Tony Blankley | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 21, 1948 London, England |
| Died | January 7, 2012 (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 (ca. 1985–2012; his death) |
| Children | 3 |
| Notes | |
Anthony David Blankley (January 21, 1948 – January 7, 2012) was an American political analyst who gained fame as the press secretary for Newt Gingrich, the first Republican speaker of the House in forty years, and as a regular panelist on The McLaughlin Group. He later became an executive vice president with Edelman public relations in Washington, D.C.[6] He was a visiting senior fellow in national-security communications at the Heritage Foundation,[7] a weekly contributor to the nationally syndicated public radio programme Left, Right & Center,[8] the 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] He served as the editorial page editor for The Washington Times from 2002–2009.[10]
Blankley was briefly a child actor appearing, most notably, as Rod Steiger's son in The Harder They Fall (1956).[11] The movie was, as Blankley liked to joke, both his and his co-star Humphrey Bogart's last movie.[12][13] He graduated from UCLA[14] and Loyola Law School (Los Angeles), earning a J.D.[15] He was admitted to the State Bar of California in 1972.[16]
Prior to his career on Capitol Hill, Blankley served President Ronald Reagan as a policy analyst and speechwriter,[15] and was a staff writer for Congresswoman Bobbi Fiedler.[17]
Before coming to Washington, D.C., he spent 10 years as a deputy attorney general with the California attorney general's office.[14]
His political opinions were generally 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 Reagan.[18] His political career spanned several decades, and his most prominent position was a seven-year stint as House Speaker Newt Gingrich's press secretary.[19]
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]
His 2006 book The West's Last Chance described how "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]
Earlier in his career, Blankley was an editorial page editor for The Washington Times,[24] a contributing editor and monthly columnist for George Magazine,[25] and a regular panelist on The McLaughlin Group. He continued to write for The Washington Times. He lectured at many 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 of Saint Anselm College.[26]
Blankley died in Washington, D.C., of stomach cancer on January 7, 2012, at Sibley Memorial Hospital, two weeks before his 64th birthday.[2][12][27]
