Brightman, Samuel C. (Samuel Charles), 1911-

Samuel C. Brightman was born on June 22, 1911, in Lancaster, Missouri. He was Assistant Director of Publicity for the Democratic National Committee, 1947 to 1952, and Director of Publicity for the Democratic National Committee, 1952 to 1957. He died on January 29, 1992.

From the description of Brightman, Samuel C. (Samuel Charles), 1911-1992 (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration). naId: 10571636

Samuel C. Brightman was born in Lancaster, Missouri on June 22, 1911. He graduated from Washington University with a liberal arts degree and earned a degree in journalism from the University of Missouri. He worked for the St. Louis Star-Times (1933-1935), the Cincinnati Post (1935-1940), radio station KSD in St. Louis (1937), and the Louisville Courier-Journal (1940-1942) covering education and politics. In 1941 he became the Washington correspondent for the Courier-Journal and in 1942 he enlisted in the army where he served as a Public Relations Officer. He accompanied U.S. forces during the D-Day landing on Omaha Beach (his dispatches were the first ones received from the front, for which efforts he was awarded a Bronze Star) and led the press convoy into Berlin the day it fell.

After returning from Europe he worked as Special Assistant to the Housing Expediter (a federal agency established in 1946 to deal with veterans' housing and rent control), writing a number of speeches for the director. In 1947 he married Lucy Cleaver, with whom he had four children. That same year, he began a nearly twenty-year career with the Democratic National Committee, serving as associate director of publicity (1947-1952), director of publicity (1952-1957), and deputy chairman for public affairs (1957-1965). He was also managing editor and later editor of the party organ, The Democratic Digest .

In 1965 he returned to freelance PR and journalism work, covering elections and national party conventions for the three major television networks and writing for a number of publications including TV Guide, Monocle, and the New York Times .

After his retirement, Brightman became interested in adult education, particularly as it related to the political process and civic literacy. He edited a Washington, DC-based newsletter covering adult education entitled Adult and Continuing Education Today (ACET), acted as consultant to the National Council of Senior Citizens (NCSC), served on the Board of Directors of the Coalition of Adult Education Organizations (CAEO), and was an active member of the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE).

Brightman's energy, curiosity, intelligence, and sense of humor infused both his personal and his professional life throughout his long career. He died in 1992, and was buried with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery.

From the guide to the Samuel C. Brightman Papers, 1932-1992, (Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries)