been 60 on July 17, had been hospitalized since suffering a stroke on Monday. The news of his death prompted calls of condolences from politicians, lobbyists, power brokers and others about whom Mr. Bryant had written during a journalistic career that spanned more than 40 years.
In the somber Post-Herald newsroom, longtime friend Karl Seitz called Mr. Bryant the most knowledgeable person he knew when it came to Alabama politics and Alabama people.
''You could ask him about some person you had never heard of before but had been around politics,'' said Seitz, the Post-Herald's editorial page editor and a colleague of Mr. Bryant's for more than 20 years. ''He probably knew him and might even have a funny story about him.'' Bryant,
Page 5B Page 1B
Mr. Bryant had an easygoing manner, characterized by his strolling style of walking and a trademark cigarette in his right hand. But his manner belied a quick mind that could grasp and make understandable the complex and contradictory bits of information that constantly came from Montgomery, particularly during legislative sessions and political campaigns.
He also chronicled the long career of Alabama's only four-term governor, the late George Wallace. He covered Wallace's first gubernatorial bid in 1958 and his announced retirement from politics in 1986, and wrote a six-part series on Wallace after the former governor died in 1998.
Charles Ted Bryant's early years were a lot like those of many of his fellow Alabamians: He spent them on tenant farms. One of his family's residences was in the small Houston County community of Webb. Mr. Bryant graduated from Houston County High School and attend the University of Alabama and Samford University.
His reporting career began with the Dothan Eagle in 1958. He moved a year later to the Post-Herald and then, after less than a year, to The Mississippi Farmer. On July 4, 1960, he rejoined the Post-Herald and had stints as a City Hall reporter and city editor before becoming the paper's chief political reporter and columnist in 1973.
His twice-weekly column, titled Alabama Politics, was named Best Original Column by the Alabama Press Association three times. It was known for its witty, hard-hitting appraisals of politicians and their unwillingness to act on pressing state problems. An oft-quoted sage in the column was a fictional rube named Redd Kneck.
The column was bipartisan in its targets. Earlier this year, as Republican Gov. Fob James was ending his sometimes tumultuous four-year term, Bryant assessed the James years and said, ''Goodbye, Fob. We'll miss you. Of course, we also miss a case of the flu when it goes away, but we're glad it's gone.''
In May, he focused on James' successor, Democrat Don Siegelman, and Siegelman's proposed education lottery, saying, ''Siegelman is in effect telling Alabamians there is a simple solution to our problems, that we do not have to deal with the harsh realities of life.''
Mr. Bryant lived in Springville, where his wife, Fran, boards and grooms dogs, and their name for their house is ''Dog Patch.'' In keeping with his kinship with country ways, he drove a pickup.
Besides his wife, Mr. Bryant is survived by a son, Greg, and a stepson, James Dailey, both of Birmingham; two brothers, Don Bryant of Dothan and Jim Bryant of Deatsville; and four grandchildren.
The family will receive visitors from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Friday at Roebuck East Chapel. The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Roebuck East with burial in Elmwood Cemetery.
Birmingham News (AL)
June 24, 1999
Section: OBITS
Page: 01-B
VETERAN REPORTER TED BRYANT DIES FOLLOWING STROKE
Author: TOM GORDON News staff writer
Article Text:
Ted Bryant, whose knowledge of Alabama history, government and politics provided decades of insights to readers of the Birmingham PostHerald, died Wednesday.
Mr. Bryant, who would have been 60 on July 17, had been hospitalized since suffering a stroke on Monday. The news of his death prompted calls of condolences from politicians, lobbyists, power brokers and others about whom Mr. Bryant had written during a journalistic career that spanned more than 40 years.
In the somber Post-Herald newsroom, longtime friend Karl Seitz called Mr. Bryant the most knowledgeable person he knew when it came to Alabama politics and Alabama people.
''You could ask him about some person you had never heard of before but had been around politics,'' said Seitz, the Post-Herald's editorial page editor and a colleague of Mr. Bryant's for more than 20 years. ''He probably knew him and might even have a funny story about him.'' Bryant,
Page 5B Page 1B
Mr. Bryant had an easygoing manner, characterized by his strolling style of walking and a trademark cigarette in his right hand. But his manner belied a quick mind that could grasp and make understandable the complex and contradictory bits of information that constantly came from Montgomery, particularly during legislative sessions and political campaigns.
He also chronicled the long career of Alabama's only four-term governor, the late George Wallace. He covered Wallace's first gubernatorial bid in 1958 and his announced retirement from politics in 1986, and wrote a six-part series on Wallace after the former governor died in 1998.
Charles Ted Bryant's early years were a lot like those of many of his fellow Alabamians: He spent them on tenant farms. One of his family's residences was in the small Houston County community of Webb. Mr. Bryant graduated from Houston County High School and attend the University of Alabama and Samford University.
His reporting career began with the Dothan Eagle in 1958. He moved a year later to the Post-Herald and then, after less than a year, to The Mississippi Farmer. On July 4, 1960, he rejoined the Post-Herald and had stints as a City Hall reporter and city editor before becoming the paper's chief political reporter and columnist in 1973.
His twice-weekly column, titled Alabama Politics, was named Best Original Column by the Alabama Press Association three times. It was known for its witty, hard-hitting appraisals of politicians and their unwillingness to act on pressing state problems. An oft-quoted sage in the column was a fictional rube named Redd Kneck.
The column was bipartisan in its targets. Earlier this year, as Republican Gov. Fob James was ending his sometimes tumultuous four-year term, Bryant assessed the James years and said, ''Goodbye, Fob. We'll miss you. Of course, we also miss a case of the flu when it goes away, but we're glad it's gone.''
In May, he focused on James' successor, Democrat Don Siegelman, and Siegelman's proposed education lottery, saying, ''Siegelman is in effect telling Alabamians there is a simple solution to our problems, that we do not have to deal with the harsh realities of life.''
Mr. Bryant lived in Springville, where his wife, Fran, boards and grooms dogs, and their name for their house is ''Dog Patch.'' In keeping with his kinship with country ways, he drove a pickup.
Besides his wife, Mr. Bryant is survived by a son, Greg, and a stepson, James Dailey, both of Birmingham; two brothers, Don Bryant of Dothan and Jim Bryant of Deatsville; and four grandchildren.
The family will receive visitors from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Friday at Roebuck East Chapel. The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Roebuck East with burial in Elmwood Cemetery.
June 24, 1999
Section: OBITS
Page: 01-B
VETERAN REPORTER TED BRYANT DIES FOLLOWING STROKE
Author: TOM GORDON News staff writer
Article Text:
Ted Bryant, whose knowledge of Alabama history, government and politics provided decades of insights to readers of the Birmingham PostHerald, died Wednesday.
Mr. Bryant, who would have been 60 on July 17, had been hospitalized since suffering a stroke on Monday. The news of his death prompted calls of condolences from politicians, lobbyists, power brokers and others about whom Mr. Bryant had written during a journalistic career that spanned more than 40 years.
In the somber Post-Herald newsroom, longtime friend Karl Seitz called Mr. Bryant the most knowledgeable person he knew when it came to Alabama politics and Alabama people.
''You could ask him about some person you had never heard of before but had been around politics,'' said Seitz, the Post-Herald's editorial page editor and a colleague of Mr. Bryant's for more than 20 years. ''He probably knew him and might even have a funny story about him.'' Bryant,
Page 5B Page 1B
Mr. Bryant had an easygoing manner, characterized by his strolling style of walking and a trademark cigarette in his right hand. But his manner belied a quick mind that could grasp and make understandable the complex and contradictory bits of information that constantly came from Montgomery, particularly during legislative sessions and political campaigns.
He also chronicled the long career of Alabama's only four-term governor, the late George Wallace. He covered Wallace's first gubernatorial bid in 1958 and his announced retirement from politics in 1986, and wrote a six-part series on Wallace after the former governor died in 1998.
Charles Ted Bryant's early years were a lot like those of many of his fellow Alabamians: He spent them on tenant farms. One of his family's residences was in the small Houston County community of Webb. Mr. Bryant graduated from Houston County High School and attend the University of Alabama and Samford University.
His reporting career began with the Dothan Eagle in 1958. He moved a year later to the Post-Herald and then, after less than a year, to The Mississippi Farmer. On July 4, 1960, he rejoined the Post-Herald and had stints as a City Hall reporter and city editor before becoming the paper's chief political reporter and columnist in 1973.
His twice-weekly column, titled Alabama Politics, was named Best Original Column by the Alabama Press Association three times. It was known for its witty, hard-hitting appraisals of politicians and their unwillingness to act on pressing state problems. An oft-quoted sage in the column was a fictional rube named Redd Kneck.
The column was bipartisan in its targets. Earlier this year, as Republican Gov. Fob James was ending his sometimes tumultuous four-year term, Bryant assessed the James years and said, ''Goodbye, Fob. We'll miss you. Of course, we also miss a case of the flu when it goes away, but we're glad it's gone.''
In May, he focused on James' successor, Democrat Don Siegelman, and Siegelman's proposed education lottery, saying, ''Siegelman is in effect telling Alabamians there is a simple solution to our problems, that we do not have to deal with the harsh realities of life.''
Mr. Bryant lived in Springville, where his wife, Fran, boards and grooms dogs, and their name for their house is ''Dog Patch.'' In keeping with his kinship with country ways, he drove a pickup.
Besides his wife, Mr. Bryant is survived by a son, Greg, and a stepson, James Dailey, both of Birmingham; two brothers, Don Bryant of Dothan and Jim Bryant of Deatsville; and four grandchildren.
The family will receive visitors from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Friday at Roebuck East Chapel. The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Roebuck East with burial in Elmwood Cemetery.
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