American Gunsmith

Remembering American Gunsmith’s Technical Editor.

12/24/1929-4/15/2018

Chick, so nicknamed by his mother, was the only child of Lewis and Ethel Blood of Matawan. He was also convinced of his descent from the legendary pirate Captain Blood and Colonel Blood, notorious in the 1670s for stealing the crown jewels of England.

Chick was a performer and storyteller all his life. In the era of Shirley Temple, he was “discovered” as a child on a Times Square street corner with his mother, and spent his childhood acting on Broadway and in national tours in such plays as iiKiss and Tell, iiOn Borrowed Time, iiThe American Way and iiWatch on the Rhine.

Returning to Matawan for high school, he graduated in 1947 and went on to Columbia University. From there he enlisted in the Air Force, serving on Iwo Jima during the Korean War and as an armorer/gunsmith for Air Force competitive shooting teams. He married the former Marjorie Liggett in 1953. His son Charles L. Blood 2nd was born that year. That marriage ended in divorce; he married the former Deborah Paustian in 1988.

Chick entered the advertising business in the mid-fifties, working as a copywriter for Young & Rubicam for most of his career, working there for 32 years (1954-1986) as a Writer, Copy Supervisor, Creative Supervisor, and the Vice President-Associate Creative Director. He worked on many well-known campaigns of the iiMad Men era and was especially proud of his work on Gulf Oil in the 60s, for which he won a CLIO award, and for Covenant House in the 80s, where he coached young recovering addicts in writing their own campaign, which won a Presidential citation from President Reagan.

In addition, he was published numerous times in a variety of books, including children’s and pet care books, notably, iiThe Goat in the Rug, iiAmerican Indian Games and Crafts, and iiFirst Aid for Dogs. Of course, he also was published in gunsmithing books such as iiPractical Gunsmithing as a contributing author and served as the Technical Editor and regular contributor to to iiAmerican Gunsmith from January 2001 until his last months and was a member of the American Pistolsmith Guild.

“Chick Blood will be long remembered for his technical prowess and his constant emphasis on safety,” said Timothy Cole, Executive Vice President and Editorial Director of Belvoir Media Group, iiAmerican Gunsmith’s parent company. “He had many friends in the firearms industry, and he could always be relied upon to furnish technical specs of any firearm on demand.”

“Chick was always a wealth of knowledge when I spoke with him on the phone along with his great writings,” said Robert Coles of M.O.A. Gunsmithing. “He will be missed and my deep sympathy is extended to his family.”

Chick had a gift for friendship and loved his family deeply. He never stopped acting and using his handsome baritone to give life to his stories.
He was proud of his son, his Penobscot Native American heritage, and his theater and advertising careers.

He loved summers in Maine, Giants football, golf, photography and keeping up with old friends. He is fondly remembered by his relatives from the Blood and Marshall families in Dover-Foxcroft and Boothbay Harbor, Maine, and his niece and nephews of Tenafly, New Jersey and Santa Cruz, California. He is survived by his wife and son.

Donations in Chick’s memory can be made to:
New Jersey Blind Citizens Association
18 Burlington Avenue
Leonardo NJ 07737 AG

Read more in the July 2018 issue.

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