Edelman was born to a Jewish family in
Manhattan. He attended
DeWitt Clinton High School in the
Bronx. He then attended
Columbia University, graduating from
Columbia College in 1940, then earning a master's degree in journalism in 1941 from
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. His first job was working as a
sports reporter in
Poughkeepsie, New York. After serving in a
United States Army psychological warfare unit during World War II, he was a night news reporter at
CBS before taking work promoting jazz artists. In 1947 Edelman moved to Chicago as public relations director for hair care product line Toni Home Permanent Co. (now a division of
Gillette). In 1952 he founded Edelman there. His son
Richard Edelman became President & chief executive officer in 1985. Edelman died of
congestive heart failure in Chicago. ==References==