Today’s Washington Times reports that Tony Blankley, former editorial page editor of The Washington Times, died Saturday. Mr. Blankley was 63 and had been battling stomach cancer.

The article reports:

Mr. Blankley was editorial page editor of The Times from 2002 to 2007, and from 1990 to 1997 he served as press secretary and general adviser to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

I first became aware of Mr. Blankley when I started watching the McLaughlin Group. He was a regular on the program for a number of years and could be depended upon as a voice of sanity in a group where sanity was not always the rule of the day.

I was not aware that he had been a child actor. The article in the Washington Times reports:

Born in London, he became a naturalized American citizen after his parents moved to California after World War II. As a child, he acted in such television shows as “Lassie,” “Highway Patrol” and “Make Room for Daddy,” and he also appeared in movies with such stars as Humphrey Bogart and Rod Steiger.

Mr. Blankley was a gentleman with tremendous insight into the the American political scene. He will be missed.