Tony Blankley, British-born American commentator, newspaper editor and child actor, died from stomach cancer he was 63.

Anthony David "Tony" Blankley  was an English-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 died from stomach cancer he was 63.. 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 program 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]

^{(January 21, 1948 – January 7, 2012)}

He was a regular commentator for radio shows including The Diane Rehm Show,^[10] Left, Right & Center^[11] and The Steve Gill Show with a segment titled Fill In the Blanks.^[12] Earlier in his career, he was an editorial page editor for The Washington Times,^[13] a contributing editor and monthly columnist for George Magazine,^[14] and a regular panelist on The McLaughlin Group.
Blankley's political opinions were generally considered to fall within traditional conservatism, although he was labeled as a neo-conservative by some critics. He denied this label, claiming that his views are more comparable to a classic conservative, such as former U.S. President Ronald Reagan.^[15] His political career spanned several decades, and his most prominent position was a seven-year stint as House Speaker Newt Gingrich's press secretary.^[16]
Prior to his career on Capitol Hill, Blankley served President Reagan as a policy analyst and speechwriter,^[17] and was a staff writer for Congresswoman Bobbi Fiedler.^[18] Before coming to Washington, D.C., he spent 10 years as a prosecutor with the California Attorney General's office.^[19]
He was briefly a child actor, appearing, most notably, as Rod Steiger's son in The Harder They Fall (1955).^[20] The movie was, as Blankley liked to joke, both his and his co-star Humphrey Bogart's last movie.^[21][22] He graduated from UCLA^[19] and Loyola Law School (Los Angeles), earning a J.D.^[17] He was admitted to the State Bar of California in 1972.^[23]
Blankley 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.^[24]

Death

Blankley died in Washington, D.C. of stomach cancer on January 7, 2012 at Sibley Memorial Hospital, aged 63.^[2][21][25]


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