William Blackton, radio writer and editor, Fairfax, Va., on November 13, 2000. The son of Jay Blackton, an Oscar-winning musical conductor, Bill Blackton grew up in Florida and New York. He attended Riverdale Country School in the Bronx, where he graduated as valedictorian. In 1964, he matriculated at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, but had to leave after just a month because of illness. He was diagnosed with the kidney disease Alport's Syndrome, a hereditary illness, and was not expected to survive. The invention of hemodialysis in the early 1960s, however, gave him a new lease on life, even though dialysis, which he initially had to undergo three times a week, could take as long as 20 hours at a stretch. Obliged to stay in New York, where he could get treatment, Blackton entered Columbia College, making him the first person to enter college while undergoing regular dialysis treatments. (While at the College, he had to make his way twice each week to Kings County Hospital for dialysis.) He graduated with a degree in psychology. Blackton began his radio career at KPFK in Los Angeles, then spent several years free-lancing, including a stint writing documentaries for National Public Radio. A longtime resident of Herndon and then Fairfax, Va., he joined the Voice of America in Washington, D.C. in 1984. Blackton prospered at VOA, eventually becoming senior editor/writer, a position created especially for him. Blackton, who had received an unsuccessful kidney transplant in 1970, also became an advocate for those suffering from kidney disease and undergoing dialysis. He founded the American Association of Kidney Patients, a national association of dialysis and transplant patients, and edited the AAKP's newsletter. He was a forceful proponent of Medicare funding of dialysis, which was enacted by Congress in 1972. According to his sister, Jennie Blackton, at the time of his death Blackton was one of the longest living dialysis patients in the world. In his memory, Blackton's family has established a summer internship at the Voice of America for students who are on dialysis or otherwise disabled. Donations should be sent to the William Blackton Memorial Fund for Journalists, c/o Bernstein Investment Research and Management, 800 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20006.
Roberta R. Welte
William Blackton, radio writer and editor, Fairfax, Va., on November 13, 2000. The son of Jay Blackton, an Oscar-winning musical conductor, Bill Blackton grew up in Florida and New York. He attended Riverdale Country School in the Bronx, where he graduated as valedictorian. In 1964, he matriculated at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, but had to leave after just a month because of illness. He was diagnosed with the kidney disease Alport's Syndrome, a hereditary illness, and was not expected to survive. The invention of hemodialysis in the early 1960s, however, gave him a new lease on life, even though dialysis, which he initially had to undergo three times a week, could take as long as 20 hours at a stretch. Obliged to stay in New York, where he could get treatment, Blackton entered Columbia College, making him the first person to enter college while undergoing regular dialysis treatments. (While at the College, he had to make his way twice each week to Kings County Hospital for dialysis.) He graduated with a degree in psychology. Blackton began his radio career at KPFK in Los Angeles, then spent several years free-lancing, including a stint writing documentaries for National Public Radio. A longtime resident of Herndon and then Fairfax, Va., he joined the Voice of America in Washington, D.C. in 1984. Blackton prospered at VOA, eventually becoming senior editor/writer, a position created especially for him. Blackton, who had received an unsuccessful kidney transplant in 1970, also became an advocate for those suffering from kidney disease and undergoing dialysis. He founded the American Association of Kidney Patients, a national association of dialysis and transplant patients, and edited the AAKP's newsletter. He was a forceful proponent of Medicare funding of dialysis, which was enacted by Congress in 1972. According to his sister, Jennie Blackton, at the time of his death Blackton was one of the longest living dialysis patients in the world. In his memory, Blackton's family has established a summer internship at the Voice of America for students who are on dialysis or otherwise disabled. Donations should be sent to the William Blackton Memorial Fund for Journalists, c/o Bernstein Investment Research and Management, 800 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20006.