Richard Carlton

CARLTON -- Richard died peacefully at home on May 10, 2014. He was the beloved husband of Blossom, father of Joyce, Ralph, Ken and Karen, and grandfather of Mark, Sara, Annie, Jane, Ben, Matthew, Harry and Emma. He was predeceased by his sister, Florence Morris. Born on February 9, 1919 in Manhattan, he attended Townsend Harris High School, graduating at the age of 16. His first job was at Columbia Pictures, after which he served honorably in World War II. After the war, he had a long and distinguished career in film and television. Among the many highlights, he brought such cartoon hits as Felix the Cat and Speed Racer to American audiences as executive vice president of Trans Lux Television. He was later deputy director of the American Film Institute and, finally, executive director of the International Council of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, where he led the production of the International Emmy Awards. Although he retired from his business career at 75, he lived every day purposefully, engaged in more things than he had time to do, including traveling, visiting family, writing, and playing tennis competitively until he hung up his racket at 90. Determined to stay current with technology, he created a blog offering his unique viewpoints on life to a large and loyal following which he maintained until shortly before his passing at the age of 95. A memorial service will be held on Thursday, May 15 at 10 AM at Ballard-Durand Funeral Home, 2 Maple Avenue, White Plains, NY. In lieu of flowers, memorials in his name may be made to the RLS Foundation at rls.org.