As reported by Deadline, actor Robert Blake has away at the age of 89. Blake’s niece, Noreen Austin, made the announcement.
He died peacefully at home with his loved ones by his side due to persistent cardiac issues, according to Austin (via Fox News). For the past few years, he has listened to jazz music, played the guitar, and watched vintage movies.
Blake began his illustrious and protracted Hollywood career in the late 1930s.
In 1939, Blake made his stage debut in the uncredited role of “Bridal Suite” as a young child. Among the almost 150 acting credits he would eventually amass were his most well-known roles in “In Cold Blood” and “Baretta,” which propelled his career throughout the 1960s and 1970s.
Throughout his career, Black was nominated for four Emmys and won one for his work on “Baretta.” Blake had his last dramatic part in the 1997 murder thriller “Lost Highway.”
Blake’s death puts him on the list of well-known individuals who have already departed. While some are mourning the passing of his long and illustrious career, many are recalling the horrific details of the last quarter of his life, especially the horrific crime the former child actor was suspected of.
Robert Blake’s life took a depressing turn in May 2001 after the death of his second wife, Bonnie Lee Bakley. According to LAPD Online, Bakley was found dead in Blake’s car, “slumped in the front seat.” Bakley was 44 years old, 23 years younger than Blake, and they had been married for a year, but she had been married ten times in all.
The world was shocked when Blake was charged with Bakley’s murder and taken into custody eleven months later, according to ABC News. “We are confirming that we have detained Robert Blake in connection with the death of his wife,” police spokesman Officer Don Cox stated at the time.
Blake has always maintained that he did not kill Bakley. According to his official story, he left her in the car after supper and returned to find her dead. CNN reports that Blake persisted in providing his version of events during the legal proceedings, encompassing his year-long incarceration until securing a $1.5 million bond.
During a 2003 interview with Barbara Walters, Blake ascribed Bakley’s demise on her upbringing. According to Blake (via ABC News), “In my heart, I feel that some man, 10, 15, maybe 20 years ago, because she used to get married to them.” “I think she wrecked a lot of lives. I think that one individual who watched her on TV was the one whose life she wrecked.
Blake was acquitted of the murder charge on March 29, 2005; but, his reputation was never recovered.
