Royal Blakeman, former NATAS president, dies at age 99
Royal Blakeman, president of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in the 1960s, died Sunday in Delray Beach, Florida. He turned 99.
Blakeman was president of the New York chapter of NATAS from 1963-65 and then the organization’s seventh national president from 1966-68.
For a quarter of a century he was a general advisor to the Recording Academy, which presented him with the Trustees Award in 2003.
Born in New York, Blakeman graduated from Hofstra University in 1942 and New York University in 1947 before beginning his career.
He was an entertainment attorney with an early focus on theatrical law and also served as an officer and director at Mark Goodson Productions.
“Our Academy has lost a member of the founding generation,” NATAS President Terry O’Reilly said in a statement. “Royal Blakeman was part of the fabric of the broadcasting industry at its most nascent. He helped shape the way various academies today and future generations celebrate excellence in media.”
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