Posted on 03/09/2023 4:49:14 PM PST by DFG
Robert Blake, the Emmy award-winning performer who went from acclaim for his acting to notoriety when he was tried and acquitted in the killing of his wife, died Thursday at age 89.
A statement released on behalf of his niece, Noreen Austin, said Blake died from heart disease, surrounded by family at home in Los Angeles.
Blake, star of the 1970s TV show, "Baretta," had once hoped for a comeback, but he never recovered from the long ordeal which began with the shooting death of his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, outside a Studio City restaurant on May 4, 2001. The story of their strange marriage, the child it produced and its violent end was a Hollywood tragedy played out in court.
Once hailed as among the finest actors of his generation, Blake became better known as the defendant in a real-life murder trial, a story more bizarre than any in which he acted.
In a 2002 interview with The Associated Press while he was jailed awaiting trial, he bemoaned the change in his status with his fans nationwide: "It hurt because America is the only family I had."
He was adamant that he had not killed his wife and a jury ultimately acquitted him. But a civil jury would find him liable for her death and order him to pay Bakley's family $30 million, a judgment which sent him into bankruptcy.
It was an ignominious finale for a life lived in the spotlight from childhood. As a youngster, he starred in the "Our Gang" comedies and acted in a movie classic, "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre." As an adult, he was praised for his portrayal of real-life murderer Perry Smith in the movie of Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood."
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I watched the trial, and there is no doubt he did it. It was an incredibly sloppy crime, and only his notoriety saved him from prison.
After he was acquitted, he used to regularly come into a small restaurant I frequented. He was always alone, sat off in the corner, and mumbled to himself the whole time he was there. You could tell the guilt had driven him crazy and the loss of his career and celebrity status had made him miserable.
I think part of his appeal was he gave his audience the feeling that he might actually be a psycho.
In better times, wasn't that Cal Worthington's dog Spot?
The Barreta Bird Guy...
.
RIP
He did very good work...an enormous amount of intensity crammed into a very compact package. He wasn’t “cool”, he was INTENSE! Small, and explosively dangerous. Like Cagney, he commanded attention...but, apparently, he didn’t play well with others, especially those he called “the suits”, so he didn’t get the parts that might have made a greater career. he was a good actor.
RIP.
Did a great job in one of the remakes Of Mice And Men.
And keep your eye on the sparrow.
When the going gets narrow.
He was a murderer.
If you do the crime, do the time.
Who?
One of the absolute best movies ever made.
And now he finds himself in front of a court that knows all the facts and dispenses perfect justice.
For it is appointed once unto men to die, but after this the judgment Heb 9:27
The original In Cold Blood steal spooks me to this day.
Good catch!
Although John was married and Spector was dating her producer, Phil Spector (her future husband), the pair flirted at that party in London. However, Spector put a stop to it before it went too far.
Rock Legend Ronnie Spector Recalls Her Close Friendship (and Almost Romance!) with John Lennon
LOL! Weeeeee waaaaah weeeeeeee waaaaaaaah “I like my brush” “This cake IS a surprise!”
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