Ed Blank, former Tribune-Review critic and reporter, dies at age 81

Ed Blank, former critic and reporter for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, passed away Wednesday at 81.

No immediate cause of death is known, though he had been in ill health for some time, his family said.

Edward L. Blank was the youngest of five children and moved from Shadyside to Mt. Lebanon with his family when he was a child. He was an Army Signal Corps veteran and graduate of Duquesne University, where he was a member of the ROTC before going into the military.

He knew at a very young age what he wanted to do as a career. Seven years ago, Blank told the Veterans Breakfast Club about a moment from first grade at Sacred Heart Elementary in 1949 or 1950. His homeroom teacher, Sister Mary Antonine, asked each student to share their career aspirations.

Sitting in the last row, he heard many typical, gender-specific answers before it was his turn.

Confident in his dream, he stood up and said he wanted to be the next drama editor at The Pittsburgh Press, earning the first smile from Sister Mary Antonine all year. He wanted to be the person who had an opinion of record on film and theater.

But first, Blank worked in a pole line company in Vietnam, setting up communications for forthcoming units, erecting telephone poles and stringing cable, digging ditches and burying cable. He commanded a platoon of 60 men.

Upon returning home, uncertain of when he would see his next vacation, he went to New York City to see Broadway shows and movies, he told the Veterans Breakfast Club.

“I spent nine solid days seeing Broadway shows and every movie I could cram in from 8:30 a.m. until past midnight. … I had a year’s worth of catching up to do.”

After returning from Vietnam, he worked for 25 years at The Pittsburgh Press in positions ranging from city desk reporter to radio and TV editor to copy editor to, eventually, drama editor.

As TV and radio editor, he reviewed some of the biggest classic television shows of all time, including “All in the Family.” He also wrote a series of articles profiling local radio broadcasters.

Lifelong friend and Pittsburgh Press co-worker Helen Kaiser Dubina recalled his passion for film.

“He had almost an encyclopedic memory for all the movies, I mean, from the ’40s on — the golden age of film. And he could remember what won the Academy Award and what was the runner-up in a certain year. Totally amazing.

“Never want to play trivia against him,” she said. “He was passionate about what he did. … 7 a.m., he was in there, and then he was out in the evenings reviewing plays and seeing screenings. He was tireless and he was well-respected in the newsroom.”

Not only was he an impressive co- worker, he was also very involved with the community of The Pittsburgh Press, including its annual picnics.

“Of course, they probably wouldn’t have happened without him, because he organized them all,” Kaiser Dubina said.

During his time at the paper, he also organized regular guided trips to New York City to see Broadway shows. For a time, he also rented out a theater around the time of the Academy Awards and invitees would fill out what they guessed his picks for the Oscars would be. The closest guesser would receive a statuette called an “Edwin.”

To his family, he was a large presence, said his nephew, Dan O’Connor.

“He was the baby of his family, so for all of us who were nieces and nephews, he was the young, fun uncle,” he said. “When you went to gatherings, you hoped he’d be there because rather than just have to sit around while the adults were talking, he would take you to the park or to the movies or to the pool or whatever because that’s what he did.”

Blank was also a huge lover of Kennywood. As a features reporter, he would write an annual story about its season opening, O’Connor said. “When he used to take us to the park and we’d get on the rides, the people who ran the rides would say, ‘Hey, Ed, welcome back,’ because he would go maybe a dozen times or more a summer.”

He joined the Tribune-Review in January 1993, working as a critic and reporter in drama, film and home video. Blank’s scope included both Broadway and local theater. He left the paper in 2007.

Bob Karlovits was a colleague of Blank’s at The Pittsburgh Press and Tribune-Review.

“Ed was really known as a film writer. There are lots of people I’ve run into at other papers who want to be film writers because they like movies,” he said. “Well, there’s more than that — Ed studied movies. He studied the history, he studied directorial theory, things of that sort. So, he knew what was going on.”

Karlovits also praised Blank’s honesty and friendliness.

“A really outgoing guy. There was a certain look in his eyes when you would say something that interested him. You could see the reaction in his eyes.”

“Ed’s love for theater and movies went beyond his work — it was his passion,” said Luis Fabregas, TribLive executive editor. “His reviews were more than critiques; they provided thoughtful insights that resonated long after the page was turned. Ed’s deep connection to theater and film left an unforgettable mark on both our paper and the community.”

Many of Blank’s film ratings can still be found on RottenTomatoes.com. In 2007, he spoke to Pittsburgh Radio and Television Online about some of his favorite recent films, including “Brokeback Mountain,” “Million Dollar Baby” and the little-­known 2002 film “The Guys.”

As his career was winding down, he lamented the “multiplex era” of film and felt that too many new movies were generic and uninteresting in comparison to the classics. Kaiser Dubina said he was sad about the “demise of movies for adults.”

Still, O’Connor said, Blank remained devoted to films, theater and music from back in the day.

“He certainly didn’t need to go anywhere because his house in the South Hills has a library of thousands and thousands of movies.”

He also did community events and talks, including one with the Jefferson College Historical Society just last year. Bob SeCaur, president of the historical society, organized an event with Blank to talk about historical theaters in the region.

“That was because we were meeting in the senior center in Canonsburg, which used to be a theater, so it sort of fit nicely into the venue,” SeCaur said.

Unfortunately, on the day of the event, Blank got a bit lost — and being old-fashioned as he was, he didn’t have a cellphone. A very apologetic Blank was happy to reschedule for another day, and the talk went off without a hitch at its new time.

“He offered to come and speak, share his knowledge and his experiences, without requiring any compensation. He just wanted to tell his tales and share it with those who were interested,” SeCaur said.

In addition to being a member of Resurrection Parish, Blank was part of many veterans’ groups and other organizations, and he always had some commitment or event going on.

“He was on the go,” Kaiser Dubina said. “It was like, it wasn’t a successful day unless he had three outings scheduled: breakfast, lunch and dinner.”

Up until the last year or two, O’Connor said his uncle would throw oldies music parties.

“I moved back (to Pittsburgh) a year and a half or so ago, and we went to his party. It was in the fall of 2023 and everybody joked because he said, ‘This is really the last one,’ and he’d been saying that for about 10 years. Unfortunately, it was the last one.”

Kaiser Dubina remembers Blank as a passionate and giving friend.

“I think all of the kindnesses and generosity that he gave to others, I think it’s gonna come back to him now in another world,” she said.

Friends will be received from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025, at William Slater II Funeral Service, 1650 Greentree Road, Scott Township, 412-563-2800. Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10 a.m. Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, at St. Thomas More Church, Resurrection Parish, 126 Fort Couch Road, corner of Oxford Drive in Bethel Park. Entombment will be at Queen of Heaven Cemetery Mausoleum, Peters Township.