Tony Blankley

Anthony David Blankley (January 21, 1948 – January 7, 2012) was an American political analyst who served as press secretary for Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and as a regular panelist on The McLaughlin Group. He later became an executive vice president at Edelman, a Washington, D.C.–based public relations firm.^[6]

Tony Blankley
Born	(1948-01-21)January 21, 1948 London, England
Died	January 7, 2012(2012-01-07) (aged 63) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Nationality	American
Education	UCLA, B.S. (political science) Loyola Marymount University, J.D. University of London, international law certificate
Alma mater	Fairfax High School (Los Angeles)[1]
Occupation(s)	Public relations executive, newspaper editor, television commentator, radio commentator, prosecutor, child actor
Notable work	The West's Last Chance: Will We Win the Clash of Civilizations? (2005) American Grit: What It Will Take to Survive and Win in the 21st Century (2009)
Spouse	Lynda Davis c. 1985–2012 (his death)
Children	3
Notes
[2][3][4][5]

He was a visiting senior fellow in national security communications at The Heritage Foundation and^[7] a weekly contributor to the nationally syndicated public radio programme Left, Right & Center,^[8] author of The West's Last Chance: Will We Win the Clash of Civilizations? and American Grit: What It Will Take to Survive and Win in the 21st Century.^[9] From 2002 to 2009, he served as editorial page editor at The Washington Times.^[10]

Early life and education

Blankley was born in London, England, on January 21, 1948. He was a child actor briefly, appearing as Rod Steiger's son in The Harder They Fall, starring Humphrey Bogart and released in 1956.^[11] The movie was, as Blankley liked to joke, both his and his co-star Bogart's last movie.^[12][13]

He graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles,^[14] and then Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, where he earned a J.D.^[15] He was admitted to the State Bar of California in 1972.^[16]

Career

Blankley spent ten years as a deputy attorney general with the California attorney general's office.^[14]

He then served in the Reagan administration as a policy analyst and speechwriter,^[15] and was a staff writer for Congresswoman Bobbi Fiedler.^[17] He then served for seven years as press secretary to House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

From 2002 to 2009, Blankley was an editorial page editor for The Washington Times,^[18] a contributing editor and monthly columnist for George magazine,^[19] and a regular panelist on The McLaughlin Group. He was a regular commentator for radio shows, including The Diane Rehm Show,^[20] Left, Right & Center,^[21] and The Steve Gill Show with a segment titled Fill In the Blanks.^[22]

In 2006, he authored a book, The West's Last Chance, in which he argued that, "Within our lifetimes, Europe could become Eurabia, a continent overwhelmed by militant Islam, which poses a greater threat to the United States than Nazi Germany did."^[23]

He lectured at universities and institutes. On November 19, 2009, he presented his lecture, A Year out from the 2010 Congressional Elections – National Politics, Policy and their Communication, at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College.^[24]

Political views

His political opinions were considered to fall within traditional conservatism, although he was labeled as a neoconservative by some critics. He denied that label, claiming that his views are more comparable to a classic conservative such as Ronald Reagan.^[25][26]

Death

Blankley died of stomach cancer at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C., on January 7, 2012, at age 63.^[2][12][27]

Selected filmography

• Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955) (Season 1 Episode 12: "Santa Claus and the Tenth Avenue Kid") as boy
• The Harder They Fall (1956) as Nick's son