Anthony Beilenson

Anthony Charles Beilenson (October 26, 1932 – March 5, 2017) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a Democratic Congressman from Southern California. He served ten terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1977 until 1997.

Anthony Beilenson
Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from California
In office
January 3, 1977 – January 3, 1997
Preceded byThomas M. Rees
Succeeded byBrad Sherman
Constituency23rd district (1977–1993)
24th district (1993–1997)
Member of the California State Senate
In office
December 2, 1974 – January 3, 1977
Preceded byAlan Robbins
Succeeded byAlan Sieroty
Constituency22nd district
In office
January 2, 1967 – November 30, 1974
Preceded byStephen P. Teale
Succeeded byAlfred H. Song
Constituency26th district
Member of the California State Assembly
from the 59th district
In office
January 7, 1963 – January 2, 1967
Preceded byThomas M. Rees
Succeeded byAlan Sieroty
Personal details
Born(1932-10-26)October 26, 1932
New Rochelle, New York
DiedMarch 5, 2017(2017-03-05) (aged 84)
Westwood, Los Angeles, California
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseDolores Beilenson
Children3
Alma materHarvard University (BA, JD)

Early life and education

Beilenson was born in New Rochelle, New York, and grew up in an upscale suburb of New York City. He attended Harvard University, where he earned BA (1954) and JD (1957) degrees. Beilenson then relocated to Los Angeles and became a partner in a Beverly Hills law firm which represented the film industry.

Political career

Beilenson was elected to the California State Assembly in 1963, serving until 1967, and then served in the California State Senate from 1967 to 1976. Among his accomplishments in the California State Legislature was winning enactment of the "Beilenson Act", which requires public hearings whenever hospitals in California are closed or reduce services.[1][2] His most noteworthy accomplishment was as author of the 1967 Therapeutic Abortion Act, one of the most liberal abortion laws at that time, which legalized abortion when a woman’s mental or physical health was at risk or if pregnancy resulted from rape or incest.[3]

In 1968 Beilenson was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate, losing to Alan Cranston.[4]

Beilenson was then elected to and served ten terms in the U.S. House of Representatives in the United States Congress, beginning in 1977, until his retirement in 1997. While in Congress, he served on the House Rules Committee, and as Chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, 1989–1991.[5]

Beilenson was a member of the ReFormers Caucus of Issue One.[6]

Tributes
Balboa Lake in Anthony C. Beilenson Park

In 1998, in tribute to his long career of community and government service to California, Lake Balboa Park,[7] in Van Nuys was renamed the "Anthony C. Beilenson Park".[8] The park, which is located along Balboa Boulevard in Van Nuys, is an 80-acre (320,000 m2) water recreation facility, with Balboa Lake at its center, and containing a universally accessible playground. The 27-acre (110,000 m2) artificial lake is supplied with reclaimed water from the Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant.[9]

He and his wife Dolores were also honored by the Jewish National Fund, San Fernando Valley Region, in 1991, for Congressman Beilenson's career of service as a public official, and for Dolores Beilenson's service as co-chair of the Congressional Wives for Soviet Jewry.[10]

Beilenson died at his home in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles on March 5, 2017, after suffering a heart attack.[11] He was 84.

See also

References
  1. Stall, Bill (June 10, 1971). "Reagan's Welfare Reform Is Killed". The Daily News. Associated Press. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  2. "California seeks legal abortions". The Ottawa Citizen. Associated Press. May 21, 1964. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  3. Hamilton, Matt. :Anthony Beilenson, 10-term congressman who championed Santa Monica Mountains, dies at 84" Los Angeles Times", March 7, 2017
  4. "Desert Sun 10 July 1968 — California Digital Newspaper Collection".
  5. Congressional Directory, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.
  6. "ReFormers Caucus - Issue One". 2023.
  7. "Parks - City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks". 13 October 2021.
  8. Yoon, Edward M. - "Park Is Renamed to Honor Beilenson", Los Angeles Times, March 3, 1998.
  9. "LAKE BALBOA/ANTHONY C. BEILENSON PARK". laparks.org. Archived from the original on February 16, 2014. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  10. "Rep. Beilenson, Wife to Be Honored Sunday," Los Angeles Times, June 19, 1991.
  11. Hamilton, Matt (7 March 2017). "Anthony Beilenson, 10-term congressman who championed Santa Monica Mountains, dies at 84" – via LA Times.
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