Christopher William Blakely

January 8, 1954 - December 13, 2025
Chris was born at Saint John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California on January 8, 1954. He grew up on S. Plymouth Blvd in Windsor Square/Hancock Park. His first memory was losing a shoe in an upwelling of tar adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits.

After 9 years of LAUSD public schooling, Chris transferred to Harvard School for Boys, where he played for both the water polo and swim teams. Outside of school, he was a member of Boy Scout Troop 121, where he earned the rank of Eagle Scout at the age of 13. He went on to join the Scout's honorary society, the Order of the Arrow, and later became the troop's Senior Patrol Leader.

Chris matriculated to Stanford University, where he played water polo and was invited to participate in the Humanities Honors Program for exceptional academic performance. One of his best lifetime experiences was studying abroad at Stanford's overseas campus in Florence, Italy, where he studied European social theory, literature, and film.

Inspired by his film courses, Chris changed his major to Film and Broadcasting. His summer jobs included writing for a local filmmaker, working as a production assistant on a TV commercial, and hosting tours at Universal Studios Hollywood. He graduated in 1975 with Honors and had a dream of working in the film industry. But at the insistence of his father, who had always wanted to be a lawyer himself, Chris enrolled in law school at USC.

But Chris had no desire to become a lawyer, and after earning his JD degree, he started his own motion picture production company. After years of hard work, in 1986, Chris's film X-The Unheard Music made its debut at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood, and was screened at the Sundance Film Festival. The film was honored by Sundance again in 2007, and a 35MM print became part of The Sundance Collection at the UCLA Film Archives.

The best thing Chris gained from law school was his sweetheart and lifelong partner, Elizabeth (Betsy) Bolles, whom he met in 1977 and married in 1982. Chris and Betsy lived first in Venice, then on Van Ness Avenue in Windsor Square, and on Norton Avenue, where they resided for 32 years.

Chris worked on many corporate films, commercials and rock videos, and was fortunate to work with numerous famous directors including James Cameron, Michael Apted, and Robert Zemeckis. Notably, he worked with legendary director George Lucas on the music video of "To Know Him Is To Love Him" by "The Trio": Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris.

With his friend Rob Newell, Chris co-owned both Play It Again and Main Street Media, Inc., where they produced and directed several award-winning educational videos. They also wrote, shot, produced, directed and edited countless corporate films on subjects ranging from architecture and knifemaking, to balloon decorating and healthcare. In recognition of his contributions to the industry, Chris was awarded a Lifetime Membership in the Motion Picture Editors Guild (IATSE Local 700).

Chris spent much of his free time volunteering for non-profits. He served as Founding Director of the Surfrider Foundation, and was later was elected Chairman of the Board. He served as President for the Windsor Square-Hancock Park Historical Society, where he headed the Executive Committee, and helped to organize the Society's Homes Tours, membership teas and annual meetings. Chris also volunteered as an Assistant Scout Master for Boy Scout Troop 10, and later as a Board Member of the Troop 121 Old Timers' Club.

After the passing of his father, William Blakely, II, and his mother, Betty Jane Lissner Blakely, Chris became the de-facto manager of several family properties, including the family's Malibu beach house. He used the credits earned from renting the beach house on a vacation home exchange site to fund countless unforgettable family vacations in fabulous locations including France, New Zealand, Spain, Germany, Portugal, The Netherlands, Italy, England, and Hawaii.

Chris and Betsy moved to Petaluma, California in December 2024. They were warmly welcomed by a great group of neighbors and had just commenced an extensive landscaping project to fill their backyard with an Eden's full of fruit trees when Chris' battle with cancer cut short their dream of living an agrarian life a small town.

Just before his death, in October 2025, Chris attended his 50th Stanford University class reunion which brought him a great deal of joy.

Chris loved body surfing at the family beach house in Malibu. He was a world traveler who was well liked and made friends wherever he ventured.

Chris was a wonderful husband, a marvelous father, a devoted brother and a caring friend. On his passing, his friends and associates stated that he was one of the nicest, kindest people they had ever met. Chris is survived by his wife Betsy, children Lauren Alessia Blakely (Ren) and William Wallace Blakely III (Will), daughter-in-law Sidney DuPont, brother Bruce W. Blakely, and sister-in law Lillian Trac.