Heater blower motor pattering noise?

Me and my wife were driving home. About a 45 minute drive when all the sudden we heard this pattering noise like a serp belt had came off. She reached over and turned the heater down and the noise went away. We had heat the rest of the way home. Next day she started her car to head to college and the heat wasn't working at all. I took the glove box apart to assess the problem only to find that the vacuum was clicking but nothing else was happening. I want to know if the blower motor would still be working without the actuator or if the blower might be the problem?