Edwin BLATT

Blatt, Edwin Bernard (Eddie)was born on August 2, 1925, in Columbus, Ohio. His parents, Rudolph and Clara (Mattlin) Blatt came to the United States from Odessa, Russia in 1907 and 1908. Edwin's family moved to Cincinnati when he was 8 years old. He attended South Avondale Elementary School and Walnut Hills High School. During World War II he served as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy based in Bayonne, New Jersey. He was discharged from the Navy in 1946. Edwin attended Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. After earning his B.A. from Dartmouth he earned a Master's degree from Miami University of Ohio and then returned to the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth for his MBA Degree. Edwin was a competitive swimmer at both Walnut Hills and Dartmouth College and was a star tennis player on the Walnut Hills team. He remained an avid tennis player and swimmer for most of his life. He met his future wife, Dr. Ethyl Blatt (Sher), at a dance at Camp Livingston. They were married in 1954 and recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. Dr. Ethyl Blatt is a radiologist who continues to consult today. Edwin was a devoted family man, and he and Ethyl had two sons, Rick and Brandon. On his return to Cincinnati, Edwin joined the family business of reconditioning barrels before starting an advertising agency. He was a pioneer of advertising on television and for many years directed and produced television commercials. In a "A Lion on the Lawn", an early campaign for Sunbeam, he used a baby lion in a commercial. His son recalls that the person who was supposed to pick up the lion after the shoot never showed up and that the lion spent the weekend at their home. Edwin returned the lion on Monday morning. In his television advertising, Edwin also for many years promoted Rinks, the first discount store chain in the Cincinnati area. As a television advertiser, Edwin also sponsored the first professional wrestling shows in the Cincinnati area. Starting in 1980, Edwin worked extensively with other family members in the field of healthcare staffing. In the healthcare staffing capacity, he was instrumental in furnishing medical personnel, including specialty physicians, mid-level providers, mental health professionals, and specialty nurses, throughout the U.S. and in thirteen nations overseas, including the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Iceland. He maintained professional offices in Cincinnati, as well as in Germany and Japan, in support of these services. Edwin traveled on an ongoing basis through the U.S. and in many overseas nations in furtherance of these healthcare staffing services. Edwin was also active with family members in revitalization efforts in Over the Rhine, including the revitalization of numerous historic buildings in that area. These included numerous buildings of historical note, including buildings designed by the architects Samuel Hannaford and James McLaughlin. He was also intensively involved in redevelopment and establishment of the Symphony Hotel in downtown Cincinnati, a boutique style hotel with restaurant near Music Hall. In addition to his efforts in historic revitalization, Edwin was very active in other aspects of the greater Cincinnati community. He was one of the original founders of Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and was actively engaged in the site selection and design of the Playhouse in the Park's first theater. He also served on the Playhouse board for many years. Additionally in the arts, he was a board member of the Cincinnati Opera. He was an avid reader and a world-wide traveler to far flung locations in the Pacific, South America, Europe, and Israel. He took up the game of golf later in his life and belonged to the Crest Hills and Losantiville Golf Clubs and was a board member at Amberley Swim Club. He was also a boater and sailor and once capsized his boat on San Francisco Bay; all hands were safely rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard. Later in his life

Tributes

Edwin BLATT

May 11, 2014