Jerry Blunt; Teacher, Writer Helped Found City College Drama Program

Jerry Blunt, who helped create the drama department at Los Angeles City College, has died. He was 85.

Blunt died Friday night at his home in Los Angeles of complications after open-heart surgery, said his wife, writer Betty (Andy) Andrews Blunt.

A former chairman of the LACC drama department, Blunt was a popular teacher for 42 years. His prize students included such entertainers as Donna Reed, Alexis Smith, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Charles Gordone, and Emmy-winning actress Carolee Campbell. He met his wife of 53 years when she enrolled in his class.

Blunt wrote six books, which aided students and professionals alike, and was working on a seventh at the time of his death. His most recent book, published last year, was “An Audition Handbook of Great Speeches.”

Robert R. Kirsch, former Times book editor, noted in a 1966 article that Blunt’s work on “The Composite Art of Acting” was “effectively organized and lucidly written, covering the dramatic experience, pantomime, voice and the acting complex.”

Blunt was an original member of the board of Los Angeles Theatre Center, which organized productions at the Los Angeles County Music Center.

Last April, he was initiated into the College of Fellows of the American Theater in ceremonies at the Kennedy Center in Washington.

Memorial contributions in Blunt’s name may be made to the scholarship fund at LACC. Memorial services at the college are being planned.