Tony Blankley, a conservative commentator, author and former press secretary to Newt Gingrich died January 7, 2012, in Washington, D.C. He was 63.

According to news reports, the cause was stomach cancer.

In addition to his work as an author and journalist, Blankley was a frequent commentator for CNN, NBC, Fox News and NPR. He was also a regular panelist on The McLaughlin Group.

Born in London on January 21, 1948, Blankley was three years old when his father, who for a time had been Winston Churchill’s accountant, moved the family to California to work in the film industry.

As a child, Blankley began working as an actor and appeared in such television series as Lassie, Highway Patrol and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. He also had a role Rod Steiger’s son in the 1956 feature film The Harder They Fall, which starred Humphrey Bogart.

He went on to earn a law degree at Loyola University and worked as a prosecutor in California from 1972 to 1982. He then relocated to Washington, D.C., to work as a speechwriter for Ronald Reagan. He also served in other capacities in the Reagan administration.

In 1989 he went to work for the California congresswoman Bobbi Fiedler, and joined the staff of then-Congressman Newt Gingrich. He was a spokesman for, and advisor to, Gingrich from 1990-97. During this the period, Gingrich rose to Speaker of the House of Representatives.

From 2002-07, Blankley served as editorial page editor of the Washington Times. More recently, he worked as executive vice president for global affairs for the public relations firm Edelman International, wrote a syndicated newspaper column and served as a political commentator on television and radio.

He is survived by his wife, two sons, a daughter, his mother and a sister.