Robert Blake, famous actor who was also accused of killing his wife, has died

Robert Blake, the Emmy-award-winning actor whose acting rose to fame when he was tried and acquitted of murdering his wife, died Thursday at the age of 89.

A statement released for his niece, Noreen Austin, said Blake died of heart disease, surrounded by family at his home in Los Angeles.

Blake, star of the 1970s TV show Barrett, had never hoped to recover, but never recovered after the shooting death of his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, outside the Studio City restaurant on May 4, 2001. The story of a strange marriage, the child he produced and a violent end. The Hollywood tragedy played out in court after he was charged with murder in 2002.

He remained adamant that he did not kill his wife and a judge finally acquitted him in 2005. But a civil jury would later find him responsible for her death and order him to pay the Bakley family $30 million US, a lawsuit that caused him to go bankrupt. Bakley’s daughter, Rose Lenore, is being raised by other relatives and hasn’t seen Blake in years, until he spoke out in 2019.

It was an ignominious finale to a life lived in the spotlight from childhood. In his youth, he acted in films Our gang comedy and action in classic films, Treasure of the Sierra Madre. As an adult, he was praised for his portrayal of real-life murderer Perry Smith in the film adaptation of Truman Capote’s best-seller. In Cold Blood.

His career peaked with the 1975-78 cop TV series, Baretta. He stars as a detective who carries a pet cockatoo on his shoulder and likes to go undercover. It is typical of his specialty, portraying a tough man with a soft heart, and his signature line: “Don’t do a crime if you can’t do the time,” is often quoted.

A successful child actor

Blake won an Emmy in 1975 for his role as Tony Baretta, although behind the scenes the show was marred by disputes involving the temperamental star. He earned a reputation as one of the best actors in Hollywood, but one of the hardest to work with. He later admitted to struggling with alcohol and drug addiction in his youth.

In 1993, Blake won another Emmy as the title character in, Judgment Day: The Story of John’s Listportrays a gentle, church-loving man who kills his wife and three children.

Blake’s career was on the wane when he tried after scoring a plum role in David Lynch. Lost Highwayreleased in 1997.

He was born Michael James Gubitosi on September 18, 1933, in Nutley, NJ. His father, an Italian immigrant and his mother, an Italian American, wanted their three children to succeed in show business. At age 2, Blake performed with his brother and sister in a family vaudeville show called, The Three Little Hillbillies.

When his parents moved the family to Los Angeles, his mother found work for the children as a movie extra and little Mickey Gubitosi was plucked from the crowd by a producer who made him one of Little rascals at Our gang comedy. He appeared in the series for five years.

He later worked with the Hollywood legend, playing the young John Garfield Humor in 1946 and the boy who sold Humphrey Bogart’s important lottery ticket in the Oscar winner. Treasure of the Sierra Madre two years later.

In 1961, Blake and actress Sondra Kerr married and had two children, Noah and Delinah. They divorced in 1983.

Fateful relationship

The fateful meeting with Bakley, who had been married nine times before, came in 1999 at a jazz club where he went to escape loneliness.

“Here I am, 67 or 68 years old. My life is on hold. My career is on hold,” he previously told The Associated Press in an interview. “I’ve been alone for a long time.”

When Bakley gave birth to a baby girl, she named Christian Brando – Marlon’s son – as her father. But DNA testing pointed to Blake.

Blake first saw a little girl, named Rosie, when she was two months old and she became the focus of his life. She married Bakley because of the child.

“Rosie is my blood. Rosie called me,” he said. “I have no doubt that Rosie and I will walk into the sunset together.”

Prosecutors will claim she planned to kill Bakley to gain custody of the baby and tried to hire a hitman for the job. But the evidence muddled and the jury rejected that theory.

On his last night alive, Blake and his wife of 44 years dined at a neighborhood restaurant, Vitello’s. He claimed that he was shot when he left her in the car and returned to the restaurant to retrieve a handgun that he accidentally left behind. The police were initially confused and Blake was not arrested until a year after the crime.

After becoming a wealthy man, he spent millions on his defense and lived on social security and a Screen Actor’s Guild pension.