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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The victim, Bonny Lee Bakley, was herself a real piece of work. She had a "business", if you can call it that, of lonely hearts scams and sham marriages. She also had a considerable arrest record for drugs, identity fraud, passing bad checks, etc. A real weirdo.
His defense team argued, successfully, that she was in the crosshairs of any number of men who she had conned or cheated in her past.
I heard the parrot was doing two shows a night in Vegas.
He was pretty funny on Carson’s show, back in the day… RIP
I feel his pain.
It existed just for the slow-motion climax.
Front for Arnold Ziffel.
He did the same with the Ramones, he would keep them locked up in the studio and threaten to shoot them if they tried to leave. Johnny Ramone said Phil would spend days listening to the opening chord of “Rock and roll high school”. I think what happened with Phil is he became severely addicted to cocaine and it drove him literally crazy, it did severe damage to his brain and nervous system. It’s a shame because he was a brilliant talent
I recall this guy playing Little Beaver in some old westerns where his fake Indian talk was just sickening. I could never stand him because of it.
Mayem heem burnem inem hellem.
He was neither a Robert nor a Blake. But RIP.
Don’t get me wrong. I still think he was guilty as hell. But Bonny Lee Blakely’s bizarre and creepy background gave him some elbow room for making it past the “reasonable doubt” threshold.
It reminds me some of the murder of Bob Crane, the star of Hogan’s Heroes. In Crane’s case, he had a creepy hobby of making homebrew porno films with young women he picked up at bars and singles clubs. The defense in that case argued that any number of outraged women, boyfriend, husbands, etc., could have murdered him.
Totally agree. I e probably watched it 5-6 times over the years. Love the speech that Walter Huston gives in the flop house on why the price of gold is so high.
If John was ‘sending messages’ to Ronnie Spector, that may partially explain Phil later chasing John around with a pistol. Some real rootin’ tootin’ intimidation tactics.
John later wrote a not so well known song (at least not to me) called Jealous Guy. In that, he is on the receiving end of getting burned by suspicion and doubt.
That song is marvelous, dark and melodic in a lilting kind of way. It’s sort of a meditation in first person.
The piano and the violins paint the scene. The piano was played by a Nicky Hopkins, in a gospel style. I knew it was too good to have been John playing.
He was clearly Nuts-Zo. I believe he became wealthy very quickly and at a young age. So he could live a life of excess and extreme, with no one around to say ‘Knock it off. Phil!”
Baretta
Quite a cause-celebre at the time.
RIP.
John Huston and Bogart turn around and six months later release Key Largo. That’s a heck of a year.
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