University of Iowa to honor ex-football player Harold Bradley Jr., a giant of creativity

Harold Bradley Jr. led a renaissance life: 1950 University of Iowa football MVP, two-time NFL champion with the Cleveland Browns, a promising painter who began winning art prizes in grade school, an actor who appeared in two dozen movies, numerous television shows and plays.

He spent time as a soldier, social activist, art historian, music promoter, television host and educator. He “influenced the fabric of Italian music,” as one friend put it.

And if all that wasn’t enough, at age 60, Bradley embarked on a new career, becoming a popular singer in Italy performing before countless audiences, including the Pope and Nelson Mandela.